Union Pacific President: ‘Modest Improvement’ in Fixing Intermodal Delays
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Union Pacific Railroad President Lance Fritz said the railroad is making “modest incremental improvement” to correct delays that have hurt intermodal service levels.
“We should be able to continue to make modest incremental improvements,” said Fritz, one of the speakers at the Intermodal Expo here. He didn’t, however, name a date when the railroad would be able to match last year's service levels.
One reason the railroad’s network hasn’t recovered is that business volumes grew faster than expected after the winter ended, Fritz said.
Also speaking at the opening session of the Intermodal Association of North America meeting was David Yeager, CEO of intermodal operator Hub Group.
He said rail delays have hurt the company by slowing down equipment utilization. He also expressed confidence that the railroads will make needed capital investments.
“We have some tremendous growth ahead,” Yeager said. “We know the service will come.”
Union Pacific’s network is running about 5% slower than it is designed to run, based on miles per hour. Train speeds also are slower at other major railroads, with year-to-year deterioration topping 10%.
Fritz said the railroad more than doubled train-crew worker hiring this year in an effort to catch up with higher volume.
He illustrated the imbalance between volume growth and hiring by noting that the railroad’s intermodal volume has risen 7% so far this year, but train-worker hiring has grown just 2.5%.
“You will see us improving slowly and steadily as we add crews into the network,” said Fritz, who added that the railroad’s goal is to get those crew members working before winter begins.
