2018-12759. Indexing the Annual Operating Revenues of Railroads  

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    The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is publishing the annual inflation-adjusted index factors for 2017. These factors are used by the railroads to adjust their gross annual operating revenues for classification purposes. This indexing methodology ensures that railroads are classified based on real business expansion and not on the effects of inflation. Classification is important because it determines the extent to which individual railroads must comply with STB reporting requirements.

    The STB's annual inflation-adjusted factors are based on the annual average Railroad Freight Price Index developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The STB's deflator factor is used to deflate revenues for comparison with established revenue thresholds.

    The base year for railroads is 1991. The inflation index factors are presented as follows:

    STB Railroad Inflation-Adjusted Index and Deflator Factor Table

    YearIndexDeflator
    1991409.501 100.00
    1992411.8099.45
    1993415.5098.55
    1994418.8097.70
    1995418.1797.85
    1996417.4698.02
    1997419.6797.50
    1998424.5496.38
    1999423.0196.72
    2000428.6495.45
    2001436.4893.73
    2002445.0391.92
    2003454.3390.03
    2004473.4186.40
    2005522.4178.29
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    2006567.3472.09
    2007588.3069.52
    2008656.7862.28
    2009619.7366.00
    2010652.2962.71
    2011708.8057.71
    2012740.6155.23
    2013764.1953.53
    2014778.4152.55
    2015749.2254.60
    2016732.3855.85
    2017758.9553.90
    1 In Montana Rail Link, Inc., & Wisconsin Central Ltd., Joint Petition for Rulemaking with Respect to 49 CFR part 1201, 8 I.C.C.2d 625 (1992), the Board's predecessor, the Interstate Commerce Commission, raised the revenue classification level for Class I railroads from $50 million (1978 dollars) to $250 million (1991 dollars), effective for the reporting year beginning January 1, 1992. The Class II threshold was also raised from $10 million (1978 dollars) to $20 million (1991 dollars).

    Application of the annual deflator factors results in the following annual revenue thresholds:

    Railroad Revenue Thresholds

    YearFactorClass IClass II
    20130.5353467,063,12937,365,050
    20140.5255475,754,80338,060,384
    20150.5460457,913,99836,633,120
    20160.5585447,621,22635,809,698
    20170.5390463,860,93337,108,875

    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at WWW.STB.GOV.

    Applicable Date: January 1, 2017.

    For Further Information Contact: Pedro Ramirez, (202) 245-0333. [Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) for the hearing impaired: 1-800-877-8339].

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    Decided: June 8, 2018.

    By the Board, William Brennan, Acting Director, Office of Economics.

    Jeffrey Herzig,

    Clearance Clerk.

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    [FR Doc. 2018-12759 Filed 6-13-18; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 4915-01-P

Document Information

Published:
06/14/2018
Department:
Surface Transportation Board
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
2018-12759
Dates:
January 1, 2017.
Pages:
27819-27820 (2 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. EP 748
PDF File:
2018-12759.Pdf