The Impact of Demand-Sensitive Railroad Rates Upon the Storage and Transportation System for U.S. Feed Grains

摘要

A storage and transportation model of the U.S. feed grain industry was developed to measure the potential impacts of demand-sensitive rail rates. At the national level, a 5 to 15 percent change in rail rates simultaneously increased rail revenue and traffic volume and reduced seasonality of rail demand. Incentives were created in lieu of immediate rail transportation. As a consequence, total costs of transportation, handling and storage increased. Regional results differed slightly.