(Dow Jones circulated the following on April 24.)
CHICAGO — Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) said on Thursday that the strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (AXL) was costing the railroad $15 million a month.
The two-month old strike by the U.S. auto-parts supplier has exacerbated the slowdown in domestic car shipments carried by the largest U.S. railroad operator by revenue.
The strike has also crippled production of pickup trucks and sports-utility vehicles for General Motors Corp. (GM).
Jack Knight, Union Pacific’s chief financial officer, said on a call with analysts that auto shipments fell 6% in the quarter ended March 31, a figure that includes the impact of the strike.
However, rising traffic in commodities and higher prices helped Union Pacific report a 15% rise in net profits to $443 million in the first quarter.