BNSF Railway Transportation Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BNSF Railway Transportation - Article Example The services offered by the industry are bulk freight, intermodal services, passenger services and switching and terminal railroad services (IBISWorld, 2011). According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, freight shipments have increased from 27% of the ton-miles of U.S. freight in 1980 to 38% in 2005 (Laurits R. Christensen Associates, Inc., 2009). This increase shows the growing significance of the role of railways in the U.S. economy. Among the cargo being shipped through the railroads, coal represents the largest proportion in terms of tons (Laurits R. Christensen Associates, Inc., 2009). Other commodities transported by railroads include chemicals, farm products, non-metallic minerals and miscellaneous mixed shipments. Over the years, the railway industry has experienced consolidations that have reduced the number of Class I from about 40 railways to the current seven. The seven major players in the railway industry are Union Pacific Corporation (UP), Burli ngton Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF), CSX Corporation, Kansas City Southern (KCS), Canadian National Railway (CN), Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS). In terms of operating revenues of the major North American railroad, the Union Pacific posted the highest revenue with $15.5 million. It is followed by BNSF with operating revenue of $14.8 million, NS with $9.4 million, CSX with $8.6 million, CN with $6.8 million, CP with $4.1 million and KCS with $0.87 million (Association of American Railroads, 2008) . Porter’s Five Forces Like any other industry, the railway industry is influenced by Porter’s five forces model which shape the strategies of companies, as shown in Figure 1 (Porter, 2008). The first force identified by Porter is the threat of new entrants. This force is the possibility of new companies entering the industry. This force is not very influential in the strategy of a company in the railway industry because of several ba rriers to entry. The barriers to entry in the railroad industry are (1) huge capital requirement needed; (2) restrictive government policy which is being regulated by the Surface Transportation Board; and (3) the availability of the infrastructure needed to compete with existing ones. In the future, it is expected that mergers will continue in the future and may even reduce the present seven companies to two transcontinental railroads because of the uncertainty of the structure of the railroad industry (IRS, 2007). Fig. 1 Porter’s Five Forces Model The second force identified by Porter is the bargaining power of suppliers. Suppliers of the railway industry include the manufacturers of tracks, railway equipment, structural metal products, freight cars, locomotives and construction companies who build the tunnels and bridges. Investors in railway companies can be considered as suppliers of the much needed financing to improve the industry. Recently, billionaire Warren Buffet in vested in BNSF by buying it for $26 billion while Microsoft’s Bill Gates now owns 10% of CN railway. Investment of these two prominent personalities says much of the future of the railway industry (North America's Corridor Coalition, Inc., 2010). To illustrate clearly, the supplier power according to Porter includes (1) charging of high prices; (2) limiting the quality of the

Describe the regulation of PFK-1 and PFK-2 and the production of Essay

Describe the regulation of PFK-1 and PFK-2 and the production of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate - Essay Example When the glucose levels are low, F-2,6-bisP is converted to F-6-P. This reaction is catalyzed by the phosphorylated form of PFK-2 called fructose bisphosphatase-2 (FBPase-2). PFK-2 and fructose bisphosphatase-2 (FBPase-2) are similar bi-functional enzymes. Phosphorylation of PFK-2 is done by protein kinase A (PKA). PKA is activated by increased levels of cAMP driven by the hormone glucagon during fasting state. The reverse reaction is catalyzed by a phosphatase, which is activated by the hormone insulin. Postprandial, there is an increased level of insulin, which is produced in response to increased glucose levels. During low glucose levels, glucagon increases the levels of cAMP in the liver cells. cAMP then activates PKA, which phosphorylates PFK-2 to form FBPase-2. FBPase-2 in turn converts F-2,6-bisP to F-6-P, this in general is inhibiting the glycolysis (Rider 562). In muscle cells too, fructose-6-phosphate is converted to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, by PFK-1 using ATP. In muscle cells, PFK-1 is activated by AMP. The muscles use up ATP and convert it to AMP. Increased levels of AMP stimulate glycolysis and increases ATP production. However, increased levels of ATP inhibit PFK-1allosterically. High levels of citrate also inhibit PFK-1 in muscle cells. In liver cells the major regulators of PFK-1 are F-2,6-bisP and F-6-P, while in muscle cells, the major regulators of PFK-1 are AMP and ATP. Thus, it can be seen that PFK-1 and PFK-2 are regulated differently in liver cells and muscle