Modification of the Carload Waybill Sample and Public Use File Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

49 CFR Part 1244

[STB Ex Parte No. 385 (Sub-No. 4)]

Modification of the Carload Waybill Sample and Public Use File

Regulations

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) solicits comments on

modifications to the existing regulations at 49 CFR Part 1244 to

require identification of contract movements in the annual Carload

Waybill Sample (Waybill Sample), to establish procedures to ensure the

confidentiality of contract revenue information in the Waybill Sample,

and to limit the period during which the Waybill Sample will remain

confidential.

DATES: Comments are due on July 1, 1999.

[[Page 26724]]

ADDRESSES: Send comments (an original and 10 copies) referring to STB

Ex Parte No. 385 (Sub-No. 4) to: Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Branch, 1925 K Street, NW, Washington,

D.C. 20423-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: H. Jeff Warren, (202) 565-1533 or

James A. Nash, (202) 525-1542. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is

available through TDD services (202) 565-1695.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Railroads that annually terminate 4,500 or

more carloads (or 5 percent of the carloads in any state) are required

to report data, including revenues, on individual movements contained

in a sampling of their traffic. This Waybill Sample is used for a

variety of purposes by the Board, parties appearing before the agency

and the public in general. Because of the widespread use of

confidential transportation contracts in the railroad industry,

1 the Waybill Sample reporting requirements must be tailored

to ensure that the Board receives accurate data on contract movements

for all carriers and, at the same time, that confidential information

regarding those contracts is protected from public disclosure. In

addition, the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives)

recently indicated that it is interested in maintaining historic

Waybill Sample records for future studies. To do so, the

confidentiality of these records must expire at some time to allow for

future public release.

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\1\ The Association of American Railroads recently advised the

General Accounting Office that 70% of rail traffic moves under

contract.

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Proposed Procedures

To enhance the usefulness of the Waybill Sample, both for ourselves

and for other parties, and to facilitate the ability of the Archives to

maintain historical records, we are considering several changes to our

rules and procedures. First, all railroads would be required to

identify (flag) those shipments in the Waybill Sample that are governed

by transportation contracts. Second, railroads would be required to

report the actual revenues for each such contract shipment, although an

average revenue value would be substituted for the actual revenues to

maintain the confidentiality of the contract rate information. These

two changes would fulfill our need for more complete contract data,

protect sensitive commercial contract rate information, and allow

others to conduct accurate, broad-based economic studies. Third, the

confidentiality of such Waybill Sample records would be limited to 20

years.

1. Identification of Contract Shipments

The majority of railroads already identify contract movements in

the Waybill Sample and simply ``mask'' the contract revenue information

using varying procedures to conceal the actual revenues earned on

contract traffic. However, because some carriers do not flag contract

movements, we are unable to develop complete information on contract

traffic. The Board needs more accurate data to carry out statutorily

mandated functions, to provide reports to Congress, and to perform

internal studies of the rail industry. Thus, we need to revise our

regulations to ensure that all carriers flag contract movements.

There will be no impact on those carriers already flagging contract

movements from the new proposed requirement, and these procedures may

help safeguard commercially sensitive contract rate information for

those carriers that do not now flag contract shipments and whose actual

contract revenues may appear in the Waybill Sample. While we may be

unaware that a particular movement is a contract shipment, competitors

of the shipper or railroad might know that it is a contract movement.

In such circumstances, disclosure of the actual unflagged contract rate

may be at risk when Waybill Sample data is released to parties for use

in individual proceedings before the Board. Thus, while some carriers

may have to begin flagging contract shipments, the confidentiality of

the contract rate should be better protected under our proposal to mask

contract revenue information in a uniform manner.

2. Use of Average Revenue Figures

The masking procedures currently used by some carriers make it

impossible for outside parties to conduct accurate revenue based

studies from the Waybill Sample data regardless of the level of

aggregation. To provide a more useful method of masking all revenue

information in the Waybill Sample, we suggest aggregating actual

contract and non-contract revenue data, after which we would calculate

an average revenue per ton-mile by Standard Transportation Commodity

Code (STCC) class within broad geographic areas, such as the nine

census regions. We would then use this average value to develop a

revenue figure for each waybill by multiplying the average revenue per

ton-mile by each movement's shipment tons and miles. The reported

actual revenue in each Waybill Sample record would then be replaced by

the average revenue number. Sensitive commercial contract information

would be protected because we would not identify contract shipment and

because actual revenue data would not be released. Nevertheless, the

public could conduct accurate, broad-based economic studies because the

average revenues would be accurate when aggregated to the appropriate

level.

Parties are asked to comment on our suggested masking methodology

or to suggest other procedures that could be applied by us or the

railroads to meet the same objectives. Comments should address the

appropriate level of geographic aggregation and the appropriate level

of STCC aggregation (two digit, four digit, etc.) to be used.

3. Waybill Confidentiality Time Limit

Finally, we believe that it should be possible to limit

confidential treatment of contract revenue information contained in the

Waybill Sample to a 20-year period. The Archives is interested in

maintaining the Waybill Sample records for future studies, much as the

U.S. Census is maintained. However, in order for historic Waybill

Sample records to be useful, a time period must be specified after

which confidential data can be made public. It could be as little as

ten years, or as much as one hundred years. (Census data is now made

public after seventy years.) Because most rail contracts do not exceed

a 20-year term, a 20-year confidentiality period may be adequate to

protect commercially sensitive shipper and railroad data.

Scope of This Proceeding

While we encourage all parties to comment on the areas we have

discussed above, we are not soliciting comments in this proceeding on

any other aspects of the collection, design, or release of the Waybill

Sample or its associated Public Use Waybill file. Moreover, because no

analysis of the Waybill Sample should be needed to comment on this

Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we do not plan to release

Waybill Sample data in connection with this proceeding.

This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the

human environment or energy conservation.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), we conclude preliminarily that our

action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities within the meaning of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act.

Decided: May 10, 1999

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By the Board, Chairman Morgan, Vice Chairman Clyburn, and

Commissioner Burkes.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-12334 Filed 5-14-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915-00-P