Union Pacific to Customers: Stop Sending Us Your Business!?!??

[rixflix]

Or are they asking shippers to park their excess cars somewhere out of the way on their property or on an accomodating shortline? Or to thin their herds via the scrapyard?

Rick

[BaltACD]

jeffhergert

I think it may also be cars on hand at an individual facility.  Even if the trackage is owned by the customer.  

Within the last year or two, a manager drove us from our on duty point to where the train was.  Normally they use a contract van company, Rail Crew Express in my area, but there were no drivers available.  While being taxied, the manager had his phone on to listen in on the morning meeting.  One topic was cars on line.  They were including cars at customer's facilities that hadn't been released for movement, loaded or empty, as on-line.

The person leading the meeting admonished a few about this problem.  I guess the managers responsible for those areas are supposed to go load/unload the cars themselves.  Or at least get on those customers about the delay.

Actually, I think the railroad, or at least some in the company, would be happy for some of those customers to go away.  They hate the expense of having to switch those customers out, even though they make more money off them.  

Jeff

Considering the 'supply chain' issues that have existed for the past year plus, I suspect some industries, in order to 'protect themselves' have ordered excess 'raw materials' for their businesses from a variety of suppliers.  Now for any number of reasons multiple suppliers are now supplying the orders they had been having troubles supplying 'back when' and are inundating the industry.

Disrupted supply chains are both feast and famine to those who rely upon them.  One minute they are out of necessary material and the next they have more material than they have anyplace to store it.

[jeffhergert]

I think it may also be cars on hand at an individual facility.  Even if the trackage is owned by the customer.  

Within the last year or two, a manager drove us from our on duty point to where the train was.  Normally they use a contract van company, Rail Crew Express in my area, but there were no drivers available.  While being taxied, the manager had his phone on to listen in on the morning meeting.  One topic was cars on line.  They were including cars at customer's facilities that hadn't been released for movement, loaded or empty, as on-line.

The person leading the meeting admonished a few about this problem.  I guess the managers responsible for those areas are supposed to go load/unload the cars themselves.  Or at least get on those customers about the delay.

Actually, I think the railroad, or at least some in the company, would be happy for some of those customers to go away.  They hate the expense of having to switch those customers out, even though they make more money off them.  

Jeff

[n012944]

It is a plan that has worked in the past.  The BRC was limiting traffic into Clearing Yard for the last couple of months.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-12/union-pacific-will-limit-traffic-to-clear-clogged-rail-lines

[adkrr64]

Fair use quote from Trains newswire article:

"OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific will start metering traffic on Monday if shippers don’t voluntarily reduce their active freight-car inventories on the railroad, which is bogging down due to a combination of crew and locomotive shortages."

So if I run, say, a chemical manufacturing plant that ships by rail, and I can't send a loaded car into the network, what exactly am I supposed to do with that car?

Or am I misunderstanding the meaning of the term "metering"?

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/union-pacific-to-begin-metering-traffic-if-shippers-dont-reduce-car-inventory/