WASHINGTON (November 30, 2022) — The American Chemistry Council (ACC) commends the U.S. House vote to approve House Joint Resolution 100, which adopts the Tentative Agreement brokered between union leadership and railroads in September.
“We applaud the swift bipartisan action in the House to head off a shutdown of the rail network,” said Chris Jahn, ACC’s president and CEO.
Without a final solution from Congress, in less than a week, railroads will begin suspending shipments of chemicals that are vital to disinfecting water, producing food and refining gasoline. There is no time to waste. We urge the Senate to act quickly and approve the legislation passed by the House that implements the terms of the Tentative Agreement.
The threat of rail service embargoes come at a time when major supply chain problems continue to significantly disrupt chemical manufacturing, including a sharp decline in rail service. These ongoing problems make it extremely challenging for companies to use alternative modes of transportation to ship chemicals.
U.S. chemical manufacturers are one of largest users of freight rail – shipping more than 33,000 carloads per week worth $2.8 billion. Many chemical facilities would be forced to curtail production or shut down within the first week of a rail service embargo.
