Senators and shippers complained yesterday that widespread delays in freight rail shipments are harming a wide array of industries and driving some companies out of business.They expressed doubt that the railway companies are doing all they can to fix the problem.
The delays, which escalated late last year and continued through the spring and summer, appear to be the result of too few rail carriages and too much demand from shippers. The Senate displayed a photo of a giant mound of wheat standing in the open because North Dakota farmers can’t get a rail freight company to ship it.
Shipping rates are 90 percent higher than they were in 2002, but the service has drastically diminished, said Calvin Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council.