Nebraska-based Union Pacific Railroad and Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, a high-performance steel products manufacturer, recently entered into a seven-year contract for the domestic production of steel rails.
Union Pacific has been purchasing steel rail from Rocky Mountain Steel since the early 1890s. The agreement ends any pending legal disputes between the companies. Rocky Mountain Steel is now owned and managed by Orion Steel, and Union Pacific withdrew a lawsuit it filed in Nebraska.
“The new contract reinforces the one-of-a-kind partnership between Union Pacific Railroad and Rocky Mountain Steel, a relationship that traces its roots back to the 1890’s and has been benefiting American workers every day since,” Doug Matthews, Orion Steel CEO, said. “This mill is an essential part of America’s steel transportation infrastructure, and its continued existence shows that our nation offers railroads large and small the very best product, made by the very best steelmakers in the world. I thank Union Pacific leadership for making that case crystal clear via this new long-term contract.”
Rocky Mountain Steel plans to begin operating a more than $1 billion state-of-the-art long rail mill in Pueblo later this year. The new rail mill will have the capability to produce 328-foot lengths of premium rail. This length requires 80 percent fewer welds than standard 80-foot rails.