CEO PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE, APRIL 2025 ISSUE: Challenges and opportunities are always a factor in our industry. Because we move products that people use every day that fuel the economy, success means being nimble, strategic, and ready to handle challenges and to win available opportunities.
Others may measure success from a narrow view. I measure success by looking at our results and asking myself: Did we deliver for our owners? Is Union Pacific in a great financial position? Is Union Pacific a company that is clear-eyed when it comes to success for our employees, our customers and the communities where we operate? And finally: Are we living up to our slogan of Building America?
Union Pacific’s foundation is strong, and our 2024 results exemplify improvements in all key areas of our Safety, Service and Operational Excellence strategy. Financially, we delivered best-in-class in operating ratio, operating income, net income and total revenue. We achieved double-digit improvements across most our safety metrics including injuries and derailments. And service, which is measured by what we sold our customers, improved across the board. This progress allows our customers to win in their markets and helps us succeed in growing our business.
2025 comes with its challenges and opportunities, whether it’s government action on tariffs and taxes, regulatory responsiveness or economic conditions—none of this is new for Union Pacific. Over our history, we have met similar challenges and thrived. Any mistakes we’ve made occurred when we lost sight of the fundamentals of railroading.
At Union Pacific, we work every day to improve safety with a goal to lead the industry. The vectors that make the freight rail industry the safest ground transportation solution are anchored by people and infrastructure. We continue to invest in training, workplace engagement and communication, technology, and the overall quality of our network. One example of many we have rolled out is a switching technology that cuts the number of steps a switchperson typically takes by one-sixth, making the work safer and more productive. We don’t look at the base railroad capital spend of $3.4 billion in 2025 in a yearly increment, but we use a multi-year plan to ensure our assets are maintained at an optimal level. It is this focus that allows us to operate our fastest, time-sensitive trains at 70 mph on large portions of our railroad.
In closing, our strategy is grounded on Safety, Service and Operational Excellence, which if we deliver again in 2025, will provide opportunities to grow and help our customers win. We continue to invest in our assets, we have line of sight to hundreds of business development opportunities and are clear-eyed on what success is. While I am the recognized face of Union Pacific, in fact, I am a representative for all our employees. The people of Union Pacific are proud of our company, and we look forward to delivering in 2025 and beyond.
