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Product
Union Pacific constantly modifies its transportation offerings to take advantage of business opportunities and improve overall service levels. Forty years ago, Union Pacific sold only carload service — individual carloads moving from multiple origins to destinations using a network of local trains and terminals. Today, that traditional service accounts for less than half of the railroad’s business.
Bulk commodities such as coal or grain move in “unit” trains — identical rail cars cycling between the same origins and destinations. Some chemical, industrial, and agricultural shipments use traditional carload service enhanced by eastern railroad partnerships and innovative corridor products, such as the transcontinental Express Lane route. Intermodal traffic — trailers and containers moving from ship to rail to truck — depends on tight transportation schedules using ramp-to-ramp expedited unit trains, and Union Pacific coordinates a vast network of train and terminal operations for just-in-time deliveries of vehicles.
Union Pacific’s business lines include:
• Agricultural Products. Union Pacific serves most major grain markets, linking the Midwest and western producing areas with major ports.
• Automotive. Union Pacific’s finished vehicle and auto parts network directly serves six vehicle assembly plants and 42 vehicle distribution centers, covering all major western U.S. cities.
• Chemicals. The railroad’s chemical business includes liquid chemicals, plastics, and liquid petroleum products traveling throughout North America, and significant amounts of soda ash and fertilizer.
• Energy. Union Pacific moves more than 200 million tons of coal a year, linking mines in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Illinois with numerous utilities and industries.
• Industrial Products. Union Pacific hauls a variety of commodities including forest products, minerals, aggregates and construction products, metals, and machinery.
• Intermodal. The railroad moves trailers, domestic containers, and international steamship containers within the United States and between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
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