As providers of essential transportation services in the US and Mexico, it’s our duty to ensure the continuity of business operations while protecting the health and wellbeing of our employees and others. With that in mind, our company acted quickly in March to protect our employees and customers. We created a COVID-19 working group of senior leaders from across the organization to discuss matters related to safety protocols, business continuity, stakeholder communication, and the transition to work-from-home operations for a portion of our workforce. Many of the protocols that we implemented in response to the pandemic have been incorporated into our permanent business continuity planning framework.
In addition to the health and safety challenge, the entire North American rail network was faced with a dramatic volume decline, followed quickly by an unprecedented volume rebound. This carload “roller coaster” presented a challenge unlike anything we have faced, along with an opportunity to make structural changes to service design that will provide lasting improvements to our operations and customer service.
As long as the pandemic lasts, we will continue the advanced safety measures that we implemented in March and provide enhanced support to our employees working in the field, the office and at home. Additionally, we will leverage what we have learned during the pandemic to improve our business continuity plan and organizational safety protocols.
Finally, I want to recognize the essential frontline workers of the transportation industry who remain focused and dedicated to safely providing freight transportation services. They are responding admirably to this unprecedented challenge.