How to beat the Revenue Cap Or Gouging 101

[haveapulse]

Please be advised CN is implementing West Coast Season Pricing. There will be a $250 per car premium during weeks 10-20 (Oct 5 to Dec 13, 2008) and rates will return to current levels during weeks 21-24 (Dec 14, 2008 - Jan 10, 2009). Rates beyond Jan 10, 2009 will likely be published by Dec 1, 2008.

About 3$ a tonne give or take a bit.

[mcfarms]

Thank you for the info.

[haveapulse]

Your welcome.

If anyone finds the Pocoman Tranportation Review Committee, then this should become an issue.

Ancilliary charges are above the revenue cap and have become an all to convenient approach to revenue grab for the railroads.

Two issues here:
1/ Timing: They are implemented with very little warning, and therefore not costed into sales.

If the railroad has the right to arbitrarily impose costs at their whim then at least their should be a 3 month lead time allowing for the costing to be included into sales costs.

2/ They are never negotiated with the customer always simply imposed by
email.

We are all a captive client, which is something the Review committee needs to address.

Ancialliary charges make up a significant portion of "pure" profit to the railraoad as most are put in place without any real costs associated.

No wonder they call it a railroad.

[haveapulse]

PS: while I have zero tolerance for the lost economic opportunity created by the CWB, it is my opinion that the WGTA demise and the resulting costs to the industry makes the CWB look like a gift.

We need to at the very least get something out of the wimpy review process we have in front of us at this time.

[parsley]

http://www.cita-acti.ca/CMFiles/CITA_Briefing_Session_Flyer_-_Halifax12LTW-7162008-3271.pdf

[parsley]

http://www.sen.parl.gc.ca/SenWeb/speeches/details.asp?lang=en&sen=35&speechID=421

[parsley]

http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/Bills_ls.asp?lang=E&ls=c8&source=library_prb&Parl= 39&Ses=2#highlights

[parsley]

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:FnqgQhvhgxsJ:www.cfa-fca.ca/upload/backgrounder.doc Bill C-8 %2B railways&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ca

[haveapulse]

1. Producers voicing concerns at rail review
by Rae Groeneveld




Groups representing Canada's agriculture producers are working to have their concerns heard during the federal government’s review of rail freight service.

The review will examine CN and CPR services to Canadian shippers and customers but farm groups like Manitoba’s Keystone Agriculture Producers Association are worried producers may be left out of the consultation process. President Ian Wishart says right now, the terms of reference don't include producers as shippers.

“We all know we deal with an elevator company before the grain gets into a rail car, but we pay the freight and the level of service has as much impact on us as it does any of the line companies," Wishart, who is also a producer, says.

KAP will urge the Canadian Transportation Agency, which is conducting this review, to ensure agriculture producers are a part of the consultation process.

“Otherwise, we really have no guarantee we're going to get a result that improves anything,” Wishart says.

Grain Growers of Canada is also actively trying to get the farm voice involved in this review process. Executive Director Richard Phillips says they've been meeting with shippers from other sectors such as mining, forestry and fertilizer.

"We think we're unique with our problems in grain shipping but then we find out the fertilizer people are frustrated, the lumber people are frustrated, other industries are just as frustrated as us," Phillips says.

Grain Growers met with Transport Canada earlier in the week to discuss the parameters of this review, and Phillips was pleased with how comprehensive it will be.

“They're going to be looking at the car allocation process, how the railways are forecasting demand for hopper cars and how well the railways are fulfilling the orders put in."

The entire level of service review is expected to take 18 months. Both KAP and the GGC say they will be doing their best to be involved in the process and ensure producer’s views are heard in the effort to improve railway transportation performance.

[agstar77]

Nothing will change until there are open running rights. Don't expect anything from a wimpy government that is more interested in getting elected than doing anything controversial. It doesn't help to have railway buddies like the wheatgrowers, saying that the free market works. There is no free market in Rail transport.

[bucket]

agstar

Its ok to knock the conservatives - I don't think much of their spineless ways either but let's not forget the liberals didn't do much in 16 years either. Wasn't it the liberals that killed the crow.

[haveapulse]

Reality is every government needs to focus on being re-elected. Reality is the Liberals stole our WGTA, and we have lived with a decade of horrible rail service Post-Crow era under their watch. Reality is under the Liberals failed to provide the fiscal framework for add the promised value added, but that is another issue.

Reality is: The Transportation Review allows the industry to focus on the needs and this opportunity has been provided by the Conservatives. Our task is be focused and self serving as the polical parties are on re election and achieve the results we need.

In order to access all opportunities the review needs to have teeth to provide continuing service to niche market shippers including the value added shippers of the future to have a reliable level of service that does in turn allow Canadian farmers to access all economic opportunites.

Therefore, we need to be vigilant to insure the review has value.

Ancilliary charges, how they are imposed with no negotation with the customer needs to be addressed.

[agstar77]

The niche market is not the one being screwed.

[haveapulse]

Good to know cause, if they are not being screwed, then I hate to see the opportunity cost of those who really are?!

Pray tell.