MS3403
Nickel Report
Union Pacific
Intermodal Transport: Logistics
Intermodal Freight Transportation is broadly defined as a chain made up of several
transportation modes (for our purposes train and trucking) that are more or less
synchronized and interact in intermodal terminals to ensure “door to door” service. Our
goal is to identify important challenges in designing, planning, and operating intermodal
transportation networks, focusing on the contributions of research in the field. The main
focus of this paper is to primarily talk of Union Pacific’s intermodal transportation for the
United States and possible solutions to help them keep “Building America”
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I line haul freight railroad that operates 8,400
locomotives over 31,390 route-miles in 23 states west of Chicago, Illinois and New
Orleans, Louisiana. The Union Pacific Railroad network is the largest in the United States
and is serviced by 45,700 employees. Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating
company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP); both are headquartered in Omaha,
Nebraska. Over the years Union Pacific Corporation has grown by acquiring other
railroads, notably the Missouri Pacific, Chicago and North Western, Western Pacific,
Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and the Southern Pacific (including the Rio Grande) railroads.
Union Pacific Corporation also owns a 26% interest in Mexico-based Ferromex. The
intermodal function of Union Pacific connects Mexico, Canada, and most of the western
United States. Each hub has the ability to take care of COFC (Container on Flat Car)
and/or TOFC (Trailer on Flat Car). San Antonio is home to a state-of-the-art intermodal
facility completed in 2008. Furthermore, as of January 6th 2014 Union Pacific has initiated
a new intermodal, automotive service between Laredo, TX and Memphis, TN as well as
constructing a new state-of-the-art facility in Santa Teressa, NM. In addition to west coast
markets, interline services connect Union Pacific’s intermodal transportation with Norfolk
Southern to ensure coast to coast intermodal transit. The Union Pacific railroad stretches
from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean and is the only railroad that serves all six
major gateways to Mexico. UNP caters to six commodity groups: agricultural, automotive,
chemical, energy, industrial products, and intermodal shipping. The firm generated revenue
of $16.3 billion in 2007, 19% of which came from intermodal services. The firm holds
20.5% market share in the domestic rail intermodal market. For union Pacific to stay at the
forefront of intermodal transportation it must keep expanding its infrastructure to sustain
growth and increase its share in this market (UP, 2014).
