(The Associated Press Writer circulated the following story by Becky Bohrer on April 4.)
BILLINGS, Mont. — The Montana Wheat & Barley Committee is claiming that the state’s primary rail shipper is overcharging farmers with high fuel fees – gouging in the eyes of the group’s chairman.
But a spokesman for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway takes issue with the results of the analysis done for the committee, and said the fuel surcharge isn’t in place to make a profit.
“It’s all based upon the rising cost of fuel,” said Dick Russack. He said he hadn’t seen the analysis but, “I don’t believe it’s true, and that’s about all I can say.”
The work done by the committee’s transportation consultant, Terry Whiteside, estimated the railroad was charging between 5 cents and 7 cents per bushel more for fuel than its actual costs.
Whiteside said he used company data.
“I don’t think any farmer would complain about them collecting increased costs,” Whiteside said. “The problem is, they’re collecting way more than their costs and are going after Montana farm producers to give them extra profits.”
Don Fast, chairman of the wheat and barley committee, said freight rates for Montana farmers have long been high when compared with shippers in states with a competitive rail structure.
“With petroleum prices skyrocketing right now, I shudder to think of how much worse the situation could get,” he said.
Last week, BNSF announced plans to replace the current fuel surcharge, assessed as a percentage of a freight transport bill, with one assessed on a mileage basis.
The change would take effect Jan. 1.
“In this era of tight transportation capacity, rapidly rising fuel prices and fuel-price volatility, we believe a mileage-based fuel surcharge program is the most direct and accurate method of reflecting the impact of fuel price changes on BNSF and our valued customers,” executive vice president and chief marketing officer John Lanigan said in a statement.