Private Empty Car Storage

Repositioning Empty Private Car Tariff Item - Effective March 1, 2020
The key components of this tariff item are as follows:

  • Customer is defined as the controlling entity (shipper, owner or lessee) of the empty cars.
  • Tariff charges assessed if the Customer has five days or more of car inventory in the serving area and Customer's empty cars are causing congestion.
  • Customer has five days to reposition the cars to another location as outlined in OT-57.
  • Cars repositioned under this item will not accrue PECS charges during transit to and from the secondary storage location, but will continue to accrue PECS charges upon placement at the secondary storage location.
  • Cars not moved within five day schedule outlined in OT-57 will be repositioned by Union Pacific to the Customer’s secondary storage location or an alternative secondary storage location if Customer’s location is unavailable and Customer will be charged line haul charges to the secondary storage location (UPRR 4703, Item 1100). Movement out of the secondary storage location will be considered a free move.
  • Customer of the empty rail cars will be assessed the charges. 

Repositioning Empty Private Cars (PECs) Tariff - FAQ

This information is provided for the convenience of our customers. This document is a representation of Union Pacific Accessorial Tariff UP 6004. In the event of a conflict, the actual published Union Pacific Accessorial Tariff UP 6004 will apply. A copy is available upon request. For a subscription to this tariff, contact the eBusiness team at 1-800-872-1045.

Who will receive a bill?
The receiver of the empty rail cars will be assessed the repositioning charges.

What is a secondary storage location?
A secondary storage location is any storage location other than the current car location.

How will the cars be billed?
Customers must bill cars destined to any private storage locations. No billing is required for secondary storage locations designated by Union Pacific.

Do I need to bill the cars out of the secondary storage location?
If the cars are moved to a private storage location, the customer must bill the car. For secondary storage locations designated by Union Pacific, no billing is required. Local Operating works with the Customer and Customer Care & Support regarding when cars can be pulled from the secondary storage location. Based on the customer’s available capacity, cars will be either spotted for Spot On Arrival customers or ordered in for Order In customers.

Will I receive PECs charges?
If the secondary storage location is located on Union Pacific, the cars will not accrue PECs charges during transit to and from the secondary storage location, but will continue to accrue PECs charges upon placement at the secondary storage location. Customers shall pay line-haul to secondary storage location provided in UPRR 4703.

If the secondary storage location is not located on Union Pacific, the cars will not accrue PECs charges during transit to the secondary storage location and will not accrue PECs charges upon placement at the secondary storage location. Customers shall pay line-haul to secondary storage location provided in UPRR 4703.

What are the obligations and rights of private car owners?
Loading Authority (OT-57) governs the use of private equipment, and requires controlling entities, either owners or lessees, to register their equipment at Railinc.com. As part of the OT-57 registration, controlling entities must provide contact name, number, email and storage locations for each car initial and number registered.

Storage Charges

  • Receiver of the empty rail car will be assessed the charges for all Net Chargeable Storage Days for all empty private equipment.
  • Charges will be assessed to all Industrial and Bulk customers. 
  • Net Chargeable Storage Days equals total debits less credits earned.

Debits

  • One (1) debit will be assessed for every full or partial day that a private empty car is in hold status on the Union Pacific network, commencing on the first 12:00 a.m. after the equipment has been placed in hold status.
  • Debits will be assessed at any origin, destination, or intermediate holding location.
  • Debits will be issued to the Receiver location of the empty rail car.
  • Debits will not be assessed for empty private equipment on private track.
  • On the first 12:00 a.m. after equipment has been released from hold status, debits will cease to accrue.
  • Debits will not accrue if cars remain in released hold status.

Credits

Credits are issued to the Receiver of the empty rail car. There are three methods of earning credits:

  • Actually Placed (AP) Credits: One (1) credit will be issued for each private empty rail car on the day it is actually placed at destination industry.
  • Placement Credits: If an Order-in customer orders a specific private empty rail car via the Web or Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR), which has arrived in the customer’s serving area, but UP does not deliver the car, or delivers an alternative car, two (2) credits per rail car will be issued for each rail car requested but not actually placed. Placement Credits will only be given if the private empty rail car released returns to a hold status instead of being placed at the customer's facility (actually placed). Once the car returns to hold status, the credits will be applied. Cars which are not delivered and stay in a release from hold status will not receive placement credits nor will they receive debits.
  • Capacity Credits: When a Spot-on Arrival customer has available capacity and UP does not bring in a car(s) to fill that capacity, two (2) credits will be issued for each private empty rail car in the serving area up to the customer's maximum available capacity.

Billing

  • Bills will be issued monthly for the prior calendar month's inventory.
  • If credits exceed debits, no storage bill will be generated.
  • Credits are only valid in the month they are earned and will not be carried over to subsequent months.

PECS is part of the Accessorial Management Application (AMA). AMA provides activity from the current month, along with a link to outstanding bills from previous months. Customers have the ability to dispute in the current month, prior to the bill being issued.

Post-bill general disputes can be handled using Account on the Web (AOW). To use the AOW functionality, customers must be registered with AOW and have a MyUPRR user ID.

FAQ

This information is provided for the convenience of our customers. This document is a representation of Union Pacific Accessorial Tariff UP 6004. In the event of a conflict, actual published Union Pacific Accessorial Tariff UP 6004 will apply. A copy will be available upon request. To subscribe to this tariff, contact the eBusiness Team at 800-872-1045.