Opinion ID: 351545
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the decision to impose ipd on xf boxcars

Text: 31 The Commission decision reviewed here originated in response to a petition filed by General Mills, Inc. (GMI) in one phase of the continuing XM boxcar proceeding. GMI alleged that owners of boxcars designated XP and XF were reclassifying these cars as XM boxcars in order to take advantage of the increased returns made possible by IPD on the XM cars. 25 See generally Incentive Per Diem Charges 1968, 349 ICC 303, 306 (1975); comments of GMI, JA 29. As a result, GMI, which uses XP and XF boxcars to transport its considerable shipments of processed foodstuffs, feared that this rolling stock would become contaminated with insects or rodents or that it would be supplied XM cars, many of which were already infested with insects or rodents. In either case GMI would be forced to undertake extensive cleaning operations before infested cars could be used to transport foodstuffs and might have to use pesticides to control contamination. Because pesticide use would have adverse environmental consequences, GMI alleged, the Commission had no choice other than to include XP and XF cars in the IPD system or to file an environmental impact statement. Rather than deciding this issue in the context of the XM proceeding, the Commission instituted an additional rulemaking proceeding which culminated in a report, Incentive Per Diem Charges 1968 (XF Cars), 350 ICC 11 (1975) (hereinafter XF Report ), which concluded that XF cars were in short supply and that they should be included within the existing IPD scheme. 32 The XF car designation was introduced in 1973. It indicates that a boxcar is equipped with a white epoxy inner coating and it can only be used by shippers of non-contaminating food products. See XF Report, supra, 350 ICC at 13. The XF designation was intended to replace the XP designation, which had been applied to plain, unequipped boxcars used by both the food and automobile industries and generally not equipped with the epoxy lining. Id. In either case the designation indicates a high quality boxcar which, under applicable car service rules, cannot be used for carriage of contaminating cargoes. Id. At oral argument we were advised that conversion of an XP or XF car to the XM designation requires no physical modification of the car at all, but involves only repainting the identifying numbers on the side of the car and some associated paperwork. 33 According to the Commission, only the XF car can adequately protect the sanitation of processed package foods. XF Report, supra, 350 ICC at 18-19. It appears that the epoxy inner lining of the XF car prevents any rodents or insects which might be nesting between the outer and inner walls of the boxcar from gaining access to the food inside the car. As a result in-transit contamination of food shipped in containers which rodents or insects might otherwise penetrate is reduced or eliminated altogether. By contrast, the class A XM car traditionally used for carriage of processed packaged foods has clear disadvantages. See id. at 18. This car is no more than a regular XM boxcar to which the class A designation is attached once it has been cleaned and inspected to eliminate unsanitary conditions. In practice, the visual inspection upon which class A status is based is said to be inadequate because such an inspection will not detect infestation between the walls of an XM car and because the quality of visual inspections varies widely from inspector to inspector. In addition, because XM cars are free-running, i. e., they may be used by any shipper regardless of the type of freight it proposes to load, it is possible that contaminants will be introduced which are not detectable by visual inspection but which can nonetheless taint subsequent loads of processed foods. 34 Given its conclusion that only XF boxcars are suitable for transportation of processed food products, the Commission takes the further position that the existence of a shortage of XF cars is amply demonstrated by the prevalent use of the so-called class 'A' boxcars in transporting shipments of food products. Id. 35 It is this further conclusion that is challenged by Conrail, primarily because the Commission has not cited even one instance where a food shipper has asked for, but has not received, an XF car, and because there is no such instance reported in the comments in this proceeding. Conrail also challenges what it perceives to be an inconsistency between the standard of proof of shortages required by the Commission in other incentive per diem cases and the sparse record in this proceeding. The majority has rejected both of these contentions, as do I. 26 However, I agree with Conrail that at most the record evidence supports the need for Commission regulations dealing with car cleaning and loading of contaminating products. I turn to this first before setting out my broader objections to the Commission's overall statutory authority to proceed as it has here. 36