联合太平洋Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) 2004年年度报告「NYSE」.pdf

1、?Dear Fellow Shareholders:2004 likely will be remembered as a year of booming economic growth,record oil prices,global struggles for democracy and a devastating tsunami in Asia.For Union Pacific,we will remember 2004 as a time of unprecedented demand for rail transportation.Unfortunately,we did not

2、fully meet this demand as we experienced considerable operating difficulties.Our commitment to the future is that we are learning from these challenges and will emerge a stronger and better Railroad.Financial RecapAs a result of record demand in our business,commodity revenue was the bright spot in

3、the year,hitting a record$11.7 billion and topping last years record by more than$650 million.Commodity volume growth was one driver of the revenue gain as we set monthly records for 7-day carloadings every month in 2004,peaking in November with an all-time weekly record of more than 194,000 carload

4、s.Union Pacific faced two significant financial challenges in 2004the increased costs associated with our operational inefficiencies and record high fuel prices.Service issues,coupled with our increased hiring and training efforts,added roughly$300 million in operating expenses to the year.Our avera

5、ge fuel price rose from$1.02 per gallon in the first quarter of the year to$1.46 per gallon in the fourth quarter,resulting in an additional$200 million year-over-year expense increase net of our fuel surcharge recovery.Changing Business EnvironmentUnprecedented levels of demand have created a very

6、strong pricing environment that we are working diligently to convert into higher returns on investment.Across all business groups,we are obtaining solid price increases in the marketplace.At the same time,we are working to reduce the complexity and inflexibility of long-term contracts so that we can