The purpose of this is to display my research for the first assignment of BUS 1100 class. The assignment was to research a designated Fortune 500 company and answer allocated information about the company. My assigned company was Union Pacific.
Industry Trends
Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is one of America's leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, is the largest railroad in North America, covering 23 states across two-thirds of the United States.
The primary long-term trend in commercial transportation is the ongoing improvement of speed, service, flexibility, and area served, with costs declining as a proportion of the value of delivered goods. Shipments that, hundreds of years ago, would have taken several months for delivery and cost a fortune, now can be delivered overnight for a reasonable sum. Each segment of the transportation industry plays an important role in delivering these improvements. More recently, the process of transportation has been beneficial from the internet. It is now easier for companies to send and request supplies and packages. The internet also makes easier to track and monitor the transportation of goods. In the overall transportation industry, we believe that long-term growth and market share will be determined primarily by a segment's exposure to lower-value bulk freight versus higher-value freight. We expect air freight, with its relatively high value and time-intensive freight profile, to gradually grow in market share; we expect trucking, with its blend of bulk and general freight, to see steady market share; and we expect railroads, with bulk freight representing the majority of business, to grow more slowly and thus gradually lose market share.
For railroads to c ...