00342137

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http://onlinepubs.trb.org...s/trr/1981/804/804-007.pdf

https://scholar.google.co...xson&publication_year=1981

The Motor Carrier Act of 1980, which became effective July 1, 1980, will change the structure, costs, and operations of the motor carrier industry. These changes will have an effect on the competitiveness of the trucking industry vis-a-vis the railroad industry. This paper analyzes the changes that may result from the legislation and evaluates how these changes may affect the rail industry. At issue is whether the act will result in the $8 billion reduction in truck rates that proponents of the bill have said will occur. This analysis suggests that the total rate reduction will be more on the order of $300 million-$500 million at most. This analysis shows that, although the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 will change the trucking industry and its competitiveness with railroads, this change will be relatively small, and certainly not of the magnitude that has been suggested by supporters of the bill. Specifically, the analysis suggests that (a) the Motor Carrier Act substantially deregulates the motor carrier industry; (b) implementation and interpretation of the act will likely be such that the act will be as deregulatory as possible; (c) the rail competitive truckload sector is already substantially competitive, but there are still some areas where deregulation could increase competitiveness, causing lower truck rates; (d) the extent to which some truck rates may drop depends on the degree deregulation decreases union bargaining power (it is likely that this power will be substantially reduced); and (e) the relative rail-competitiveness of the regulatory subgroups of the trucking industry may change (private and contract carriers may become more competitive, while common carriers become less competitive; however, the net competitiveness of the trucking industry with rail should increase only slightly). The main point is that the change in truck competitiveness with rail that will be brought about by the Motor Carrier Act will not be severe, both in terms of potential truck rate decreases and of potential diversion. (Author)

This paper appeared in Transportation Research Record No. 804, Surface Regulatory Reform: Rail, Truck and Intermodal. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

01411617

Nupp, Byron

pp 33-41

1981

Transportation Research Record

0309032180

Print

References (6) ; Tables (3)

Competition; Contract rates; Deregulation; Freight service; Freight traffic; Impact studies; Labor unions; Laws; Motor carriers; Piggyback transportation; Quality of service; Railroad transportation; Rates; Trucking

Freight rates

Freight Transportation; Highways; Law; Motor Carriers; Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB

Oct 28 1981 12:00AM

• CHANGING MARKET STRUCTURE FOR THE FOR-HIRE MOTOR CARRIER
• HIGHLIGHTS OF TRUCK AND RAIL REGULATORY REFORM IN THE 96TH CONGRESS
• IMPACT OF RAILROAD REGULATORY REFORM ON RAILROAD CAPITAL INVESTMENT
• IMPLICATIONS OF MOTOR CARRIER REGULATORY REFORM FOR CARRIER PLANNING AND MARKETING
• IMPLICATIONS OF REGULATORY REFORM FOR INTERMODAL COMPETITION
• MONITORING THE MOTOR CARRIER ACT
• NEED FOR FUTURE REGULATORY REFORM OF RAIL AND MOTOR CARRIER INDUSTRIES