Is UPS quitting the railroads?

barnyard

KTM rider
The FNN is reporting that 70 feeder jobs are being filled in my state so that UPS can pull all loads off the railroads in my area. Boggles my mind to think that the BNSF has killed that cash cow. 15ish years ago, UPS was Santa Fe's largest customer, in terms of money spent. UPS was very close to BNSF largest customer.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
Not now. Any volume we get from either coast is at least a day late and it is because of train delays. Monday's are our heaviest days now, because the RR has 2 days to get late loads into town.
 

cino321

Well-Known Member
I can see it being unreliable. The government has neglected railroad infrastructure for decades. It's slow, old, and extremely limited.

Good for the feeder drivers, bad for the people who work for BNSF.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
No way ups saves way to much money putting trailers on the rail.

Bingo. There is no economically viable alternative to rail. Trucking is far more expensive, and rail can be just as fast, if not faster than a team trucking operation. You'll never see UPS move away from rail.
 

TUT

Well-Known Member
Bingo. There is no economically viable alternative to rail. Trucking is far more expensive, and rail can be just as fast, if not faster than a team trucking operation. You'll never see UPS move away from rail.

UPS and Fedex's transit times show that from A to B rail isn't faster. Is this how UPS makes up for Union Driver Wages? Using cheaper back-end methods?

Sort of funny you say "There is no economically viable alternative to rail" your company is Airline and Trucks and the Ground segment is all trucks. They have viable businesses. Myth Busted.
 

QKRSTKR

Well-Known Member
I thought 104 feeder said fedex was beating us in transit time because of the rail. It was taking us a day longer.
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
UPS and Fedex's transit times show that from A to B rail isn't faster. Is this how UPS makes up for Union Driver Wages? Using cheaper back-end methods?

Sort of funny you say "There is no economically viable alternative to rail" your company is Airline and Trucks and the Ground segment is all trucks. They have viable businesses. Myth Busted.
I see plenty of fedex trailers at the railyard.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
I can see it being unreliable. The government has neglected railroad infrastructure for decades.

Railroads are privately owned businesses. The government has nothing to do with railroad infrastructure investment.

Best sticking to what you know, railroads are not one of them.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
I thought 104 feeder said fedex was beating us in transit time because of the rail. It was taking us a day longer.

It is a pretty well known industry fact that FE beats UPS transit times because they run teams vs UPS using trains. UPS has tried to get the RRs to run coast to coast trains, but the railroads found them too difficult to run on time, so gave up on them.
 

cino321

Well-Known Member
Railroads are privately owned businesses. The government has nothing to do with railroad infrastructure investment.

Best sticking to what you know, railroads are not one of them.

Never said the railroads weren't owned privately.

If the government did invest in the railroads like they invest in other private projects that benefit the general public it would potentially become a extremely efficient transportation network for cargo and people.
 

oldngray

nowhere special
Never said the railroads weren't owned privately.

If the government did invest in the railroads like they invest in other private projects that benefit the general public it would potentially become a extremely efficient transportation network for cargo and people.

rofl. It would make money like it did with Amtrak?
 
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