Status of the Railroad - A Message from Kenny Rocker, EVP, Marketing & Sales
Announcement Number: CN2020-65
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: December 21, 2020
To Our Customers,
2021 is almost here! While this past year was undoubtedly unusual, I am very proud of everything we accomplished in 2020 — together. With your help, we found new ways to adapt to keep supply chains moving. Most importantly, we played an essential role in supporting the nation, delivering the critical goods that businesses and communities need to stay safe and maintain their everyday way of life.
In November, we reached the highest seven-day monthly carloadings this year. Meanwhile, most of our key service metrics held steady in light of the increase in demand. Here are the fourth quarter results through the end of November:
- Freight Car Velocity (daily miles per rail car) – Car velocity was at 225, improving 1% from a year ago, making November one of our best months in 2020.
- Freight Car Terminal Dwell (the amount of time a rail car spends in a Union Pacific rail terminal/yard) – Dwell times are down to 22.2 hours, improving 3% compared to this time last year and lower than any month in 2019.
- Car Trip Plan Compliance (on-time shipment delivery) – Manifest/auto trip plan compliance improved by three percentage points to 74% compared to a year ago, while intermodal trip plan compliance was 82%, down one percentage point from 2019.
We are working closely with you, our customers, and our operating team to make sure we have adequate resources in place to handle the strong intermodal demand from peak season. Current seven-day average for intermodal trip plan compliance has improved to 86%, and I am pleased with the progress we are making.
Looking Forward to 2021
More than ever, we appreciate your business and can’t wait to hit the ground running with you in 2021. Our team is energized and ready to deliver the best service product to help you WIN.
On behalf of all of us on the commercial team, we wish you and your families a safe and wonderful holiday season!
Sincerely,
Kenny Rocker
Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales