The U.S. Surface Transportation Board plans to conduct a virtual conference on Dec. 18 to address a new approach for considering class exemption and revocation issues.
In a news release, the STB said its proposed approach would “evaluate market conditions using a variety of metrics related to or indicative of rail transportation competition.”
That would include developing a snapshot of the commodities handled by rail, identifying changes in market conditions, and considering certain potential influences from alternative transportation modes that could affect rail shipping markets.
The proposal was developed by the agency’s Office of Economics following a public comment on since dropped rule proposal that would have affected such commodities as stone, cement, coke, and iron and steel products.
The STB has been collecting public comment on its latest proposal the approach since September.
STB noted that its approach has limitations and would not “necessarily provide a final conclusive answer on whether the commodity exemptions at issue should be revoked, or whether additional commodity exemptions should be adopted.”
Nor is the agency seeking “to answer the ultimate qualitative question of whether a commodity’s regulation is necessary to carry out rail transportation policy.