Instructions for Quarterly and Annual Freight Commodity Statistics

Surface Transportation Board
Quarterly & Annual Freight Commodity Statistics
General instructions

Under order from the Surface Transportation Board, all Class I railroads are required to report quarterly
and annually their car loadings and total revenues by commodity code. 49 C.F.R. § 1248.1 and 1248.2.
These reports are derived from information contained in waybills used by railroads in the ordinary course
of business.
The template provided includes this instruction form, a signature form, and two Excel (.xlsx) files. The
signature form must be filled out by appropriate parties and submitted electronically with the Excel
file(s). Please do not leave remarks in the Excel files. If explanation is needed, please include those
remarks in the signature form. Files must be submitted electronically to the STB within 60 days of the end
of the reporting period.
One Excel template is for public reporting. Individual cells representing less than three shippers must be
filed confidentially using the Excel file marked confidential. If there is no confidential data, there is no
need to submit a blank confidential Excel file. In the public filing, there is a note on whether confidential
data exists.
The templates are the same for both annual and quarterly statistics. Annual statistics are cumulative
quarterly statistics.
Numerical formatting:
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Enter numbers without comma separators, dollar signs, or other formatting.
All dollar values units must be rounded to the nearest dollar and tons rounded to the nearest ton.

Except in unusual circumstances which must be explained in the filings, totals must equal the sum of the
corresponding data lines, but within rounding tolerances. When rounding is required, do not sum rounded
figures; please sum actual figures and then round the result.

Public Excel file
The main data will be filed in the public datasheet.
The respondent information in QCS_cover must be entered in column B.
QCS_data sheet, Columns C through M represent the following:
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C: Revenue freight originating on respondents' road; terminating on line; carloads
D: Revenue freight originating on respondents' road; terminating on line; tons
E: Revenue freight originating on respondents' road; delivered to connections; carloads
F: Revenue freight originating on respondents' road; delivered to connections; tons
G: Revenue freight received from connecting carriers; terminating on line; carloads
H: Revenue freight received from connecting carriers; terminating on line; tons
I: Revenue freight received from connecting carriers; delivered to connections; carloads
J: Revenue freight received from connecting carriers; delivered to connections; tons
K: Total freight revenue carried; carloads
L: Total freight revenue carried; tons
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M: Gross freight revenue dollars

Fill out each cell in QCS_data sheet with the information corresponding to the line-column combination
implied by that cell.
Confidential Excel file
For the QCS_data sheet, the confidential datasheet has the same column schema as the public datasheet.
However, since which rows are confidential may vary from quarter to quarter, you will also need to fill in:
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Column A: STCC code: use the same coding format as the public file.
Column B: STCC descrip: use the same description as the public file.

Fill in confidential cells corresponding to the lines you produced in columns C through M.
Spreadsheets must never include additional added rows or columns, and data must be in the same cells
that are provided in the templates. Failure to follow specific instructions may result in a need to refile.
Submissions are electronically checked for numeric consistency. If you have any questions, please contact
the Office of Economics.

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