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One of the largest commuter railroads in the country is objecting to the proposed $31 billion merger between Class I freight rail carriers Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern.

The trucking industry has undergone further consolidation amid a surge of acquisitions, and software has enabled much of that.

The deal market in the trucking industry is heating up as buyers and sellers look to make moves amid a confluence of factors that are driving activity, experts said.

Xos Inc., a 5-year-old truck maker focused on delivering battery-electric commercial vehicles in Classes 5-8, announced a definitive agreement to go public through a business combination with NextGen Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company based in Boca Raton, Fla.

Several recent acquisitions are signaling a robust 2021 for trucking.

This year’s edition of Transport Topics’ Top 100 Private Carriers list features a disappearing act — more than one, actually — as well as some big mergers in the offing and some new names.

The summer has brought heat to mergers and acquisitions in the logistics sector, led by private equity firm The Jordan Co. moving aggressively to gather several firms under its umbrella.

The $6 billion Swift-Knight truckload merger is racing to completion as shareholders of both companies approved the transaction Sept. 7, and the carriers said it would close Sept. 8.

Representatives of freight shipping firms are joining trucking analysts in their enthusiasm over the merger between Knight Transportation Inc. and Swift Transportation Co. and generally supporting the prospect of big truckload carriers getting bigger.

Will the planned merger of Knight Transportation Inc. and Swift Transportation — one of the trucking industry's largest mergers ever — catch the attention of federal antitrust regulators? Watch as TT Senior Features Writer Daniel Bearth provides his take on that question for colleague Eugene Mulero.