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Twenty years ago, it was easy to classify companies such as Ryder/P-I-E, Consolidated Freightways and Yellow Freight System as less-than-truckload carriers: simply put, that was the type of freight they [...]

Issues discussed concern transportation policy in the US, and the environmental and social problems caused by sprawl and traffic congestion. Topics addressed include ways to influence the direction of the transportation industry through deregulation, competition, public incentives, and development of new technologies.

Transportation policy makers should adopt Sinclair Weeks' belief that all economic regulation leads to loss and that competition is the best regulator for transportation industries. Weeks would have advocated transferring transportation policy decision to the Department of Commerce, called for the abolition of antitrust immunity for transportation industries, introduced competition and stringent safety measures, and reduced the costs of protecting U.S. flag carriers. Biographical details of Week are discussed.

In the high-stakes poker game that shipper-carrier negotiations have become, all the players know the deck is stacked. Shippers use their volume like an ace in the hole, while carriers [...]

The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 (MCA 1980) reduced price and entry regulation to the motor carrier industry in the USA considerably. Deregulation has led to considerable improvements in services available to shippers. However, its impact on road safety has been controversial ever since. This paper develops and tests a model based on Panzar and Savage (1989) to determine the impact of MCA (1980) on road safety in California for the period from 1976 to 1987. The results indicate that MCA (1980) has affected road safety negatively and in a statistically significant manner. However, these results are based on a small sample size. Further empirical study is needed to confirm these findings. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), I. Introduction The Motor Carrier Act (MCA 1980) effectively lifted price and entry regulation of intercity, general commodity carriers in the USA. The number of motor carrier firms increased by [...]

In a regulated environment firm size had no significant impact on strategy selection or on firm performance. The very structured regulatory environment prevented firms from realizing any gains obtainable from exercising their size advantages. However, the pattern of strategies followed by large, medium, and small firms differed significantly under deregulation. In a deregulated setting firm size and firm strategy have a statistically significant independent as well as combined effect on firm performance. In this deregulated environment, small firms are outperformed by medium and large firms. When the effects of firm size are coupled with strategy selection, the disadvantage of small size in the deregulated environment is even more striking. Overall, there is no strategy that results in significantly better performance for small firms. The results also show that medium-sized firms perform close to the level achieved by large firms. The results also show that medium-sized firms pursuing a differentiation strategy outperform large firms pursuing any individual strategy. These results do not support the contention that only the very largest motor carriers can succeed in the deregulated environment. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Data regarding transportation and logistics costs was analyzed using the total cost analysis framework. It was found that transportation deregulation has led to more efficient marketing/logistics systems. The new climate has fostered cooperation between carriers and shippers, and has had an implicit salutary effect on inventory costs and levels. There has been an increase in the efficiency, freedom of choice and innovation in the transportation system. However, labor unions and inefficient carriers were adversely affected by this type of legislation.

Transportation needs to be deregulated further in the US. Costs would go down and management would improve as business logistics was freed from regulatory requirements. Competitive positions of logistics and transport companies can be shown on a strategic mapping model composed of four quadrants: industry, customized, diversified and operational, showing the need for deregulation.

Logistics: Our Economy's Engine Logistics saved the U.S. from a deeper recession, and it could shift our economy into high gear if more deregulation was enacted. The recession of 1990 [...]

During the 1980s, declining business inventories became a major trend in the United States. While some analysts attribute the lower inventory levels to transportation deregulation, the relationship between deregulation and inventory has yet to be tested empirically. This paper develops and tests a model of transportation deregulation, 'just-in-time' (JIT), and inventory levels. It is found that the impact of deregulation on inventory levels is indirect - transportation deregulation has been followed by increasing interest in JIT, and interest in how JIT corresponds to lower inventory levels. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), During the 1980s, declining business inventories became a major trend in the United States. While some analysts attribute the lower inventory levels to transportation deregulation, the relationship between deregulation and [...]

Railroads and shippers would support a movement to a completely deregulated transportation environment, but motor carriers would not, based on a survey of 1291 respondents. The primary determinant of this difference is the perceived necessity of rate bureaus. Perceived differences in the impact of deregulation on rural service and the potential reduction of competition due to increased intermodal activities were much smaller contributors to the differences in positions. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), Determinants of Support for a Completely Deregulated Transportation Environment: A Path Analysis I. Introduction The deregulation acts of 1980 appear to have resulted in differential benefits to railroads, motor carriers, [...]

Hedonic price indices for coal rail transportation are developed and applied to show what happened to rail prices from 1973 through 1983, a period that contains major deregulation legislation: the 4-R Act of 1976 and the Staggers Act of 1980. The paper shows that: (1) It is possible to develop coal rail price indices that control for shifts in distance and tonnage that occurred during deregulation; (2) the average annual percentage increase in rail prices between 1973 and 1983 was higher than rail cost inflation, primarily during the first half of the period, suggesting that railroads were quick to take advantage of pricing freedom; and (3) coal rail price changes for state origin-destination pairs do not follow secular rail cost changes but are, instead, consistent with railroads establishing rates based on demand conditions. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), Coal Rail Prices During Deregulation: A Hedonic Price Analysis I. Background Deregulation of the railroads has been a process stretching over two decades. In 1976, Congress partially deregulated the railroads [...]

The results of the study indicate that the rail market for export-bound corn and wheat has competitive differences between crops and regions. Barge competition, distance, and regional variation are significantly related to rate to variable costs ratios. While significant interregional competition is found for all regions, a clear effect of the Staggers Rail Act on rail rate competitiveness was not found. This might be attributable to correlations with other variables such as changes in certain operating factors (e.g., shipment size) which took place during the deregulated period. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), The Competitiveness of Rail Rates for Export-Bound Grain The passage of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 allowed railroads greater flexibility in setting rail rates. Since then there has been [...]

Address by A. MAURICE MYERS, Chairman, President and CEO of Yellow Corporation Delivered to the National Industrial Transportation League, Atlanta, Georgia, November 18, 1996 Thank you Ed (Emmett). Just after [...]

The cost of shipping a 40-foot container from Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Yokohama, Japan, is said to be about US$2,000. Transporting the same container from Yokohama to Hokkaido, Japan, by truck [...]

Deregulation has been detrimental to South Africa's transportation industry. Urban planners and politicians should be blamed for their lack of foresight in imposing deregulation. Unscheduled minibuses have supplanted trains and feeder buses. Another adverse effect of deregulation is the complete bus service cessation in some places due to unfair competition. Evidently, the recently implemented transportation policy has proven to be more of a bane than a boon to mass transit operation.

Transportation remains at its core a simple business: Pick up cargo at one place and deliver it to another. For all the dramatic changes in the transportation industry over the [...]

TRANSPORTATION IS NO SIMPLE MATTER Reform in European transportation policy called for in the Treaty of Rome has developed into one of the most significant aspects of the Single Market [...]