[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 12, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66802-66803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26570]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

49 CFR Part 1244

[STB Ex Parte No. 385 (Sub-No. 6)]


Waybill Sample

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Final Rule.

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SUMMARY: The Board is adopting a final rule to require all carriers 
that submit carload-waybill-sample information (Waybill Sample) under 
49 CFR 1244 to report fuel surcharge revenue in a separate waybill 
field created by the Board for that purpose, commencing with the 
Waybill Sample filed for January 2009. The Board will revise the 
waybill-file-record layout to reflect this change.

DATES: Effective Dates: This regulation is effective January 1, 2009. 
The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the 
rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of January 
1, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Paul Aguiar, (202) 245-0323 or 
[email protected]. [Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) for the 
hearing impaired: 1-800-877-8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A carload waybill is a document describing 
the characteristics of an individual rail shipment: originating and 
terminating freight stations, the names of all railroads participating 
in the movement, the points of all railroad interchanges, the number of 
cars, the car types, movement weight in hundredweight, the commodity, 
and the freight revenue. Under 49 CFR Part 1244, a railroad is required 
to file a Waybill Sample for all line-haul revenue waybills terminating 
on its lines if, in any of the three preceding years, the railroad 
terminated 4,500 or more carloads, or it terminated at least 5% of the 
total revenue carloads that terminate in a particular state.
    The Waybill Sample is the Board's primary source of information 
about freight rail shipments terminated in the United States. Of 
particular importance, the Board relies on the data in the ``Total 
Freight LH Revenue'' (also referred to as ``Freight Revenue'') field to 
compute its ``Revenue Shortfall Allocation Method'' (RSAM) benchmarks. 
The RSAM benchmarks, which are used in adjudicating certain rate 
disputes, measure how much a carrier would need to charge its 
potentially captive traffic in order to obtain adequate revenues 
overall.
    In the last few years, questions have been raised about how 
railroads reported fuel surcharge revenue in the Waybill Sample. The 
Board sought to address those questions, and to provide for consistency 
in the reporting of fuel surcharge revenue in the Waybill Sample, by 
clarifying that all railroads that are required to submit a Waybill 
Sample under 49 CFR Part 1244 should report fuel surcharge revenue as 
part of total freight revenue in the ``Freight Revenue'' field in the 
waybill-file-record layout. Waybill Sample, STB Ex Parte No. 385 (Sub-
No. 6) (Clarification) (published at 72 FR 72000 on December 19, 2007).
    In a request for reconsideration filed on December 31, 2007, the 
National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) argued that the 
Board's Clarification made it more difficult to identify fuel surcharge 
revenue in the Waybill Sample and, therefore, did not promote 
transparency as to the use of fuel surcharges by rail carriers. NITL, 
with

[[Page 66803]]

the support of several other shippers, shipping groups, and other 
interests, asked the Board to require all carriers that submit a 
Waybill Sample to report fuel surcharge revenue separately in a Waybill 
Sample field established for that purpose. No rail carrier objected or 
even responded to NITL's petition.
    In a decision served on June 16, 2008, the Board initiated a 
rulemaking to require all carriers that submit a Waybill Sample to 
report fuel surcharge revenue in a separate waybill field created by 
the Board for that purpose, rather than reporting such revenue within 
the general freight revenue field, commencing with the Waybill Sample 
filed for January 2009. The Board reasoned that reporting fuel 
surcharge revenue in a separate field in the Waybill Sample will 
increase transparency about the use of fuel surcharges by rail carriers 
without detracting from the Board's ability to obtain consistent 
results for the purposes of including such revenue in its RSAM 
calculations. A notice requesting comments regarding the Board's 
proposal was published in the Federal Register on June 26, 2008 (73 FR 
36294). No comments were received.
    The Board is adopting the proposed requirement. Statement No. 81-1, 
Procedure for Sampling Waybill Records by Computer, will be modified to 
require fuel surcharge revenues to be reported in a new field created 
for that purpose. The new field (Field 33) will be a 9-byte record. 
Therefore, the computerized Waybill Sample reported by the railroads 
will increase from a 228-byte record layout to a 237-byte record 
layout. To keep reporting consistent within each calendar year, the new 
field will be required for Waybill Samples commencing with the Waybill 
Sample filed for January 2009. For consistency and administrative 
convenience, in addition to reporting in Field 33, carriers are asked 
to include fuel surcharge revenue as part of total freight revenue in 
the ``Total Freight LH Revenue'' field (Field 15), as previously 
directed in Clarification.
    The Board's decisions in this proceeding are available on the 
Board's Web site at www.stb.dot.gov. Copies of the decisions will also 
be available for viewing and self-copying in the Board's Public Docket 
Room, Suite 131, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC, or (for a fee) by 
contacting the Board's Chief Records Officer at (202) 245-0235 or 395 E 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
    The Director of the Federal Register has approved the Board's 
request for incorporation by reference of Statement No. 81-1, Procedure 
for Sampling Waybill Records by Computer (2009 edition). Such approval 
by the Director requires the insertion of certain language into the 
regulatory text of the rule as detailed below.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Board certifies that this action 
will not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of 
small entities within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the 
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 1244

    Freight, Railroads, Reporting and recordkeeping, Incorporation by 
reference.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 11144, 49 U.S.C. 11145.

    Decided: November 3, 2008.
    By the Board, Chairman Nottingham, Vice Chairman Mulvey, and 
Commissioner Buttrey.
Kulunie L. Cannon,
Clearance Clerk.

0
For the reasons set forth in the Supplemental Information above, the 
Surface Transportation Board amends part 1244 of title 49, chapter X, 
of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 1244--WAYBILL ANALYSIS OF TRANSPORTATION OF PROPERTY--
RAILROADS

0
1. The authority citation for part 1244 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 721, 10707, 11144, 11145.
0
2. In Sec.  1244.4, revise paragraph (c) (1) to read as follows:
* * * * *
    (c) The Computerized System. (1) The tape shall be required to 
conform to the standards and format specified in Statement No. 81-1, 
Procedure for Sampling Waybill Records by Computer (2009 edition), 
issued by the Surface Transportation Board. The Director of the Federal 
Register has approved this incorporation by reference in accordance 
with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To enforce any editions other 
than those specified in this section, the STB must publish notice of 
change in the Federal Register and the material must be available to 
the public. You may obtain or inspect a copy of these standards from 
the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20423-0001; from the Surface Transportation Board Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov; or by calling (202) 245-0323. You may also inspect a 
copy at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For 
information on the availability of this material at NARA, call (202) 
741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.
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 [FR Doc. E8-26570 Filed 11-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P