While U.S. manufacturers are relieved that a rail strike was averted, petrochemical producers still have concerns about longstanding rail service issues.
"Refiners and petrochemical manufacturers appreciate the urgency with which Congressional leaders met this moment and averted a rail service disaster,” said Rob Benedict, vice president of midstream and petrochemicals with the Association of Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers (AFPM). … It is important to note, however, that 'normal service' is still incredibly bad and increasingly expensive for shippers and consumers. With the threat of a full work stoppage off the table, the next Congress must elevate the long-overdue issue of freight rail reform to finally correct these abuses of service."
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has testified before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in the past regarding rail service issues. In April, Executive Officer Chris Jahn told board members that major freight rail service failures have harmed the chemical industry and exacerbated supply chain problems.
At the time, STB Board Chairman Marty Oberman cited several concerns that he has raised as a board member, including a 29% reduction in the Class I railroad workforce over a six-year period.
“In my view, all of this has directly contributed to where we are today – rail users experiencing serious deteriorations in rail service because, on too many parts of their networks, the railroads simply do not have a sufficient number of employees,” Oberman said.
The chemical industry is among the largest freight rail customers, Jahn pointed out to a Congressional committee in March. The industry will need to transport 200,000 additional railcar shipments per year to satisfy new investments, Jahn told the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in his March testimony.
