DETERMINANTS OF PROFITABILITY OF GRAIN DEPENDENT SHORT LINE RAILROADS

摘要

This paper is the first empirical analysis of U. S. short lien railroad profitability using primary cost and revenue data. Models of short line profitability are developed using Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) as the profitability measure. The sample includes 34 short lines operating in 17 states in the midwest region of the U. S. for the fiscal years 1986-1995. The models are estimated by OLS regression and explain up to 75/100 of the variation in short line profitability.