Weaker Shipments Hurt Results at Union Pacific

By Micah Maidenberg

Union Pacific Corp. said weaker demand from a range of customers pinched the railroad's revenue in the third quarter.

Overall volumes, as measured by revenue-generating carloads, fell 8% in the quarter compared with the year earlier, Union Pacific said Thursday. Volumes at Union Pacific were also lower in the first and second quarters.

Higher shipments from industrial customers in the latest period were more than offset by weaker shipments for agricultural goods, energy products and higher-value items, the company said.

Union Pacific, based in Omaha, Neb., reported a quarterly profit of $1.56 billion, or $2.22 a share, compared with $1.59 billion, or $2.15 a share, the year earlier. Analysts predicted $2.31 a share in adjusted profit, according to FactSet.

Revenue fell 7% from the year earlier to $5.52 billion, less than the $5.67 billion forecast by Wall Street analysts.

Railroads operating in the U.S. are wrestling with a series of challenges, including trade tensions that have damped Chinese purchases of agricultural products, lower demand from utilities for thermal coal and a slowing manufacturing sector.

U.S. railroads hauled about 21.3 million carloads and intermodal units during the first 41 weeks of the year, down 4% compared with the comparable period in 2018, according to the Association of American Railroads.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2019 08:43 ET (12:43 GMT)

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