The American Chemistry Council issued new research documenting how a lack of freight rail competition is costing U.S. chemical companies billions of dollars in excess shipping costs each year. Showing shipping rates that often exceed 300 percent of the revenue-to-variable cost (RVC) ratio, the ACC study estimates that if the $3.9bn premium on chemical shipments were reduced, the chemical sector could create up to 25,000 additional American jobs, with $1.5bn in new wages, and $6.8bn in new economic output.