• TRANSCONTINENTAL: Canadian Pacific Railway agreed to acquire Kansas City Southern for US $25 billion in cash and shares creating the first rail system that connects Mexico, the US and Canada, stretching from Mexico’s Pacific port of Lázaro Cárdenas to eastern Canada’s Port Saint John.
• NETWORK: Betting on last year’s enactment of the renewed North American trade deal (USMCA) the merger of the two companies is still subject to approval by the US Surface Transportation Board but would benefit customers in the grain, automotive, auto-parts and energy sectors.
• INTEGRATION: “The new USMCA trade agreement among these three countries makes the efficient integration of the continent’s supply chains more important than ever before”, said Keith Creel, Canadian Pacific’s chief executive. The merger creates a 20,000-mile rail system.
• MARKET: Total trilateral trade between the USMCA countries in 2019 was approximately US $1.2 trillion, according to Canadian government’s estimates. The only place where both railways currently meet is Kansas City, Missouri. The companies are expecting US regulatory approval in 2022.
