Summary
Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) filed an 8-K on March 3, 2015, providing an update on its volume expectations. The company's Executive Vice President-Finance and CFO, Robert M. Knight, Jr., indicated that as of the quarter-to-date, carload volumes were down approximately 2% compared to the prior year. This decline was mainly attributed to weakness in coal and international intermodal shipments. Despite the early quarter softness, Union Pacific still anticipates that total first quarter 2015 volumes will be flat to slightly down year-over-year. Importantly, the company maintained its positive outlook for full-year carload volumes, expecting them to increase compared to 2014. This suggests that management believes the current weakness is temporary and that stronger performance is expected in the latter part of the year.
Key Highlights
- 1Union Pacific's CFO provided a Q1 2015 volume update at the JPMorgan Aviation, Transportation & Industrials Conference.
- 2Quarter-to-date carload volumes were down approximately 2% compared to the same period in 2014.
- 3Key areas contributing to the volume decline are coal and international intermodal shipments.
- 4The company currently expects total Q1 2015 volumes to be flat to slightly down year-over-year.
- 5Union Pacific maintains its expectation for positive full-year carload volumes in 2015.
- 6The filing occurred on March 3, 2015.