railroad employment

Transportation industry representatives attack infrastructure law rollout

WASHINGTON — Transportation officials representing trucking, rail and seaports took aim at priorities touted by Democrats over the past two years — including the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — at the opening hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday.

They took their cue from the committee’s Republicans, who now lead the 65-member panel after Republicans took control of the House in January.

“Although I did not support the IIJA, I...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-industry-representatives-attack-infrastructure-law-rollout

June US Class I rail headcount flat even as volumes grow

A photograph of a man turning the steel wheel of an intermodal car.

June employment levels at the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads were roughly flat with May, growing 0.8% amid a 21% growth in U.S. rail volumes.

Headcount at Class I U.S. rail operations totaled 115,931 employees in June, according to data submitted to the Surface Transportation Board. That’s a 0.37% increase from May but a 0.17% decrease from June 2020.

The slight increase between May and June comes as the U.S. Class I railroads originated 2.56 million carloads and intermodal units in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/june-us-class-i-rail-headcount-flat-even-as-volumes-grow

US Class I rail headcount sees modest gains in May

A photograph of a man walking by a locomotive in a rail yard.

Employment levels for the U.S operations of the Class I railroads in May were at their highest point in 2021 year to date, although overall headcount is still down year-over-year, according to data submitted to the Surface Transportation Board (STB).

The increase in U.S. Class I headcount comes as a number of Class I railroads tell federal regulators that they are actively recruiting and hiring for new train conductors (see below).

Headcount for the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-class-i-rail-headcount-sees-modest-gains-in-may

US Class I rail headcount up in April — but still down

A railroad worker stands in a rail yard.

Employment levels at the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads in April were up slightly from March but down 7% year-over-year, according to data submitted to the Surface Transportation Board.

U.S. Class I railroads operating in the U.S. employed 115,485 employees in April, up 0.42% from March but down 7.19% from April 2020. On a year-to-date basis, April’s headcount total is the highest among the first four months of 2021.

Rising headcount levels on a sequential basis in 2021 reflect efforts...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-class-i-rail-headcount-up-in-april-but-still-down

US Class I rail headcount tumbles 14% in 2020

A photograph of a Union Pacific train.

The U.S. operations of the Class I railroads employed the fewest number of employees in 2020 since at least 2012.

Headcount at U.S. Class I rail operations totaled 120,492 employees last year, a 14% decrease compared with 140,185 employees in 2019, according to data that companies provided to the Surface Transportation Board (STB). This annual average was the lowest since at least 2012, the earliest year that FreightWaves has data available. 

Within that total, headcount for train and engine...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/us-class-i-rail-headcount-tumbles-14-in-2020

Union Pacific confirms layoffs

A photograph of a Union Pacific train.

Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) confirmed that it has laid off employees across its network, although it didn’t provide details about how many were laid off and where.

The railroad attributed the “workforce reduction” to its broader efforts to implement precision scheduled railroading, an operational model that seeks to streamline operations. Union Pacific (UP) said the reduction affected both management and unionized employees across its 23-state system. 

“These are difficult decisions; however, we...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/union-pacific-confirms-layoffs

US Class I rail headcount rises for the first time since April

A photograph of two locomotives parked in a field.

Employment levels at the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads rose in July on a monthly sequential basis, increasing nearly 1% from June.

The number of employees totaled 117,230 in mid-July, up 0.95% from June, according to data received by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The last time that employee headcount rose was between March and April of this year.

A 5.3% gain in the number of train and engine (T&E) crew employed by the railroads helped push July’s total higher. T&E crews...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/us-class-i-rail-headcount-rises-for-the-first-time-since-april

Class I rail headcount levels drop further in June

A photograph of a railroad employee and worker.

Rail headcount levels in June reached a fresh low for 2020 as U.S. rail volumes were still recovering from the coronavirus-induced traffic declines from earlier in the spring.

The number of employees working for U.S. operations of Class I railroads in mid-June totaled 116,128, an 18% drop from June 2019 and a 2.3% decline from May 2020, according to data that the railroads submitted to the Surface Transportation Board (STB).

June’s total is the lowest not only for 2020 but also since January...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/class-i-rail-headcount-levels-drop-further-in-june

Employee headcount at US Class 1 operations tumbles 17% in May

A photograph of two men in front on a train locomotive.

Rail employment in the U.S. Class I operations fell below 120,000 workers in May, reaching a new low as the railroads trimmed their workforce levels to match the steep declines in rail volumes.

May’s overall headcount among the U.S.operations of the Class I railroads totaled 118,880, a 16.9% drop from May 2019 and a nearly 4.5% decline from April 2020, according to freight rail data submitted to the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The total is the lowest since at least January 2012, which is...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/employee-headcount-at-us-class-1-operations-tumbles-17-in-may

Rail industry headcount shrinks

A photograph of a man boarding a freight train.

Rail employment dipped to record low levels in April, walloped by the COVID-19 pandemic and declining coal volumes.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that rail employment among U.S. freight and passenger rail companies was around 157,200 workers in April, down from under 180,000 in April 2019.

U.S. rail employment trended lower between April 2019 and April 2020. (SONAR: EMPN.RAIL)

Meanwhile, the Surface Transportation Board recently released its April data provided by the Class I...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/rail-industry-headcount-shrinks