- BNSF Railway (BRK.A, BRK.B) is sued by a trade group for 400 U.S. refining and petrochemical makers objecting to a $1,000 surcharge the company tacked onto older model tank cars.
- The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers says the surcharge is designed to encourage shippers to retrofit or scrap older tank cars in favor of safer “jacketed” models that are not required by federal regulators.
- The surcharge adds $1.50/bbl to shipping costs, according to the trade group, which represents ~95% of U.S. refining capacity; BNSF began adding the fee on Jan. 1.
- BNSF hauls more than 600K bbl/day of crude, including more than half of the oil pumped from the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana.