UNION PACIFIC PLANS RATE HIKE

UNION PACIFIC PLANS RATE HIKE    Union Pacific Railroad said Friday it will raise prices in early October to offset changes in market conditions and rising fuel prices.
   Contract rates will also be raised through specific escalation provisions, UP said.
   “Fuel prices have nearly doubled over the past year,” said Ike Evans, UP president. “Petroleum market analysts predict that prices may go higher yet and remain at levels far above where they have been for the past several years. Diesel prices are averaging about $1 perce gallon, comapred with about 65 cents a gallon last year, said UP, which consumed about 1.3 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually.
   Other cost increases come from health and welfare and labor inflation, Evans said.