On January 1, several more railroads established precision rail scheduling to make their operations more efficient. These changes however, have resulted in higher costs and less reliability for shippers.
One such aspect of this new policy is significant demerge charges for rail cars after only 24 hours. This new scheduling policy is being adopted by the railroads as a way to increase the speed of their trains by charging its customers for any delays. These charges are being challenged by many industries as unfair and unworkable especially as the railroad’s service is inconsistent and unreliable. Moreover, with the shortage of trucks and truck drivers compounded by the reduced and restricted driving times, the railroads are exploiting this transportation situation as a means to impose these additional charges on their customers.
In response, ISRI has passed a comprehensive
transportation policy to address all modes of transportation in the United States from trains, trucks, barges, and ships. ISRI has also formed a transportation committee and a rail string committee to address these new rail scheduling and demerge policies. This committee will also help ISRI advance the rail shipping policies and ISRI’s petition with the Surface Transportation Board to revoke the rail regulatory exemption for iron and steel scrap shipments. For more information about these committees or to get involved in the rail transportation issue, please contact
Billy Johnson at (202) 662-8548.
SPAN