Union Pacific’s 1Q profit flat as inflation drives costs up

— Union Pacific railroad delivered flat profit in the first quarter as weather slowed trains across the western United States and inflation drove costs up, but executives are optimistic about their ability to handle all the goods companies want to ship the rest of the year as more new employees are completing training. Union Pacific said its rate of derailments per every million miles is down 10% over the past year, but Fritz said his railroad and the rest of the industry will keep working to improve safety. “But every derailment is one we need to avoid — whatever the cause — so that’s what we’re focused on is making sure that we’re constantly finding ways to improve our safety record and keep the communities that we serve safe.” Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said there clearly is going to be a “lot of scrutiny” on safety this year, and the railroads may face some new regulations. Union Pacific said the number of workers it employed grew 4% to 31,471 in the quarter after it has been hiring aggressively over the past year to help it improve service.