(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on June 3, 2009.)
In May, Union Pacific Railroad loaded 887 trains in the Powder River Basin (PRB) compared with 1,049 trains in May 2008.
The Class I covered 99.8 percent of National Coal Transportation Association (NCTA) demand in the southern PRB. Of the 106 missed loading opportunities in the region, 68 were attributable to utility plants, 26 to UP and 12 to mines.
“These missed loading opportunities were partially offset with 94 extra loadings,” UP officials said in a weekly coal loading performance report. “Several utility plants have been experiencing higher than usual occurances of breakdowns and slow unloading situations, which has delayed the return of empty trains for loading.”
The Class I also loaded 193 coal trains in the Colorado/Utah region in May vs. 324 trains in May 2008. The railroad met 91 percent of NCTA demand.
“Loadings continue to be depressed due to coal production problems,” UP officials said in the report.