American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) President and CEO Kevin Dempsey today sent a letter to congressional leadership urging Congress to pass legislation to ensure that our nation’s freight rail system remains fully operational.
Dempsey said that the potential for significant disruption in the rail system would have “serious consequences for the domestic steel industry and the entire US economy.”
While a voluntary agreement among all parties to the ongoing rail negotiations is clearly the best outcome, Dempsey said congressional action is necessary to ensure the US freight rail system remains operational.
“The recent rejection of the agreement reached between the railroads and the negotiators for rail labor organizations in September has raised concerns that a harmful interruption to the rail system may occur as soon as early next week,” Dempsey said, noting that last year, railroads hauled more than 15 million carloads of steel and steelmaking raw materials.
“A functional freight railroad system is critical to ensuring that the American steel industry can effectively and efficiently serve its customers,” Dempsey said.
The AISI is thus urging Congress to take necessary legislative action.