[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 16575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7270]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Ex Parte No. 290 (Sub-No. 4)]


Railroad Cost Recovery Procedures--Productivity Adjustment

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Adoption of a railroad cost recovery procedures productivity 
adjustment.

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SUMMARY: By decision served on February 1, 2010, the Board proposed to 
adopt 1.010 (1.0% per year) as the 2008 productivity adjustment, as 
measured by the average change in railroad productivity for the years 
2004 through 2008. The February 1, 2010 decision provided an 
opportunity to file comments regarding any perceived data and 
computational errors in the Board's calculation. The Board's decision 
also stated that the proposed productivity adjustment would become 
effective on March 1, 2010, unless the Board issued a further order 
postponing the effective date.
    On February 22, 2010, the Board received timely comments from the 
Western Coal Traffic League (WCTL) regarding the output index 
calculation for 2008. To allow for adequate consideration of WCTL's 
comments, the Board issued a decision on February 26, 2010, postponing 
the effective date of the 2008 productivity adjustment pending further 
order of the Board.
    In its comments, WCTL questioned the 2008 output index as compared 
to the 2007 output index. In response to WCTL's comments, we reviewed 
the calculations for the output indices for both of those years. This 
review revealed the inadvertent use of masked revenues from the waybill 
records in both the 2007 and 2008 calculations, and the exclusion of 
certain waybill records in the 2007 calculations. Once these errors 
were discovered and corrected, we verified that the output index 
calculations for the entire 2004-2008 averaging period used unmasked 
revenues and did not improperly exclude waybill records.
    Accordingly, for the corrected 2008 productivity adjustment, the 
Board's calculation of the output index for 2007 of 1.014 should be 
modified to 1.000, and the Board's calculation of the output index for 
2008 of 0.967 should be modified to 0.990. As a result, the corrected 
5-year geometric mean of the annual change in productivity for the 
2004-2008 period is 1.012 (or 1.2% per year).

DATES: The productivity adjustment is effective on March 26, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Smith, (202) 245-0322. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Additional information is contained in the 
Board's decision, which is available on our Web site http://www.stb.dot.gov.
    This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the 
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.

    Decided: March 26, 2010.

    By the Board, Chairman Elliott, Vice Chairman Mulvey, and 
Commissioner Nottingham.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2010-7270 Filed 3-31-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P