Western Railroad Discussion > UP trailer volume 20 percent higher than same week 2019

Week of July 26 - August 1 2020:

Trailers 3444       same week 2019  2864  (up 20%)

Containers 73701    same week 2019  72000  (up 2%)

Carload traffic off 14% from same week 2019

Source AAR

 

More details here including surcharge added by UP and how BNSF is handling the California crunch  (requires login)

https://www.joc.com/rail-intermodal/class-i-railroads/union-pacific-railroad/expands-california-surcharge-all-shippers_20200804.html?destination=node/3638601

My goodness, freight down for some time and when it starts to recover apply sur-charges!!  How's that for making customers happy??

There should be a 500% stupidity surcharge on any business that hasn't left California yet.

Lots of surcharges on things these days due to the virus problems that have surfaced causing things to cost more due to more time needed. Nothing new pretty much every thing shipped has gone up somewhat even restraunts.

It's called inflation, and it's mostly caused by the devaluation of the dollar as the Fed creates endless funny money 24 hours a day to bail out large companies and their stocks.  By the time that money makes it way out to the edge of the pool where we are, it has been diluted and just isn't worth what it used to be.

Huge amount of containers and trailers passing the Fort Madison IA camera. Saw a 220 well train yesterday.

BNSF UP

Posted from Android

Wasn’t it a about 5-10 years ago that those in the know said piggyback was done?

Posted from iPhone

HogheadMike Wrote:
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> There should be a 500% stupidity surcharge on any
> business that hasn't left California yet.

So businesses like SpaceX, Boeing, Tesla, Northrop-Grumman and The Aerospace Company are all stupid?
That's "interesting".

howeld Wrote:
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> Wasn’t it a about 5-10 years ago that those in
> the know said piggyback was done?
>
> Posted from iPhone

UP has been one of the carries that was trying to convert shippers to COFC from TOFC, possibly at the urging of Hub Group. They have backed off that idea. That won't work with UPS, FedEx, and Amazon,business UP covets. They rethought their intermodal business strategy and its now much more realistic than before.

Allen

Posted from Android



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/20 13:06 by bradleymckay.

You said UPRR and realistic in the same paragraph, that’s funny.

Posted from iPhone

UP does have some Amazon business, at least out of Memphis, but apparently it's going in IMC containers.  Maybe XPO?  So they were successful in that one area as to converting.  Market news saying back to school sales may break records, perhaps why UP slapped on the surcharge, but it doesn't make total sense with so many places not having in person school.  2020 continues. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/20 14:31 by memphisfreight.

memphisfreight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> UP does have some Amazon business, at least out of
> Memphis, but apparently it's going in IMC
> containers.  Maybe XPO?  So they were successful
> in that one area as to converting.  Market news
> saying back to school sales may break records,
> perhaps why UP slapped on the surcharge, but it
> doesn't make total sense with so many places not
> having in person school.  2020 continues. 

Glad you have your thinking hat on (healthy cynicism).

It's my opinion that PSR is a failure. Proof is in the surcharge. I suspect UP is looking for any excuse to slap on surcharges, and it's tough to "prove a lie" when the excuse is based on the future, right?

As for Amazon using XPO to ship via UP, that's an educated guess I can go along with, especially based on the manipulative "Amazon looking to buy XPO" rumor we had 2 years ago (I'm still laughing at it). Financial media probably blew up a XPO + Amazon agreement into an acquisition rumor, is my own rumor. :-)

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So businesses like SpaceX, Boeing, Tesla,
> Northrop-Grumman and The Aerospace Company are all
> stupid?
> That's "interesting".

Elon Musk leveraged his "power" and had a spat with City of Fremont, threatening to go elsewhere to get concessions. Musk is hyping his next factory in Texas right now, so mentally, he might be ready to leave California. Toyota North America HQ went to Texas and won't come back. Northrop-Grumman moved its HQ from SoCal to Falls Church, Virginia in recent years, in case you didn't get the memo.

Interesting, indeed.

HogheadMike Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's called inflation, and it's mostly caused by
> the devaluation of the dollar as the Fed creates
> endless funny money 24 hours a day to bail out
> large companies and their stocks.  By the time
> that money makes it way out to the edge of the
> pool where we are, it has been diluted and just
> isn't worth what it used to be.

I'm grateful we have "mere" inflation, not hyperinflation. So far we've dodged a bullet, and people who have researched into the concept of global reserve currency should know what I'm talking about.

If it was mere bailing out the companies and their stocks, I'd be smiling at such a Wall St. folly. It goes much deeper. Thankfully, Class I railroads haven't had the need to get a "bailout" in a large scale.

cchan006 Wrote:
> As for Amazon using XPO to ship via UP, that's an
> educated guess I can go along with, especially
> based on the manipulative "Amazon looking to buy
> XPO" rumor we had 2 years ago (I'm still laughing
> at it). Financial media probably blew up a XPO +
> Amazon agreement into an acquisition rumor, is my
> own rumor. :-)

I've been told they are using IMCs. Actually have seen 1 Amazon trailer on one of the ZLAMN trains recently, but the XPO rumor comes from overhearing a conversation on frequency. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/20 14:30 by memphisfreight.