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Railroads and Fertilizer: A Train Wreck of Corporate Consolidation

04/18/2022

Call it a train wreck of oligopolies with acres and acres of unintended consequences.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), a global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products, today informed customers it serves by Union Pacific rail lines that railroad-mandated shipping reductions would result in nitrogen fertilizer shipment delays during the spring application season, according to a CF news release. CF went on to say that they would be unable to accept new rail sales involving Union Pacific for the foreseeable future.

“The timing of this action by Union Pacific could not come at a worse time for farmers,” said Tony Will, president and chief executive officer of CF Industries Holdings.

CF Industries ships to customers via Union Pacific rail lines primarily from its Donaldsonville Complex in Louisiana and its Port Neal Complex in Iowa. The rail lines serve key agricultural areas such as Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and California. Products that will be affected include nitrogen fertilizers such as urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN). CF Industries is the largest producer of urea and UAN in North America.

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