Notices. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

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BILLING CODE 4915-01-P SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD [Docket No. EP 748] Indexing the Annual Operating Revenues of Railroads The Surface Transportation Board (the Board) is publishing the annual inflation-adjusted index and deflator factors for 2019. The deflator factors are used by the railroads to adjust their gross annual operating revenues for classification purposes. This indexing methodology ensures that railroads are classified based on real business expansion and not on the effects of inflation.

Classification is important because it determines the extent to which individual railroads must comply with the Board's reporting requirements. The Board's deflator factors are based on the annual average Railroad Freight Price Index developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Board's deflator factor is used to deflate revenues for comparison with established revenue thresholds. The base year for railroads is 1991. The inflation-adjusted indexes and deflator factors are presented as follows: 1 In *Montana Rail Link, Inc., & Wisconsin Central Ltd., Joint Petition for Rulemaking with Respect to 49 CFR Part 1201,* 8 I.C.C.2d 625 (1992), the Board's predecessor, the Interstate Commerce Commission, raised the revenue classification level for Class I railroads from $50 million (1978 dollars) to $250 million (1991 dollars), effective for the reporting year beginning January 1, 1992.

The Class II threshold was also raised from $10 million (1978 dollars) to $20 million (1991 dollars). On May 14, 2020, the Board opened a rulemaking proceeding and invited comment on issues related to the Class I carrier revenue threshold determination in response to a petition for rulemaking. *Mont. Rail Link, Inc.—Pet. For Rulemaking—Classification of Carriers,* EP 763 (STB served May 14, 2020). Railroad Inflation-Adjusted Index and Deflator Factor Table Year Index Deflator 1991 409.50 1 100.00 1992 411.80 99.45 1993 415.50 98.55 1994 418.80 97.70 1995 418.17 97.85 1996 417.46 98.02 1997 419.67 97.50 1998 424.54 96.38 1999 423.01 96.72 2000 428.64 95.45 2001 436.48 93.73 2002 445.03 91.92 2003 454.33 90.03 2004 473.41 86.40 2005 522.41 78.29 2006 567.34 72.09 2007 588.30 69.52 2008 656.78 62.28 2009 619.73 66.00 2010 652.29 62.71 2011 708.80 57.71 2012 740.61 55.23 2013 764.19 53.53 2014 778.41 52.55 2015 749.22 54.60 2016 732.38 55.85 2017 758.95 53.90 2018 801.61 51.03 2019 825.94 49.52 Application of the annual deflator factors results in the following annual revenue thresholds:

Railroad Revenue Thresholds Year Factor Class I Class II 2015 0.5460 457,913,998 36,633,120 2016 0.5585 447,621,226 35,809,698 2017 0.5390 463,860,933 37,108,875 2018 0.5103 489,935,956 39,194,876 2019 0.4952 504,803,294 40,384,263 DATES: The inflation-adjusted indexes and deflator factors are effective January 1, 2019. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pedro Ramirez at

(202)245-0333. Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at

(800)877-8339. Board decisions and notices are available at *www.stb.gov.* Decided: June 4, 2020. By the Board, Dr. William J. Brennan, Director, Office of Economics. Kenyatta Clay, Clearance Clerk. [FR Doc. 2020-12501 Filed 6-9-20; 8:45 am]

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