AISI Pushes Congress to Avert Freight Rail Disruption

WASHINGTON, D.C. – 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.

“The potential for significant disruption in the critical national rail system would have serious consequences for the domestic steel industry and the entire U.S. economy. 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. While a voluntary agreement among all parties to the ongoing rail negotiations is clearly the best outcome, congressional action is necessary to ensure that our nation’s freight rail system remains operational,” Dempsey wrote.

He noted that last year, railroads hauled more than 1.5 million carloads of steel and the raw materials needed to produce America’s steel.

“The nation’s railroads are an indispensable necessity for the health and survival of our domestic steel industry… A functional freight railroad system is critical to ensuring that the American steel industry can effectively and efficiently serve its customers…[We urge] Congress to take the necessary legislative action to ensure that our nation’s freight rail system remains fully operational,” Dempsey concluded.

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Contact: Lisa Harrison

202.452.7115 / lharrison@steel.org

AISI serves as the voice of the American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI’s membership is comprised of integrated and electric arc furnace steelmakers, and associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s website at www.steel.org. Follow AISI on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (@AISISteel) or Instagram.