A coalition of farm and food industry groups is appealing to the Surface Transportation Board to take several steps that the organizations say could lower rail rates and ease shipping backlogs.The board is held special hearing this week on issues plaguing ag shippers.
"The current inability of several Class I carriers to provide reliable rail service to their customers is impacting farmgate commodity prices and elevating food prices for consumers. Neither of these outcomes is beneficial for individual Americans and the U.S. economy,” the group stated in their letter. The group thanked the Boad for agreeing to accept public comments on a petition that calls for allowing rail customers to penalize railroads for inefficient use of private railcars. The petition was filed by the North America Freight Car Association, National Grain and Feed Association, Chlorine Institute and the National Oilseed Processors Association.
The letter also calls for additional data reporting by rail lines and urges the board to finalize a proposed rule that would allow shippers that are served by a single railroad to request bids from a nearby competing railroad, a practice known as competitive switching. President Joe Biden last year signed an executive order asking the STB to consider finalizing the competitive switching rule, which was originally issued in 2016. Under the rule, if a shipper opted for the second railroad, the first railroad would have to move the shipper's goods to the second carrier's line. The shipper would pay the cost of getting access to the second line.