[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15662-15663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07522]



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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. EP 754]


Oversight Hearing on Demurrage and Accessorial Charges

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public 
hearing on May 22, 2019, on railroad demurrage and accessorial charges. 
The hearing will be held in the Main Hearing Room of the U.S. 
International Trade Commission, located at 500 E Street SW, Washington, 
DC, near the Board's headquarters building. Representatives of Class I 
carriers are directed to appear at the hearing, and other interested 
parties, including shippers, receivers, third-party logistics 
providers, and representatives of shortline railroads, are invited to 
appear.

DATES: The hearing will be held on May 22, 2019, beginning at 9:30 
a.m., in the Main Hearing Room (Room 101) of the U.S. International 
Trade Commission and will be open for public observation. Any person 
wishing to speak at the hearing should file with the Board a notice of 
intent to participate (identifying the party, proposed speaker, and 
time requested) as soon as possible but no later than April 24, 2019. 
Class I carriers are directed to file with the Board the information 
specified below by May 1, 2019. All hearing participants are required 
to submit written testimony by May 8, 2019. Written submissions by 
interested persons who will not appear at the hearing should also be 
filed by May 8, 2019.

ADDRESSES: All filings may be submitted either via the Board's e-filing 
format or in the traditional paper format. Any person using e-filing 
should attach a document and otherwise comply with the instructions at 
the E-filing link on the Board's website at www.stb.gov. Any person 
submitting a filing in the traditional paper format should send an 
original and 10 copies of the filing to: Surface Transportation Board, 
Attn: Docket No. EP 754, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001.
    Filings will be posted to the Board's website and need not be 
served on the other hearing participants or written commenters. Copies 
of the filings will also be available (for a fee) by contacting the 
Board's Chief Records Officer at (202) 245-0238 or 395 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20423-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Fancher at (202) 245-0355. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board will hold a public hearing on May 
22, 2019, to receive information from railroads, shippers, receivers, 
third-party logistics providers, and other interested parties about 
their recent experiences with demurrage and accessorial charges, 
including matters such as reciprocity, commercial fairness, the impact 
of operational changes on such charges, capacity issues, and effects on 
network fluidity.\1\ This hearing arises from concerns expressed by 
users of the freight rail network and other stakeholders about changes 
to demurrage and accessorial tariffs being implemented by various Class 
I carriers, and follows related letter inquiries to Class I carriers, 
including requests for information on quarterly revenue from demurrage 
and accessorial charges for 2018 and 2019. This correspondence, the 
quarterly revenue information reported by the Class I carriers to date, 
and written communications received by the Board about demurrage and 
accessorial charges can be found on the Board's website under E-
Library/Correspondence/Non-Docketed Public Correspondence.
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    \1\ Demurrage is subject to Board regulation under 49 U.S.C. 
10702, which requires railroads to establish reasonable rates and 
transportation-related rules and practices, and under 49 U.S.C. 
10746, which requires railroads to compute demurrage charges, and 
establish rules related to those charges, in a way that will fulfill 
national needs related to freight car use and distribution and 
maintenance of an adequate car supply. Demurrage charges have both 
compensatory and punitive aspects and are intended to promote 
efficient use of rail resources. Demurrage Liability, EP 707, slip 
op. at 2 (STB served April 11, 2014); 49 CFR 1333.1. As used herein, 
the term ``demurrage charges'' corresponds to the definition of 
demurrage used for purposes of the R-1 Annual Report (see 49 CFR 
1201, category 106).
    Accessorial charges are not specifically defined by statute or 
regulation but are generally understood to include charges other 
than line-haul and demurrage charges. See Revisions to Arbitration 
Procedures, EP 730, slip op. at 7-8 (STB served Sept. 30, 2016) 
(describing a variety of charges that are considered accessorial 
charges). As used herein, the term ``accessorial charges'' includes, 
without limitation, charges for things such as diverting a shipment 
in transit, ordering a railcar but releasing it empty, weighing a 
railcar, tendering one railroad's car to another railroad without a 
line-haul move, special train or additional switching services, or 
releasing a railcar with incomplete or incorrect shipping 
instructions.
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    The Board will hold a public hearing to further examine current 
demurrage and accessorial practices. Representatives of Class I 
carriers are directed to appear at the hearing through company 
officials knowledgeable about the information and topics specified 
below. To facilitate the Board's review, Class I carriers are directed 
to file the following information with the Board by May 1, 2019:
    1. Provide a list of all material changes to your demurrage and 
accessorial tariffs since January 1, 2016, including but not limited to 
changes pertaining to (i) the amount of free time allowed for loading 
and unloading rail cars; (ii) rates for demurrage and accessorial 
charges; (iii) the nature and availability of credits or other relief, 
including for railroad errors and service failures; and (iv) procedures 
and time periods applicable to the process for raising and resolving 
disputed charges. For each such tariff change, please also specify (a) 
when notice of the change was given; (b) when the change became 
effective; and (c) the reason(s) for the change. The Board requests 
that this information be presented in a table.
    2. Provide, for each of the past three calendar years, the total 
dollar amounts of charges billed and charges collected pursuant to (i) 
all demurrage tariffs combined and (ii) all accessorial tariffs 
combined.\2\
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    \2\ Although the carriers have provided a subset of this data in 
response to the letter inquiries referenced above, for completeness, 
carriers should nonetheless provide a full dataset in response to 
this item.
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    3. Provide a detailed explanation of the current process by which 
shippers, receivers, and other parties may dispute demurrage and 
accessorial charges. To the extent readily available, please also 
provide, for all demurrage tariff charges combined and all accessorial 
tariff charges combined, the percentage of charges, by dollar amount, 
that have been contested in the first quarter of 2019 and each of the 
past three calendar years.
    4. Provide a detailed explanation of any system or practice under 
which credits or debits have been issued in connection with the 
assessment of demurrage or accessorial charges since January 1, 2016, 
and any changes thereto. Describe how credits and debits are calculated 
and any limits on the amount of credits or debits that may be available 
or incurred.
    All hearing participants are required to submit written testimony 
by May 8, 2019. Written submissions by interested persons who will not 
appear at the hearing should also be filed by May 8, 2019. All 
participants and interested persons are invited and encouraged to 
address the following topics in their written testimony or submissions 
and at the hearing:
     Recent experience with demurrage and accessorial charges, 
including (i) the largest drivers of demurrage and accessorial charges; 
(ii) supply chain

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visibility; (iii) the availability, effectiveness, and usability of 
online customer service tools that manage car orders, car supply, and 
demurrage and accessorial charges, including whether these tools make 
available adequate data to evaluate whether demurrage is being assessed 
properly and to dispute the charges when necessary; (iv) bunching, 
including bunching that occurs upstream; and (v) the ability to address 
demurrage through commercial arrangements.
     Impacts on shippers, receivers, third-party logistics 
providers, and shortline railroads flowing from recent (i) changes in 
Class I carrier demurrage and accessorial tariffs; (ii) changes in 
Class I carriers' enforcement policies for these tariffs; and (iii) 
operational changes implemented by Class I carriers including, in 
particular, changes in the frequency and timing of local service and/or 
shortline interchanges.
     Perspectives on whether demurrage and accessorial tariffs 
in effect during the past three years have created balanced and 
appropriate incentives for both customers and railroads, including 
views on the extent to which reciprocity should be incorporated into 
demurrage and accessorial charges.
    Board Releases and Transcript Availability: Decisions and notices 
of the Board, including this notice, are available on the Board's 
website at www.stb.gov. The Board will issue a separate notice 
containing instructions for attendance at the hearing and the schedule 
of appearances. Please note that streaming and recording systems will 
not be available to the Board for this hearing. As soon as a transcript 
is available, it will be posted on the Board's website.
    It is ordered:
    1. A public hearing will be held on May 22, 2019, at 9:30 a.m., in 
the Main Hearing Room (Room 101) of the U.S. International Trade 
Commission, located at 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC, near the 
Board's headquarters.
    2. By April 24, 2019, any person wishing to speak at the hearing 
shall file with the Board a notice of intent to participate identifying 
the party, the proposed speaker, and the time requested.
    3. The Class I carriers are directed to file information by May 1, 
2019, and to appear at the hearing through knowledgeable company 
officials, as specified above.
    4. Written testimony by hearing participants, and written 
submissions by interested persons who will not appear at the hearing, 
shall be filed by May 8, 2019.
    5. Filings will be posted to the Board's website and need not be 
served on any hearing participants or other commenters.
    6. This decision is effective on its service date.

    Decided: April 8, 2019.

    By the Board, Allison C. Davis, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2019-07522 Filed 4-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P