The Daily Dash: Long-haul trucking’s new competitor?

The Daily Dash is a quick look at what’s happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, we highlight a potential railroad merger with implications for the trucking business, “not in my backyard” activists making their presence known and more.

The High Five

1. A merger between Canadian railway CN and Kansas City Southern would create a formidable opponent for what should be the industry’s largest threat: long-haul trucking, CN executives said in their pitch to acquire Kansas City Southern. Joanna Marsh’s story

2. When TravelCenters of America announced in May 2020 that it had signed a franchise agreement to build a Petro Stopping Center in Monteagle, Tennessee, it was expected to open in the first quarter of this year — until a small group of “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) activists took up an opposition campaign. John Gallagher’s story

3. Transport and logistics giant XPO Logistics Inc. has named Mark Manduca, a longtime European transportation analyst, to the role of chief investment officer of GXO Logistics Inc., the proposed spinoff of XPO’s logistics business. Mark Solomon’s story

4. Drivers and their employers will be responsible until June 2025 for ensuring medical certifications are properly registered so that state and federal regulators will have enough time to work through IT problems that are holding up a more streamlined compliance system. John Gallagher with more

5. Logistics real estate provider Prologis Inc. pointed to a continuation in positive momentum from the fourth quarter as the catalyst for better-than-expected first-quarter results. Lease proposals were 93 million square feet in the first quarter, a new record and 13% higher when adjusted for the increased size of the company’s portfolio. Todd Maiden’s analysis