UP: What Can You Ship by Rail?

What Can You Ship by Rail?

A guide to shipping freight like construction materials, food, beverages, new vehicles and other goods by train

If you're looking to find out which kinds of goods ship by train, this list outlines many of the important items that railroads move.

Wondering which products you can ship by train? The short answer is that trains can haul just about anything. From materials mined from the earth to the products that make a house a home and everything in between, you can ship it by rail.

But let’s get into a little more detail.

Don't miss the "What Can You Ship by Rail?" video at the end!

Building and Construction Materials

Pipe

Ask a rail fan and they’ll say trains build America. Even though they may be a little biased, it’s sort of true. Think about the materials used to build your own home – odds are, they probably moved by rail before making their way to the job site. Those building materials include things like:

Lumber
Pipe
Metals
Asphalt
Paper
Rebar
Metal Coil
Bricks
Shingles and Other Roofing Products

Household Goods

Household Goods

If you take a closer look at the items inside your house, most everything you see can ship by rail.

Boxes
Parcels
Shoes
Clothing
Toys
Furniture
Appliances
Electronics

NOTE: While railroads do ship goods that ultimately end up in peoples' homes, they typically don't ship personal property (e.g., an individual person's household goods). So where they do ship household goods, they don't ship individual households.

Food

Food

What’s in your fridge? How about your kitchen cabinets? Most of that — including the cold stuff! — can move by rail.

Packaged Food
Canned Goods
Frozen Food
Produce
Seafood
Cheese
Chocolate

Beverages

Beverages

Beverages can move by rail, too — even those that come in glass bottles.

Beer
Wine
Tequila
Orange Juice

Liquids

Liquids

Everything from the fuel that powers your vehicle and heats/cools your home to the corn syrup that sweetens your cereal can be moved by rail.

Ethanol
Biodiesel
Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)
Corn Syrup
Petroleum
LPG

Large Items

Large Items

Railroads can ship very large, heavy and oversized freight that can be difficult to move by truck.

Transformers
Wind Turbines
Machinery
Military Vehicles
Rocket Boosters

Small Items in Large Quantities

Small Items in Large Quantities

Teeny tiny items in really big quantities (better known as bulk items) are also ideal for rail.

Vehicles

Vehicles

A train can also move vehicles — and even the parts they're made of (but please note freight railroads typically don't ship personal vehicles).

Cars
Trucks
SUVs
Auto Parts

A Little Bit of Everything Else

A Little Bit of Everything Else

What else? Well, just about anything can ship by rail.

Paper
Recycled Materials
Solar Panels
Waste
Feed Products
Christmas Trees
Paint
Carpet
Irrigation Equipment
Fibers
Grains
Minerals
And More (some of which are surprising!)

What's Left?

That leaves one question: What can’t you ship by rail? It’s a short list: Personal property, passengers, pets or other living things.

Learn More

Want to learn more about shipping by rail? Find out where you can ship and how you can ship door-to-door, even if you don’t have access to railroad tracks today. Or, answer a few quick questions to get a rate or connect with a shipping expert.

Related Articles:

What Can You Ship by Rail? video

What Is Nearshoring and How Does Transportation Support It?

In the 1990s, offshoring became a trend among U.S. companies. With more affordable labor available abroad (primarily in China), some entities relocated factories to lower production costs and increase profits. Offshoring relies on shipping those products back overseas for sale in the United States.

For decades, this model was working. Then came the pandemic, and the resulting supply chain disruptions (especially for overseas shipments) began to poke holes in offshoring strategies. With products stuck overseas sometimes for months on end, the drawbacks of offshoring started to outweigh the benefits.

Lessons learned from the last few years have prompted some companies to bring operations back to North America, specifically to Mexico. Establishing production facilities closer to end markets minimizes the impacts of potential supply chain disruptions while keeping costs in check. This is the genesis of the nearshoring trend.

How Does a Railroad Celebrate Native American Heritage Month?

Each November, the United States celebrates Native American Heritage Month, a time to pay tribute to the ancestry and traditions of the indigenous people of North America.

Union Pacific’s Council of Native American Heritage (CONAH) employee resource group (ERG) has a calendar of events planned to explore the culture and centuries old history of Native people. In addition to Native American Heritage Month, CONAH also held a cultural fair in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

“Celebrating Native American Heritage Month is important because it offers a subtle but impactful reminder of the contributions of Native Americans past, present and future,” said Haley Warner, CONAH President and Sales Manager for Union Pacific’s Marketing & Sales team. “Native American culture and history is so rich with meaning, yet not without tragedy. It is important to acknowledge the history of Native people, as told by them, and lift them up during this month. Native American Heritage Month gives a formal platform to lift up Native voices, acknowledge the history and appreciate the culture.”

Best Practices: Intermodal Shipping to and from Mexico

A recent trend among manufacturers is “nearshoring” — relocating overseas production facilities to countries closer to their markets. In the 1990s, many U.S. companies hopped on the offshoring trend to reduce costs; now, they are bringing some operations back to North America (specifically Mexico) to minimize the effects of supply chain disruptions while keeping costs in check.

Part and parcel to the nearshoring trend is a greater demand for intermodal shipping across the U.S./Mexico border. If your cross-border shipping strategy could improve or your company wants to create a more efficient supply chain to support your nearshoring strategy, follow these best practices.

How to Find a Rail-Served Industrial Site for Your Growing Business

With new business growth often comes the need to expand your production footprint. Whether you’re establishing a facility near a new market or increasing production to serve an existing one, finding an industrial site is important, but often challenging.

If your business is expanding, you’re probably asking questions like:

What properties are available in areas desirable to our business?
What are the transportation options for products coming into and out of the site?
Who do we work with to establish a supply chain to serve the new location?
Who should we talk to before selecting a site?

Answering these questions can be a simple way to start the search for an industrial site off on the right foot. The guide that follows is intended to help you do just that.

Mexico Intermodal Shipping: How it Works, Benefits, Examples

Every day, products like automotive parts, food, furniture, home appliances, temperature-controlled products and more ship across the border between the United States and Mexico. Most of these shipments travel by trains or trucks. But sometimes, the trip between a freight shipment’s origin and destination involves both trains and trucks via a process called intermodal shipping.

Keep reading to learn more about:

Intermodal shipping basics
How intermodal shipping works across the border
Examples of intermodal shipping between Mexico, the United States and Canada
A comparison between intermodal shipping and long-haul trucking across borders

How Railroads Use Train Treadmills to Test Biofuel Locomotives

Earlier this year, Union Pacific Railroad and Canadian National Railway united to accomplish a shared goal: testing the feasibility of running two classes of locomotives on a blend of renewable fuels.

It’s a noteworthy collaboration, as it accelerates progress toward greater use of low-carbon carbon fuels in the railroad industry. The testing method though? That’s a little unusual, and the reason can be stated in just three words: train-track treadmills.

If you’re wondering what train-track treadmills are, here’s how they work and why they’re an important tool in the journey to decarbonize freight shipping.

How Does a Railroad Celebrate National Hispanic American Heritage Month?

Each year, September 15 kicks off National Hispanic American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Spain.

How do these important celebrations happen at a railroad?

Union Pacific’s Latino Employee Network (LEN) employee resource group (ERG) has a calendar of events planned to explore Hispanic culture, take part in cultural experiences, and partake in enriching professional development opportunities.

“These events provide a platform to showcase the rich cultural traditions, languages, and stories that define each Latin American country,” said Marcela Morales, LEN President and Senior Recruiter for Union Pacific’s Workforce Resources team. “As a Mexican immigrant leading an ERG with members from various backgrounds, I believe these events celebrate our shared connections while respecting our individual experiences. They foster a sense of belonging and acceptance for all members, creating an environment where everyone's heritage is valued. Moreover, these events serve as educational opportunities, promoting cross-cultural understanding among employees and strengthening relationships within the workplace.”