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Railway Operating Revenues
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Railway Operating Revenues Railway Operating Revenues
The following table disaggregates our revenues by major commodity group:
20192018
($ in millions)
Merchandise:
Chemicals$1,874  $1,858  
Agriculture products1,567  1,514  
Metals and construction1,522  1,539  
Automotive994  991  
Forest and consumer846  842  
Merchandise6,803  6,744  
Intermodal2,824  2,893  
Coal1,669  1,821  
Total$11,296  $11,458  

At the beginning of 2019, we recategorized certain commodities within Merchandise major commodity groups to
better align with how we internally manage these commodities. Prior period amounts have been reclassified to
conform to the current presentation with no net impact to overall Merchandise revenue or total railway operating
revenues. Specifically, certain commodities were shifted between chemicals, agriculture products, metals and construction, and forest and consumer.

We recognize the amount of revenue we expect to be entitled to for the transfer of promised goods or services to
customers. A performance obligation is created when a customer under a transportation contract or public tariff submits a bill of lading to NS for the transport of goods. These performance obligations are satisfied as the shipments move from origin to destination. As such, transportation revenue is recognized proportionally as a shipment moves, and related expenses are recognized as incurred. These performance obligations are generally short-term in nature with transit days averaging approximately one week or less for each commodity group. The customer has an unconditional obligation to pay for the service once the service has been completed. Estimated revenue associated with in-process shipments at period-end is recorded based on the estimated percentage of service
completed to total transit days. We had no material remaining performance obligations at December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Revenue related to interline transportation services that involve another railroad is reported on a net basis. Therefore, the portion of the amount that relates to another party is not reflected in revenue.

Under the typical payment terms of our freight contracts, payment for services is due within fifteen days of billing the customer, thus there are no significant financing components. “Accounts receivable – net” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets includes both customer and non-customer receivables as follows:
December 31,
20192018
($ in millions)
Customer                                       $682  $740  
Non-customer238  269  
  Accounts receivable – net$920  $1,009  

Non-customer receivables include non-revenue-related amounts due from other railroads, governmental entities, and others.  “Other assets” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets includes non-current customer receivables of $23 million and $55 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.  In 2019, we wrote off a $32 million non-current customer receivable resulting from a legal dispute and this expense is included in “Materials and other” on the Consolidated Statements of Income. We do not have any material contract assets or liabilities at December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Certain accessorial services may be provided to customers under their transportation contracts such as switching, demurrage and other incidental service revenues. These are distinct performance obligations that are recognized at a point in time when the services are performed or as contractual obligations are met. This revenue is included within each of the commodity groups and represents approximately 5% and 4% of total “Railway operating revenues” on the Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.