DAN CATERINICCHIA AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON Federal regulators on Friday banned excessive fuel surcharges by railroads and imposed strict rules on the fees that many companies this week credited with bolstering their quarterly earnings. In its decision, the Surface Transportation Board said the railroads must link the surcharges directly with the actual fuel costs for specific rail shipments. The ruling prohibits “double- dipping,” meaning that fuel costs can’t be calculated into certain price hikes if the shipments already have other fuel surcharges. “Our decision today brings commonsense and fairness to the railroads’ implementation of fuel surcharges,” STB Chairman Charles D. Nottingham said in a release. “It will also remove the possibility that railroads will view fuel surcharges as a profit center.” The Surface Transportation Board also is proceeding with a proposal to monitor the fuel surcharge practices of the rail industry by imposing mandatory reporting requirements on all large railroads. Union Pacific Corp., the nation’s largest railroad operator, as well as competitors Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Corp. all reported strong quarterly earnings this week and many credited the surcharges for some of that growth. A representative from Union Pacific did not immediately return a call for comment Friday evening. Susan Terpay, a spokeswoman for Norfolk, Va.-based Norfolk Southern, said the company was reviewing the board’s decision and declined further comment. A spokeswoman for the Association of American Railroads said she could not discuss the decision because it involved “individual rail pricing issues.”
