CNI vs UNP: Correlation
Canadian National Railway Company (CNI) and Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) show a strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.62.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are CNI and UNP?
Over the past 3 years, CNI and UNP moved with a correlation of 0.62, which is strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.62 lands near the 3-year figure. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.63, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 239.3 %².
Few assets follow CNI as closely as UNP, which ranks #2 of 10 tracked partners. The trailing year gives UNP the advantage: +32.5% versus +42.4%, a 9.9-point spread.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
CNI vs UNP: side by side
| CNI (Canadian National Railway Company) | UNP (Union Pacific Corporation) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +32.5% | +42.4% |
| 5-year return | +27.2% | +56.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 18.6% | 20.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.48 | 0.56 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -29.1% | -17.8% |
| Market cap | $76.5B | $182.8B |
| P/E (trailing) | 22.7 | 25.1 |
| Dividend yield | 2.83% | 1.78% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | Industrials |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | CNI | UNP |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -1.4% | -15.9% |
| 2023 | +7.8% | +21.6% |
| 2024 | -17.5% | -5.1% |
| 2025 | -0.8% | +3.9% |
| 2026 | +29.5% | +34.4% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are CNI and UNP good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.62 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
FAQ
What is the correlation between CNI and UNP?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between CNI and UNP is 0.62 over 3 years, 0.62 over 1 year and 0.63 over 5 years.
Is UNP a good diversifier for CNI?
To a limited degree. At 0.62 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
What does a correlation of 0.62 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.62 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/cni-vs-unp.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/cni-vs-unp/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: CNI correlations · UNP correlations
