UP posts ‘most profitable year’ in history

January 31, 2013

(By M.J. Clark for Wyoming Business Report)

Wyoming’s main rail line, Union Pacific, reported net income of $3.9 billion in 2012, which makes 2012 “Union Pacific’s most profitable year in our 150-year history,” Jack Koraleski, UP’s CEO said in a company release.

The company saw profits increase 7 percent despite a 2 percent drop in total shipping volume, with coal down 17 percent and agricultural shipping down 9 percent. The drop in volume was more than made up for by a rise in shipping rates and the increased traffic in chemicals (up 14 percent) and automotive products (up 9 percent) during the fourth quarter.

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