Union Pacific profit grows 9% in third quarter, but results fall short of expectations [Video]

When labor disputes disrupted operations at Canada’s two largest railroads and ports up and down the East Coast, many companies shifted more of their shipments to the West Coast, forcing railroads like Union Pacific and the ports there to react quickly.

Union Pacific said Thursday that the result was an unanticipated 33% jump in the number of shipping containers filled with imports that it delivered in the third quarter, which helped drive a 6% increase in the railroad’s total volume and a 9% jump in profits.

The Omaha-based railroad had to scramble to handle the additional freight by quickly repositioning locomotives and other equipment while paying some workers more overtime. Union Pacific and the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports in Southern California handled the surge without significant delays in how quickly ships were unloaded.

“That’s a big jump at one time. It really is,” CEO Jim Vena said in an interview. …