OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific's third-quarter profit declined 12%, but the volume of shipments it handled surged as the economy rebounded from the worst of the virus-related shutdowns earlier this year.

The railroad said it earned $1.36 billion, or $2.01 per share, during the quarter. That's down from $1.56 billion, or $2.22 per share, a year ago.

The results fell short of the $2.03 per share that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected on average.

Union Pacific's revenue fell 11% to $4.92 billion in the quarter, which also missed Wall Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.98 billion revenue.

The railroad said volume was still down 4% in the quarter, but that represented a significant improvement over the second quarter when volume plunged 20% because so many businesses were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Union Pacific cut its expenses 12% to $2.89 billion during the quarter.

Union Pacific Corp. shares have climbed 10% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 index has risen slightly more than 6%. The stock has increased 19% in the last 12 months.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company operates 32,400 miles (52,000 kilometers) of track in 23 Western states.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UNP at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UNP