WASHINGTON — Trade groups representing chemical manufacturers, mining companies, energy producers, and agricultural interests, plus several individual shippers, and railroad labor unions all plan to participate in next week’s Surface Transportation Board hearing on Union Pacific’s increased use of embargoes as a way to manage congestion.
Trade groups including the American Chemistry Council, The Fertilizer Institute, the National Grain and Feed Association, the National Mining Association, and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers have told regulators they will participate in the hearings that are scheduled for Dec. 13 and 14.
The hearings will be live streamed on the STB YouTube channel beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST each day. The board today issued a decision with more details on the hearing, including a full schedule of those scheduled to participate.
Individual rail shippers who will attend include Cargill, Chemtrade Logistics, and Univar Solutions.
Labor unions that plan to participate include the SMART Transportation Division; Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division/IBT; Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen; International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers/Mechanical Division; International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; and National Conference of Firemen and Oilers/32BJ SEIU.
UP says CEO Lance Fritz, its marketing and operations chiefs, and its vice president of customer care and support will represent the railroad at the hearing.
Federal regulators last month ordered UP executives to appear at two days of hearings regarding the railroad’s increased use of embargoes, which have skyrocketed from 27 in 2017 to more than 1,000 so far this year. Congestion is listed as the reason for nearly all of the embargoes. UP, like the other big three U.S. railroads, has struggled with service problems related to crew shortages this year.
“Union Pacific welcomes the opportunity at the upcoming STB hearing to explain the robust process we use to regularly monitor our network for elevated railcar inventory levels and the action we are taking to protect the nation’s supply chain,” railroad spokeswoman Kristen South says. “Due to our unique geographic span, number of yards, customer facilities, and commodity mix, embargos are one of the few tools, and last steps, to manage and meter customer-controlled railcar inventory levels, helping alleviate network congestion. We also reduce Union Pacific-controlled railcar inventory as demand ebbs and flows. By working with customers one-on-one to understand their evolving needs, many concerns can be resolved as customers act to better align supply and demand; however, in some cases for a small percentage of customers, we create embargos that allow Union Pacific to fairly serve everyone.”
— Updated at 3:43 p.m. CST with STB information on live stream and hearing schedule.
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