EU and US could reach trade deal this weekend - Reuters
Investing.com -- Now that Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) have confirmed they are in advanced merger talks, all eyes are on CSX (NASDAQ:CSX) and whether it might also consider a merger.
Speculation has pointed to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa), which owns BNSF, as a potential suitor. Additionally, one of the major Canadian railroads—either Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (NYSE:CP) or Canadian National Railway (TSX:CNR) (NYSE:CNI) —could get involved. However, the Trump administration may oppose a cross-border deal involving a non-U.S. buyer.
Shares of CSX rose 0.5% in mid-day trading on Thursday, but are well off session highs.
CSX CEO Joseph Hinrichs addressed the rumors during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday evening. While stopping short of commenting on the speculation, he left the door open to opportunities that could create shareholder value.
“And finally, we know there’s been a lot of rumor and speculation about consolidation in the railroad industry in recent weeks,” Hinrichs said in his opening remarks. “While we cannot comment, we want to be clear that at CSX we are absolutely focused on delivering shareholder value and are always open to anything that can help us achieve this objective.”
Later in the call, JP Morgan analyst Brian Ossenbeck asked Hinrichs for his perspective on potential rail consolidation, noting his background as a former shipper.
Hinrichs, a 30-year auto industry veteran, emphasized that improving customer service and making it easier to do business with railroads is essential for industry growth. While again declining to comment on mergers, he stressed the importance of reliability, accessibility, and working across the rail ecosystem to better serve customers and compete with trucking.
“So again, I’m not going to talk about how we do that or all those, and as we said in our remarks, we’re open to all those possibilities and all those conversations and how we could, we can do that, how we can best create value for our shareholders, properly grow the business and serve those customers better and look forward to those opportunities,” he added.