Unlocking Lower Rail Rates: How the STB’s Quarterly Freight Commodity Statistics (QCS) Help Shippers Save

Understanding the intricacies of rail cost control can be pivotal for businesses. In this article, we will delve deeper into how shippers can harness the power of the Quarterly Freight Commodity Statistics to optimize their shipping strategies and help ensure they secure the best possible rates. We will explore various case studies, techniques, and expert insights that will empower you to navigate the freight rail landscape more effectively.

Utilizing these insights, helps determine reasonable rates for rail movements, ensuring they remain competitive.

In the evolving landscape of logistics and transportation, the ability to leverage data effectively can mean the difference between profitability and loss. The Quarterly Freight Commodity Statistics (QCS) serves as a vital resource for shippers aiming to negotiate more favorable rates with Class I railroads. This comprehensive dataset is put out by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), from revenue and carload data provided by each class I railroad. The QCS contains data down to the 5-digit STCC which provides a wealth of information that can be pivotal in shaping your freight strategy.

These quarterly reports offer a goldmine of insights that can directly support cost-saving strategies—if you know how to use them.

The QCS reports not only reflect current market conditions but also allow shippers to make historical comparisons, giving them a clearer picture of trends and shifts in the freight rail market. With every quarterly release, new opportunities arise for shippers to reassess their strategies and align them with the latest market data.

What Are the Quarterly Freight Commodity Statistics?

The QCS is not merely a collection of numbers; it is a detailed analysis of the freight rail market. By breaking down the statistics into various categories, shippers can gain insights that are crucial for their operations.

The QCS is a comprehensive dataset collected by the STB that provides granular details about the traffic volumes and revenues of each Class I railroad’s operations in the United States. The statistics are broken down by:

1.        Commodity type

2.        Railroad carrier

3.        Carloads

4.        Revenue

5.        Average Revenue per Car

6.        Tons

This dataset can be instrumental for shippers in identifying revenue and carload trends in specific commodities, allowing you to forecast demand and adjust your shipment strategies accordingly. For example, if a shipper notices a spike in the transportation of fertilizer products during harvest seasons, it it can prepare for potential increases in rail rates by proactively negotiating contracts ahead of time.

Published four times a year, the QCS offers a valuable snapshot of national freight patterns and railroad activity, segmented by both individual railroads and commodity groups.

The implications of these statistics extend beyond mere observation; they also empower shippers to shift their logistics strategies based on current data, to help stay competitive in the marketplace. The ability to analyze these patterns can lead to more informed decisions regarding shipment timing and cost management.

Why This Matters for Rail Shippers

In today’s competitive landscape, leveraging data effectively can significantly enhance a company’s bottom line. The QCS serves as an indispensable tool for shippers of all sizes, from small businesses to large corporations, allowing them to benchmark their operations against competitors on each of your railroads.

For companies that rely on rail to move products — be it grain, plastics, chemicals, or manufactured goods—the QCS can be an indispensable benchmarking tool. Here’s how it can be used strategically. Six specific examples for how QCS data is used to reduce rail expenses are provided below:

1. Support Rate Negotiations

Tracking the QCS percent change in a railroad’s average rate for your commodity over time lets you see how your rates have changed in relation to other companies (your competitors). Your negotiation leverage increases when you can support that your rates are increasing more than other companies on your railroad. This is especially true when you use your railroads’ own data for your commodities.  Objective, data is a powerful negotiation lever. Shippers who reference the QCS can bring credible market insights to the table—strengthening their position in rate discussions or contract renewals

2. Benchmark Against Market Averages

The QCS includes the average revenue per car figures across different commodities and carriers. If you’re paying significantly more than what’s reported for your commodity on a railroad, this provides more leverage to challenge your rate.

3. Help Improve a Railroads’ Business Model

The QCS will show when rate increases are causing a railroad to lose volume and revenue for commodities you ship. Once aware of this problem you can become a part of the solution for the railroad. For example, by tracking the change in QCS rates in relation to carloads and total rail revenue for a commodity over time you know the impact of rate increases on a railroad’s total carloads. This provides you with the information you need to help improve the railroad’s business model for your commodity.  Partnering with a railroad to resolve this problem can then become a major part of your negotiation strategy.

4. Understand Changes In Railroad Volumes

Shippers can analyze historical QCS data to predict future trends. For instance, if there is a consistent increase in the demand for a particular commodity, shippers can prepare for potential rate hikes by securing contracts at current rates before they rise

5. Understand How Important Your Business is to a Railroad

QCS carload data shows how important your business is to a railroad. This data will show whether your business represents 5% or 60% of a commodity on your railroads system. Knowledge represents power in negotiations, and the QCS provides much needed knowledge about your relationship with a railroad.

6. Spot Seasonal Trends

Since the QCS comes out quarterly, it can be used to track patterns across the year. Knowing when rail volumes are low can help you time rate negotiations or shipping schedules more strategically.

Final Thoughts

In an era where information is key to making sound business choices, the Quarterly Freight Commodity Statistics offers shippers a competitive edge. By arming themselves with this data, shippers can approach the negotiation table with confidence, backed by credible insights that reflect the realities of the freight rail market.

In an environment where transparency is limited and railroads often hold the upper hand, tools like the Quarterly Freight Commodity Statistics empower shippers to make more informed decisions. Whether you’re a small shipper looking to validate reasonable rates and rate increases or a large shipper seeking strategic leverage, QCS data can be a critical piece of your cost-control puzzle.

As you consider your own shipping strategies, remember that the QCS is more than just a reporting tool; it is a roadmap for navigating the complexities of rail freight costs. By integrating this data into your logistics operations, you can foster better relationships with carriers and ultimately drive down your transportation expenses.

How Rail Shippers Use RCC to Access and Leverage QCS Data

The Rail Cost Control (RCC) program is designed to bridge the gap between raw data and actionable insights. By utilizing the RCC platform, shippers can not only access QCS data but also analyze it through sophisticated tools that provide a clearer understanding of market trends.

Rail shippers don’t have to dig through raw Surface Transportation Board files on their own to benefit from the Quarterly Freight Commodity Statistics. The Rail Cost Control (RCC) program makes this data more accessible and actionable by integrating current and historical QCS data directly into its platform. Through RCC, shippers can easily analyze commodity-specific traffic volumes, revenue metrics, and carrier market share—all within a user-friendly interface designed for rate benchmarking and negotiation.

Shippers can take advantage of features such as real-time data analysis and customizable reports, which allow them to tailor their insights based on specific needs. This adaptability ensures that firms can react swiftly to market changes, reinforcing their competitive position.

Conclusion: Rail Shippers Need the Rail Cost Control (RCC) Program

While QCS data is a valuable resource, they are just one piece of the puzzle. To fully leverage them in rail negotiations, shippers need context, interpretation, and tools to compare rates and costs across movements. That’s where the Rail Cost Control (RCC) program becomes essential. RCC combines QCS data with proprietary rate benchmarks, the Public Use Waybill Sample, and network modeling tools to give shippers a complete picture of their rail spend and negotiating position. It transforms raw data into actionable insights—empowering shippers to push for fairer rates, defend against unjustified increases, and strategically manage their rail costs.  

In today’s complex freight landscape, informed shippers win—and RCC ensures they are informed. 

How Rail Cost Control (RCC) Empowers Shippers — Even When They’re Not the Payer of Freight 

In today’s complex rail logistics environment, visibility is power. For many manufacturers and distributors, freight is billed and managed by suppliers, meaning the buyer never directly negotiates with the railroad. However, even when a company isn’t the payer of freight, understanding what rail transportation should cost remains critical to managing delivered prices and maintaining competitiveness. That’s where RCC comes in. 

Uncover Hidden Transportation Costs in Delivered Pricing 

When freight is prepaid, shippers often accept the supplier’s delivered cost at face value. Yet, that price includes rail transportation – an expense that can fluctuate significantly based on carrier contracts, market dynamics, and rate negotiations. Without access to those underlying numbers, it’s impossible to know whether the supplier is passing along a fair transportation charge. 

RCC provides the tools to change that. By entering the origin, destination, commodity details, and other known details of a movement, shippers can use Rail Rate Checker (part of the RCC program) to estimate what the benchmark rail rate should be for that route. This comparison allows the shipper to evaluate whether the supplier’s delivered cost aligns with market averages—or if hidden freight markups are inflating total landed costs. 

Example: If a supplier’s delivered cost is significantly higher than RCC’s benchmark rail rate for the same movement, the discrepancy often indicates that the supplier’s negotiated rail rate is above market, or that margin is being added to the freight portion of the sale. 

Use RCC to Confirm Supplier Competitiveness 

RCC’s Database Management System (DMS) provides a macro-level view of rates and movement economics. This allows shippers to: 

• Reverse-engineer supplier rates using known routes and delivery costs.
  •Validate supplier competitiveness by comparing rates against regional and national market averages. 
  • Strengthen negotiations by knowing whether suppliers’ transportation arrangements are optimized—or leaving money on the table. 

Armed with this information, shippers gain leverage in supplier discussions and procurement decisions. It transforms delivered pricing from a black box into a transparent, data-driven process. 

Track Rate Changes Over Time 

Markets evolve. Rail rates rise and fall based on carrier cost structures, inflation, and network changes. What was a fair rate three years ago may no longer be competitive today. 

RCC’s historical rate tracking capabilities allow users to: 
• Analyze rate trends over time for specific lanes and commodities. 
• Quantify how rates have changed across different carriers, origins, or destinations. 
• Anticipate future shifts and build cost models that reflect true transportation economics. 

By viewing multi-year rate histories, shippers can identify when suppliers’ delivered costs have increased faster than industry benchmarks—a strong signal that freight expenses may not be optimized. 

Turning Delivered Cost into Strategic Insight 

Even when a company isn’t managing rail contracts directly, RCC helps bridge the information gap between delivered cost and true rail market conditions. With this visibility, shippers can: 

• Ensure suppliers are obtaining competitive rail rates
• Improve total cost of goods delivered analysis for sourcing decisions
• Strengthen budget forecasting and cost control across supply chains.
   

In short, Rail Cost Control transforms passive freight recipients into informed supply chain decision-makers. 

Conclusion 

Whether you control freight or buy on a delivered basis, rail costs are a critical part of your total spend. Rail Cost Control empowers shippers to see what’s happening behind the invoice—to identify inefficiencies, confirm competitive pricing, and track long-term rate trends. The result: greater transparency, stronger supplier relationships, and better-informed logistics strategy. 

Why Every Rail Shipper Needs a Formal Position on the UP–NS Merger 

 

As the rail industry braces for potential structural shifts driven by the proposed Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) merger, rail shippers face a defining moment. Whether the merger proceeds as proposed or undergoes regulatory revisions, the decisions made today will reshape rate structures, routing options, and competitive access for years to come. 
 
For shippers, neutrality isn’t a strategy — it’s a missed opportunity. Establishing a formal position on the UP–NS merger is essential to protect both short- and long-term transportation interests. 

1. Defining Your Interests Before Others Define Them for You 

In every major railroad consolidation, stakeholders that clearly communicate their needs early tend to shape the outcome in their favor. Railroads and regulators look closely at shipper feedback when assessing market impacts, competition, and network efficiency. 
 
By formally stating your position — whether in support, opposition, or with conditions — your company ensures that its voice is heard in the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) review process. Silence can be interpreted as acceptance, and that leaves your transportation costs and access at the mercy of others’ priorities. 

2. Anticipating How the Merger Could Affect Your Network 

The UP–NS merger could influence more than rate structures. It may reshape interchange points, alter routing options, and redefine how traffic flows across regions. For shippers with multiple facilities or diverse commodity portfolios, even subtle shifts in routing control can lead to significant changes in cost and service reliability.  

Developing a formal position forces a proactive analysis: 
– How could network consolidation impact your lanes and service options? 
– Would your access to competing carriers be limited or enhanced? 
– Could rate or service commitments already negotiated become less competitive post-merger? 

3. Strengthening Your Negotiating Leverage 

Railroads are closely watching how shippers respond. A well-documented position gives your organization a clear and credible foundation for future negotiations, with carriers. This can also affect what is included in the final merger agreement, if approved by the STB. 
 
Taking a stand communicates preparedness and sophistication that you’ve assessed how the merger could influence your network and that you’re ready to advocate for terms that maintain or improve your competitive access. 

4. Building Alignment Across Stakeholders 

Establishing a formal stance isn’t only about submitting comments to the STB; it’s also about aligning your internal stakeholders — from logistics and procurement to legal and executive leadership. 
 
A defined position ensures that everyone within your organization is speaking consistently and strategically when the merger becomes a discussion point with rail partners or industry groups. 

5. Protecting Future Options 

Even if the merger is approved, its implementation will unfold over the years. Railroads often use transition periods to make operational adjustments that can affect pricing and service. Shippers with a clear, documented stance are better positioned to request concessions, monitor compliance, and hold carriers accountable to merger conditions that protect competition. 

The Bottom Line 

The UP–NS merger will likely be one of the most consequential developments in rail logistics this decade. Shippers that take the time to analyze its implications and establish a formal position — supported by data and a clear understanding of how the merger affects their network — will be better prepared to adapt, negotiate, and thrive in the new landscape. 
 
In mergers of this scale, those who speak early have the ability and opportunity to strategically shape the outcome. Those who remain silent are left to navigate the consequences of inaction. 

Take the Next Step 

Understanding how the UP–NS merger could reshape your competitive access is critical — especially if your lanes or facilities may face increased captivity. Escalation Consultants can help you evaluate how the merger will impact your specific commodities, rates, and routing options. 

Click to schedule a review of your network and develop a strategy to protect your position before the market shifts. 

When negotiating rail freight rates, shippers often feel they’re at a disadvantage due to the complexity and lack of competition in the rail industry.

 

However, one powerful, yet often overlooked, source of leverage comes from an unlikely place: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. These public documents—required by law for publicly traded companies—offer a wealth of financial and operational data that rail shippers can use to their advantage during negotiations. 

Transparency into Railroad Financials 

SEC filings, such as 10-Ks and 10-Qs, offer detailed insights into a railroad’s revenue, profit margins, and cost structures. Railroads must disclose information on volumes, revenue, pricing trends, operating ratios, freight expenses, and numerous other details that can be used to determine opportunities for negotiating better rates or service commitments. 

Specific Examples for Reducing Cost 

Once you know how a railroads SEC data has changed over time it opens up new sources of negotiation leverage with railroads. A few examples of how SEC data is used in strategic planning for rail negotiations are: 

1. How a railroads’ costs have changed over time.  

This can put a lid on your rate increases and may also offer an opportunity for discussions about rate decreases. 

2. The level of a railroads’ profit. 

You can then decide whether the railroad’s profit from moving your products is greater than your profit from producing products.  

3. The overall average percent increase in a railroads rate. 

It is always important to Know if your rates are increasing more than the average for your railroad. 

4. The change in railroads’ fuel cost 

This allows you to check the accuracy of a railroads fuel surcharge program. (Change in fuel cost versus fuel surcharge revenue). 

Benchmarking and Competitive Positioning 

If a shipper sees that a railroad has had rising profit margins, while service levels have remained static or declined, it may signal that there’s room to push back on rate increases. Similarly, if a railroad is heavily investing in a specific corridor or terminal, it could suggest greater willingness to negotiate to fill capacity in that area. 

Shippers can also use SEC data to benchmark rail carriers against one another. This is particularly useful when a shipper is served by more than one Class I railroad or has the option to interchange traffic. Knowing which railroad has the lower operating ratio or which one is investing more aggressively in infrastructure can be a persuasive tool in negotiations. Railroads competing for business respond not only to volume, but to informed shippers who understand their business economics. 

In addition, SEC filings sometimes reveal strategic priorities—such as growing intermodal, agricultural, or energy sectors—which can help shippers align their messaging with the railroad’s goals and potentially secure better terms. 

Conclusion: Rail Shippers Need the Rail Cost Control (RCC) Program 

While SEC filings are a valuable resource, they are just one piece of the puzzle. To fully leverage them in rail negotiations, shippers need context, interpretation, and tools to compare rates and costs across movements. That’s where the Rail Cost Control (RCC) program becomes essential. RCC combines SEC data with proprietary rate benchmarks, the Public Use Waybill Sample, and network modeling tools to give shippers a complete picture of their rail spend and negotiating position. It transforms raw data into actionable insights—empowering shippers to push for fairer rates, defend against unjustified increases, and strategically manage their rail costs.  

In today’s complex freight landscape, informed shippers win—and RCC ensures they are informed.