ARA Signs Rail Customer Coalition Letter on Executive Order Promoting Competition
Jul 29 2021
ARA co-signed a Rail Customer Coalition letter to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on the Executive Order promoting rail competition. ARA and the coalition members urged the STB to finalize reciprocal switching rules and to consider further steps that will provide shippers with greater access to competitive rail service and finalize workable rate relief procedures for shippers that lack competitive rail service.
Read more in the letter below.
New Research Report
A new economic research report reveals that rail customers are paying a steep price for freight rail service as competitive pricing goes off the rails. The two key findings of the analysis show that both freight rail rates and rail industry revenue from monopoly pricing are continuing to climb higher and higher.
ARA is a member of the Rail Customer Coalition and issued this statement regarding the report:
“The companies that supply input products to America’s farmers are totally reliant on competitively priced and reliable service from all transportation modes, which is completely lacking in today’s railroad marketplace. Rail is particularly important in areas of the country that are not in close proximity to navigable rivers. This report is a call to action for the Surface Transportation Board to closely examine rail service pricing and provide some relief to shippers who have limited options and are essentially at the mercy of the railroads to serve their customers.”
Daren Coppock
President and Chief Executive Officer
Agricultural Retailers Association
To read the report findings in the Rail Customer Coalition news release, click below.