The Surface Transportation Board (STB) adopted a final rule effective October 6, 2021, requiring Class I carriers to include certain minimum information on demurrage invoices and provide machine-readable access to this information.
Railroads charge demurrage fees when shippers hold cars beyond a specified time. However, shippers have expressed concerns that railroad invoicing practices can be difficult to verify and lack basic information about the shipments covered.
The rule requires the demurrage invoice to include (among other details) the date and time the railroad received the cars, the date and time of the original estimated arrival, the actual placement and release of each car, and where applicable, the number of demurrage credits and debits attributable to each car.