Union Pacific Corp at Robert W Baird Global Industrial Conference Summary

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : So appreciate all that perspective. Jennifer. There's been a lot going on at Union Pacific over the past year. How would you summarize a lot of the change that we've seen and really how do they position the company for sustained industry-leading performance?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : No, I'd agree. A question we're asking all the companies at the conference this year, help us understand some of the impacts following the election results, as we think about taxes, tariffs, deregulation. What are some of the net impacts you see for your business at this stage?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : Yeah. Much more to come on the detail side there. As we think about fourth quarter trends, how would you process the quarter-to-date change that we've seen? Obviously, international intermodal still carrying the premium side. Should we expect to see more balance across the portfolio or would you expect import activity to cool off potentially after this pull forward in peak?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : That's helpful. Rahul, help us understand, what you're working on the technology side? You outlined $100 million of benefits coming from tech changes and implementations. What's on the agenda and what's really having an impact at the organization?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : No, that's great. What's having the most impact with customers from a visibility solution or connectivity? How is the experience more like Walmart than a Class 1 rail?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : That's great perspective. And maybe to tie back for investors, how does -- what's on your agenda to tie back to an OR outcome or attracting more business to the rail? Is that a tangible driver we can expect?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : That's great. And Jennifer, I'd love to hear more about the comment about pricing being accretive to margins. Obviously, the service product has been really strong. Has anything changed in those conversations with customers? Or what are your expectations for pricing as we look forward to '25?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : That's helpful. And what are the primary drivers for OR improvement going forward? Is it going to be a function of volume growth? Or where can you unlock more productivity gain? It was good to see on the service side the velocity and dwell continue to improve. What can you control on your own to improve profitability?

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : I think that's a good perspective. And we've -- the investor community has been looking for the railroad industry to demonstrate and capitalize on that growth potential. I guess talk about that opportunity. 200 projects in the works, $1.6 billion of pipeline opportunity. Is your visibility to realizing that demand and growth better now after these investments you've made? Any perspective there would be great.

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : That's great. And would love to hear how you're approaching the '25 plan, and at the industry level, some of the puts and takes that you see out there today.

Question: Garrett Holland - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : No, that's fair. And I think it's good to have anchor expectations. But how do you improve performance and break out of the consistent outlook as we think about the fourth quarter? Just maybe to close, just remind us of those idiosyncratic opportunities and how you chase down that truly best-in-class performance. I think the 1% outlook perhaps for industrial production next year could be conservative, but we'll see, and hopefully, it is, but how do you capitalize and improve performance on a company-specific level?