STB discontinues annual ‘end-of-year outlook’ letter

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III will no longer send an annual letter to the industry asking Class I and other railroads to comment on their end-of-year outlook for traffic volumes and operations.    The U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) will discontinue its annual end-of-year outlook letter on railroad traffic volumes and operations, the board said in a statement.
   STB Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III each year since 2004 has been sending a letter to the industry asking Class I and other railroads to comment on their outlook on shipment volumes and operations for the remainder of the current year and the beginning of the next.
   The decision to discontinue the letter was made because changing shipping patterns mean “there is no longer a highly conspicuous peak season,” the agency said. In addition, the weekly reporting of service performance data to STB by Class I railroads has rendered the “Fall Peak” letter unnecessary.
   “I appreciate the railroad industry’s past responses to the Chairman’s annual end-of-year outlook letter,” said Elliot. “Over the years, the responses have been very helpful to the agency in assessing the preparedness and resilience of the network.
   “However, the industry has changed significantly over the past twelve years. With this in mind, it is appropriate to discontinue the practice, especially in light of service performance data that Class I railroads are providing on a weekly basis.”