By L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle; January 6, 2020
The petrochemical and refining unit of the French energy major Total is the latest big freight shipper to accuse the nation’s four biggest railroads of price fixing by adding fuel surcharges to cargo prices.
Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA, which is headquartered in Houston, joins 37 other companies, including the Houston refiners Phillips 66 and Motiva Enterprises, suing the railroads that control 90 percent of the nation’s rail freight traffic for allegedly conspiring to impose fuel surcharges from as early as 2003.