Comment / How UP-NS is forcing CSX and BNSF into each other's arms

ID 12720219 © Alain Lacroix | Dreamstime.com

In a nutshell: Greg Abel’s first act as Berkshire CEO was to put BNSF on notice. Steve Angel’s first act as CSX CEO was to make sure shareholders would enjoy the upside. The rest is geography.

When Greg Abel published his first shareholder letter as Berkshire Hathaway CEO on 1 March, the logistics press zeroed in on one number: BNSF’s 65.5% operating ratio, a 5.7-point gap behind Union Pacific (UP). But the number wasn’t the story. The tone was.

Under ...