(The Associated Press circulated the following on June 15, 2009.)
NAMPA, Idaho — A growing number of idled boxcars and locomotives are filling the sidings in Nampa, reflecting the nationwide economic downturn and Union Pacific Railroad’s decreased business.
“It’s just a big visual manifestation of what’s going on in our economy right now,” Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond told the Idaho Press-Tribune. “With consumer spending going down, our shipments have gone down.”
Across the state, more than 1,000 rail cars are parked on sidetracks. Nationwide, Union Pacific has 70,000 rail cars stored on tracks, along with about 2,000 locomotives. Other railroads are in the same situation, forced to idle locomotives and rolling stock unneeded in the recession.
Home building is down, so fewer construction materials are being shipped. Couches, sofas and microwave ovens that flew off showroom floors during the now-ended housing boom of just a few years ago are now languishing in stores, meaning fewer replacements are being shipped via trains.
Union Pacific’s stored cars have more than tripled from about 20,000 late last year.
Unlike some other companies that can sell off assets, the Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific, which operates in 23 states, must hang on to its cars in preparation for an economic rebound.
“We want to make sure we’re prepared for that,” Richmond said.
As demand for transportation services waned, Union Pacific started out by storing cars in less-populated areas. With no end in sight to the recession, however, places like Nampa, a farming and railroad town in southwest Idaho, are seeing more boxcars.
The lined-up cars are similar to the decrease in traffic on local roads, Idaho Department of Labor spokesman Bob Fick said.
“It’s a symptom of what’s going on,” Fick said.