Despite severe winter weather affecting many areas of Union Pacific’s (UP) 23-state network this year—including a “once-in-a-lifetime winter storm hitting Texas and Louisiana’s Gulf Coast—its Executive Vice President-Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker reported Feb. 27 that the Service Performance Index (SPI) for both Manifest and Intermodal are high, with the Operating team working “tirelessly to meet our customer commitments.”
January marked another all-time record for the Manifest SPI, which reached 99%, and the Intermodal SPI held steady at 96%, Rocker wrote in an online message to customers. (For fourth-quarter 2024, the Manifest SPI came in at 96% and the Intermodal SPI was 89%.)
UP in early 2024 designed the indexes to help customers compare the service they are receiving today with the best monthly network performance over the past three years. Used in conjunction with other key service metrics, these measures help keep the Class I railroad “in a continuous improvement mindset,” according to UP.
“Our latest weekly metrics for the week ending Feb. 21, 2025, show consistent performance,” reported Rocker, who is responsible for the company’s three major business units (Bulk, Industrial and Premium), along with Marketing and Sales Operations, Commercial Strategy, and UP’s Mexico business, and also oversees the Loup Logistics subsidiary. “The Operating team has successfully managed recent weather challenges including extreme cold, ice and snowfall. While the recovery of the unit train network has been slower in the Midwest due to extreme winter weather conditions last week, our buffer resources enable us to quickly resolve issues allowing us to remain focused on providing the service we’ve sold.”
UP, he said, saw freight car velocity of 208 miles per day; train velocity of 19.1 mph; and terminal dwell at 23.2 hours.
The Class I plans to invest approximately $3.4 billion in its franchise this year, which Rocker noted is “in-line” with last year’s spending. “Our first capital dollars always support safe and productive operations as we invest in our infrastructure and renew older assets,” he said. “The remaining $1.5 billion will support growth initiatives.”
According to Rocker, in 2025, terminal investments on UP’s Manifest network will be focused in the Houston and Gulf Coast regions, “aiming to improve fluidity and increase capacity.” On the Intermodal side, the railroad is continuing to invest for growth in areas like Kansas City, Los Angeles and Northern California, among others, he said.
Construction is under way at UP’s Kansas City Intermodal Terminal (KCIT), located southwest of downtown Kansas City, adjacent to its Armourdale Yard, according to Rocker. UP announced KCIT’s launch last fall to serve “the growing Midwestern markets, offering shippers and receivers a centralized location to meet growing shipping demands,” he noted. It will handle both domestic and international containerized shipments of grains, consumer goods, refrigerated products, and pet foods. “KCIT will provide shippers convenient and cost-effective access to our 32,000-mile network, with the ability to reach most major markets,” Rocker reported. “This is our fourth new intermodal ramp in recent years, underscoring our commitment to expanding intermodal services and reducing truck traffic and emissions. The new facility will significantly increase capacity and can be expanded as the market grows.”
In early 2024, UP opened an intermodal terminal within its downtown Phoenix, Ariz., rail yard, which Rocker reported at that time offered regional shippers and receivers in Arizona “a fast, sustainable rail option to move product in international containers into and out of Southern California that is cost competitive and removes trucks from our nation’s congested highways.” UP also brought intermodal terminals to Southern California and the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
Rocker summed up his Feb. 27 customer letter with a “thank you.”
“At Union Pacific, our commitment to you is at the heart of everything we do,” he said. “We take great pride in meeting your expectations and delivering the service we’ve sold. We’re thrilled about the opportunity to grow together. Thank you for choosing us.”
