The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has issued findings in its probe into Union Pacific (UP) over the railroad’s excessive use of embargoes.
Embargoes — controls or limits on rail freight movement — are typically imposed sparingly by railroads as temporary measures to account for congestion, damaged tracks, or delays brought on by extreme weather events like floods or fires. The STB opened its investigation after UP enacted more than 1,000 embargoes in 2022, when the railroad frequently limited its shipments in response to crew shortages. That was almost 10 times as many embargoes as any other railroad in that year. According to the Associated Press, regulators also had to order UP to deliver emergency shipments of grain to California-based livestock producer
Foster Farms twice.
While UP managed to dramatically reduce its number of embargoes to 181 in 2023, that was still more than all other freight railroads combined. Even so, the STB also labeled that dip a “positive and welcome step” in its findings for its investigation released on April 17. Moving forward, the STB said that expects the railroad to continue curbing its use of embargoes, warning that it will continue to monitor UP’s progress.
