Union Pacific Reports Improved Operations

Union Pacific Corp. has improved operations to a level not seen since before a major logjam on its tracks began last spring, the company said in a speech by its top executive and in government filings.

The largest U.S. railroad reported in a filing with the Surface Transportation Board that it cleared a traffic jam in Southern California. In addition, Chairman and Chief Executive Dick Davidson told shipping customers at an industry forum that management changes were paying off.

The update follows a year of trying tie-ups on the Omaha, Neb.-based railroad’s tracks that led to three consecutive quarters of losses for the Dallas-based parent company and millions of dollars in payments to upset customers.

Rail cars started backing up on Union Pacific lines last year as the company struggled to integrate the 1996 purchase of Southern Rail Pacific Corp. by changing operations, employee duties and computer systems.

The company said in its filing with the Surface Transportation Board Monday night that its intermodal shipments - those carried by ship, truck and/or train - from Southern California weren’t backed up, even though ships were operating at their highest capacity levels. Ships have been packed in recent months by a flood of cheap imports coming in from Asia, where currencies have weakened against the U.S. dollar.