Market Matters Blog

OMAHA (DTN) -- Several shipping groups and the National Grain and Feed Association are among those voicing support for the Surface Transportation Board's proposal to require railroads to publicly file various weekly data reports pertaining to service performance.

On Oct. 8, 2014, the Surface Transportation Board made a decision requiring all Class 1 railroads to publicly file weekly data reports to the STB to "promote industry-wide transparency, accountability and improvements in rail service."

DTN reported in January that on Dec. 30, 2014, the STB issued two decisions in regard to rail service issues and service issues-performance data. The first proposal would require new regulations of permanent weekly reporting by all Class 1 railroads and the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO). The STB is also proposing to make the weekly rail service reports permanent, saying that collection of performance data on a weekly basis would allow continuity of the current reporting and improve their ability to "identify and help resolve future regional or national service disruptions more quickly, should they occur."

Here is the link to the entire Dec. 30 decision by the STB regarding this issue: http://goo.gl/…

The STB required comments on both decisions to be submitted by March 2, 2015. Reply comments are due by April 29, 2015.

SHIPPERS WANT MORE REGULATIONS

The Alliance for Rail Competition and other rail shipper interests (ARC, et al.) wrote in their comments that they "commend the STB for its efforts to address U.S. rail service issues in recent months. We are convinced that the severe problems experienced by rail shippers since 2013 would have been far worse if the STB had followed recommendations of BNSF and CP and had taken no action."

ARC, et al. includes among their members shippers of coal and grain in unit trains and shuttle trains of 50 cars or more. "We also represent captive and other rail-dependent shippers whose shipments move in volumes of single-car shipments or in multiple car shipments of 49 cars or less. These include shipments of fertilizer, propane, sand used for fracking (including synthetic sand), oil, pipe, and pulse crops (beans, peas, lentils and the like)."

"While reports of inadequate service, and resulting adverse impacts, have been plentiful, details are lacking because of the STB’s focus in its reporting requirements on shipments of 50 cars or more." The group told the STB that while they mostly approve of the current weekly reporting system, additional reporting is needed as to service problems involving shippers that are not able to ship in unit or shuttle train volumes of 50 cars or more. Here is the link to ARC and 16 shipper organizations comments to the STB: http://goo.gl/…

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), which consists of more than 1,050 grain, feed, processing, exporting and other grain-related companies handling more than 70% of all U.S. grains and oilseeds, "strongly commends the STB for proposing to make permanent the reporting of rail service performance."

In their comments to the STB, NGFA said that "such reporting also will assist in building a baseline of factual information on rail service performance that can be used as a barometer for comparative analysis by carriers, rail customers and the STB itself to evaluate future trends. There is no way to accomplish this core objective without having such data being collected and compiled on an ongoing basis." Here is a link to the AAR comments submitted to the STB: http://goo.gl/…

RAILROADS DISAGREE WITH PROPOSED REGULATIONS

The Association of American Railroads (AAR), a trade association representing the interests of North America's major freight railroads, said; "The AAR acknowledges the STB's concerns that led to the 'Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,' but respectfully submits that the reporting regulations should not be adopted as proposed because they are overbroad and may not be helpful in the long run. It is the AAR's position that only macro-level reporting metrics that the industry has long been providing voluntarily should be made permanent by regulation. In a commitment to improve communications with its customers, the railroad industry, except the Canadian Pacific who reports on their own website, has already voluntarily published such metrics on a public website since 1999." The performance measures are available online at http://www.railroadpm.org

The AAR suggested that "the STB should carefully balance the practical utility of the information it is proposing to require Class 1 railroads to report with the burdens that reporting will impose. As a result of that analysis, the STB should not make data reporting related to the current service recovery permanent, but should instead rely on system-level metrics to identify future service disruptions, should they occur." Here is a link to the AAR comments submitted to the STB: http://goo.gl/…

The BNSF submitted comments to the STB, which said; "BNSF is concerned by pressures the STB faces to add granularity to existing reporting. At various points throughout 2014, the STB has received informal and formal requests for more specialized reporting of service data, including corridor-specific and additional commodity-specific metrics. BNSF remains concerned that requests from trade associations and other shipper groups are mistaken attempts to skew service in their favor at the expense of shippers of other commodities."

"BNSF shippers already have access to significant information about network volumes and velocity, as well as robust information about their specific shipments on BNSF. Requiring BNSF to provide additional cuts of data at the individual commodity level or specific geographic sub-levels on a regular basis would be burdensome and counterproductive to BNSF's efforts to address the flow issues affecting our network as a whole. Reporting can consume critical resources without significant commensurate benefit." Here is a link to the BNSF comments submitted to the STB: http://goo.gl/…

Service on the BNSF so far in 2015 is flowing much better than at this same time one year ago. On March 6, 2014, the BNSF reported that average outstanding car orders were at 13,680 and were 19.8 days late. In their service update to the STB on March 6, 2015, the BNSF reported that outstanding car orders totaled 2,569 and average days late were 16.3. In fact, all Class 1 railroads have reported improved service at this time versus one year ago.

Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com

Follow Mary Kennedy on Twitter @MaryCKenn

(AG/BAS)

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