I would echo Mr. Clements' comments. Certainly as it exists today, there are six major railroads in North America. Two operate in Canada, two operate in the western United States, and two operate in the eastern United States. It appears unlikely in the context of recent actions that the U.S. regulatory environment would proceed with any type of consolidation scenario. That said, as we think about the future and the longer term, the potential competitive threat from things such as autonomous trucking and the difficulties that the U.S. eastern railroads are facing with respect to significant declines in their coal business, over time there may be economic and regulatory justification for the U.S. railroads to combine.
On September 12th, 2017. See this statement in context.