Union Pacific

Wabtec and Progress Rail selected as suppliers

Union Pacific CFO Jennifer Hamann talks supply chain labor shortages and the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger at investment firm Stifel’s transportation and logistics conference.

From executive transitions at Union Pacific and Pacific West to January rail volumes to new offerings in the MoW lessor space, here are some news items rounding out the week.

Two rail unions have sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Labor Secretary Martin Walsh criticizing the attendance policies of BNSF and other Class I railroads.

TuSimple advances its commercialization timetable for driverless trucking and adds intermodal freight for Union Pacific at the Port of Tucson in Arizona.

UP will examine the locomotives’ performance at its yards and in California and Nebraska and see how the locomotives can be deployed for long-haul service.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state plans to lend policing and prosecution support to Union Pacific and other victims of cargo theft.

UP’s capital expenditures plan for 2022 includes investments to intermodal terminals and intermodal ramps, executives said during the company’s fourth-quarter 2021 earnings call Thursday.

El beneficio neto del cuarto trimestre de 2021 aumenta un 24% interanual en medio de un aumento del 12% en los ingresos operativos

El transportador dijo en el 10-K de 2020 que su negocio
intermodal estaba en BNSF y CSX

Schneider’s intermodal profits in the first nine months of 2020 were double those of a year earlier.

The railroad wants stricter penalties for those caught stealing from trains.

CN is asking the Surface Transportation Board to require Canadian Pacific to divest KCS’ Springfield Line in Missouri and Illinois to help ensure competition.

A Tuesday federal court ruling puts on hold the requirement that federal contractors be vaccinated against COVID-19 — and that ruling extends to Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern.

CN and CSX received recognition for their action on climate change. UP has upped its targets and released a plan to reach them.

Lawsuits between two Class I railroads and three unions have been consolidated into one proceeding in federal court, with a request to fold an additional lawsuit from BNSF into the proceeding.

The STB is allowing the merger application of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern to proceed as is, rejecting Union Pacific’s concerns over the application’s completeness.

The railroad says CP’s and KCS’ traffic diversion analysis is incomplete, and so the board should compel CP and KCS to revise its merger application.

An anticipated rebound in volumes as supply chain kinks smooth out will be a theme in 2022, while customer-friendly technological applications will drive rail technology long term, Class I rail CEOs said in recent conferences.

STB has allowed agri-food shipper Sanimax to proceed in its complaint against Union Pacific over service issues.

The Port of Long Beach is trying to innovate its way out of container gridlock. The latest move is regular shuttle trains to Utah to reduce less efficient truck moves.

To make room for more containers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, UP and BNSF are offering incentives to ocean carrier customers to move out the containers already there. UP is also temporarily pausing westbound marine container movement to its Long Beach facility.

Union Pacific could’ve handled more intermodal volume in the third quarter were it not for longer chassis dwell times and a shortage of dray drivers, executives said during the company’s earnings call.

The Port of Los Angeles had its busiest September ever, while Long Beach had its second busiest.

Union Pacific and several rail unions are arguing that the other party has failed to properly negotiate how UP should comply with President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Truckers can go back to using Highway 101 in Southern California after it was closed due to a spreading wildfire.

Recent rail news includes investments, technology purchases and cleanup fees.

Elise Gosch, assistant VP of intermodal sales at Union Pacific, shares strategies the company has implemented throughout the pandemic to address shifting customer needs.

Progress Rail will use Union Pacific locomotives that are capable of handling a biodiesel blend of 20%.

As this year’s peak season gets underway, dislocations in the supply chain are increasing. However, this is really nothing new as the industry has been in peak mode for a year.

Plaquemines Port announced it has found the site for its state-of-the-art container terminal that will be able to handle vessels carrying up to 22,000 TEUs.

The CEOs of five Class I railroads tell the Surface Transportation Board that the root causes of the congestion facing rail intermodal terminals are beyond the railroads’ control.

The railroad reopened the Dry Canyon Bridge in Northern California weeks ahead of schedule.

The past week in images features train cars used to fight fires, a wreck caused by a dust storm, a trucker who flipped in floodwaters and more.

Both Union Pacific and BNSF have taken to rerouting trains because large wildfires have temporarily closed portions of their networks in Northern California.

Supply chain disruptions for international intermodal are likely to last through the end of the year, Union Pacific President and CEO Lance Fritz said during the second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

Union Pacific’s second-quarter 2021 net income grew 59% from a year ago to $1.8 billion amid a 30% gain in operating revenue.

The seven-day suspension of service, starting on Sunday, is aimed at helping ocean carriers, UP and other stakeholders to catch up and relieve the congestion at West Coast ports and busy inland terminals, especially Chicago.

The reduction in train speeds between Kamloops and Boston Bar is designed to lessen the chances that sparks from a freight train could start a fire amid extreme heat and dry conditions.

The past week in images features a funnel spawned by a wildfire, a trucker who drove his rig into a river and a train honoring the armed forces.

U.S. rail carloads showed strength in 19 of 20 commodity categories in June. Second-quarter intermodal traffic climbed 22% even with network congestion and equipment shortages as the backdrop.

Los Angeles-based Plastic Express will occupy 100% of Phase I at the Cedar Port Logistics Center, scheduled to be completed by December.

Reducing dwell times for equipment and at the terminals is one way the Class I railroads are seeking to relieve systemwide supply chain congestion, according to executives at recent investor conferences.

Adding or extending sidings, particularly on three key routes, will reduce delays and improve network fluidity, UP said.

Transport deregulation’s long game has left much of the asset-based carrier field with few players. Will the cycle turn to usher in a cast of competitive newbies?

Union Pacific is investigating why a train hauling 28 cars derailed in Minnesota as emergency responders contend with a hydrochloric acid leak.

FreightWaves looks at five themes that ran throughout the earnings discussions of the Class I railroads.

Anticipated growth for intermodal will help to support Hub Group’s investments for that sector in 2021.

Union Pacific to open an intermodal terminal in Southern California, Port of South Louisiana completes rail yard, plus two appointments: Michael McCarthy to become SMBC Rail Services president and CEO, and Karen Carriere joins Transportation Technology Center Inc. as executive director of technical services.

Truckload shippers are accepting double-digit rate hikes in 2021 and further increases in 2022, Deutsche Bank’s lead transport analyst says.

Union Pacific is constructing a grain transload facility at its intermodal terminal near Chicago, while two U.S. senators introduce bipartisan legislation to form a grant program that aims to reduce highway-rail grade crossings.

The Surface Transportation Board will need to scrutinize a proposed merger between Kansas City Southern and either Canadian Pacific or CN to ensure it doesn’t hurt the operations of competing railroads, Union Pacific’s head said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

A 4% drop in operating revenue contributed to a 9% decline in net income for Union Pacific’s first quarter.

Union Pacific plans to close a car repair facility in Palestine, Texas, which could result in the layoffs of as many as 57 employees.

TuSimple, the first autonomous vehicle software developer to go public, raised $1.1B at $40 per share, above the high-end of its estimated price..

The publicly traded Class I railroads expect rail volumes to improve this year despite severe winter weather curtailing operations in February.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report describes the events leading up to the incident in Vail, Arizona, that killed a Union Pacific employee.

The AAR released climate policy proposals encouraging partnerships and market solutions that promote competition and carbon capture, utilization and storage technology.

U.S. Class I rail operations are seeking to return to normal, with intermodal terminals opening in the central and western U.S. But the overall network is experiencing delays in multiple locations.

UP appoints three employees to new roles within Loup Logistics and the company’s marketing and sales department.

Extreme cold and lots of snow in the Midwest and other areas could impact rail operations and cause delays, according to some railroads.

OmniTRAX sets sights on Sand Springs; advisory group approves Union Pacific’s emission reduction targets.

The Union Pacific employee, who was working in Vail, Arizona, was struck by a rail tamper and fatally injured, according to the railroad and the National Transportation Safety Board.

During a panel discussion, Home Depot and others talk about how to grow freight rail.

Anticipated consumer spending levels, retail restocking and tight truck capacity are among the factors that could support intermodal volumes this year, according to Class I rail execs.

Two FreightWaves SONAR charts illustrate Union Pacific’s views of the West Coast intermodal spot market.

Union Pacific has the network capacity to handle an anticipated rebound in rail volumes in 2021, executives said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

Union Pacific’s net profit was $1.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, on par with the fourth quarter of 2019.

A federal district court judge in Nebraska determined that it would be illegal for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way – Employes Division to take action against Union Pacific over the railroad’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A change in plans for the Brazos yard in Texas contributed to Union Pacific reaching an operating ratio in the mid-50s.

The U.S. District Court in Nebraska sides with Union Pacific’s request to prevent Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees division from striking over the railroad’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division is considering action against Union Pacific over quarantine pay and “common sense” COVID-19 safeguards.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the freight rail industry needs to reconsider where it places buffer cars on high-hazard flammable trains in order to reduce potential accident severity.

Train lengths, improving network velocity and coronavirus uncertainties are among the big themes expressed by Class I railroad executives at a recent investor conference.

October’s total employment level among the U.S. Class Is was the second lowest for 2020 as railroads implement PSR.

The railroad has opened a new intermodal terminal in Minneapolis, and service to and from Los Angeles will begin in January.

Railroads are leveraging automation and evaluating assets to improve fuel efficiency. Corporate climate goals are on the rise as railroads increase their conservation and emission-reducing efforts.

U.S. carload traffic on a weekly basis was 3.1% lower last week on a year-over-year basis and 1.7% higher sequentially.

CSX and Union Pacific executives talk about their companies’ plans to grow the business.

Hub Group sees a strong demand environment continuing as most of its customers are operating with lean inventories. The company expects tight freight fundamentals to create a favorable rate environment in 2021.

UP expects longer and heavier trains in its future as it seeks to take more intermodal market share away from trucks.

Intermodal traffic props up rail volumes and gains for retail sales; CSX, Union Pacific announce new appointments.

Lower fuel prices drove Union Pacific’s operating ratio lower. Meanwhile, third-quarter net profit fell 12% year-over-year.

Although the hurricane isn’t expected to make landfall until later this week, the Class I railroads are preparing now for potential service disruptions.

It is too early to call the intermodal recovery a long-term win for the railroads.

Individuals who allegedly crossed border illegally were reportedly found climbing moving train and locked in grain hopper.

U.S. rail volumes, including intermodal traffic, fell in a week that was shortened by Labor Day.

The wildfires in Washington state aren’t a major threat to BNSF’s Washington operations, but the railroad deployed trains to help area first responders. Union Pacific grappled with wildfires near a Northern California subdivision last week.

A Colorado county has paved the way for the construction of a 620-acre rail-served industrial park in the greater Denver area.

U.S. intermodal traffic continues upward trend; separately, Kansas City Southern reportedly rejects takeover bid.

The railroad didn’t say where the layoffs occurred, but they affect union and management employees across the 23-state network.

Intermodal was supposed to be the growth engine for rail.

A look at the latest campaign spending reports shows that those in the transportation industries are heavily supporting Democratic candidates, but Trump holds a big edge among companies and PACs.

Union Pacific reports serious damage to its tracks near Lake Charles after Hurricane Laura pushed across Louisiana.

The railroad’s California police force will not ask for the immgiration status of those it comes across on its network.

Hub Group’s second-quarter earnings beat was accompanied by the expectation for intermodal volume to increase in the high-single-digit range for the rest of the year.

Incident happened Wednesday morning in Tempe, Arizona.

The western U.S. railroad looks to take more market share away from trucks.

Coronavirus pandemic and economic uncertainty weigh on UP’s second-quarter earnings.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission is preparing to file a complaint against BNSF, Union Pacific and Nebraska Central over blocked highway-rail grade crossings in Grand Island.