Union Pacific 4Q delivery volume falls, so does its profit

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific's fourth-quarter profit fell 10% as the railroad hauled 11% less freight.

The railroad said Thursday that it earned $1.4 billion, or $2.02 per share, in the quarter. That's down from $1.55 billion, or $2.12 per share, a year earlier.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected earnings of $2.03 per share on average.

The railroad's revenue fell 9% to $5.21 billion in the period, which was ahead of projections for $5.17 billion on Wall Street.

Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz said the preliminary trade deal the United States signed with China last week should boost agricultural shipments later this year because of the amount of goods China pledged to purchase.

“The phase I trade deal takes China as a headwind and sets it up as a potential tailwind,” Fritz said.

The railroad said it expects shipping volumes to improve about 1% overall in 2020, and it expects to record at least another $500 million in productivity gains during the year.

Union Pacific cut its expenses 12% to $3.1 billion in response to the slower shipping volumes in the quarter. The railroad has been working to streamline its operations by running trains on a tighter schedule, so it can use fewer locomotives, cars and employees to move the same freight.

Weak coal demand continued to hurt the railroad results as it delivered 20% fewer carloads of energy shipments. Union Pacific said it also hauled 15% fewer containers of imported goods and finished vehicles in the quarter.

Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said the results were pretty impressive in a tough environment even though the railroad's quarterly profit fell short of estimates.

The Omaha, Nebraska, based company operates 32,400 miles of track in...