(The following story by Joe Ruff appeared on the Omaha World-Herald website on August 28, 2009.)
OMAHA, Neb. — Seeking to expand its role in the used car shipping market, Union Pacific Corp. on Thursday announced a new Web site for its services — ShipCarsNow.com
The used car market is roughly three times larger than the new car market, but shipments primarily are by truck, Union Pacific officials say.
U.P.’s expanded service will give car dealers, auto auctions, finance companies, fleet operators and other customers an instant price quote and estimated transit time for shipping cars door to door anywhere in the country, the company said. The railroad will use trains, trucks or both to best meet price and timing requirements, it said.
Union Pacific’s longstanding logistics service for new car dealers and manufacturers is called Insight Network Logistics. The used car part of that business, ShipCarsNow, was first created in 2006 as Insight Network Transportation.