Technical Change in the Railroad Industry. Part I: Piggybacking and Intermodalism

摘要

This report consists of five papers involving technical change in the railroad industry. The papers are concerned mainly with piggybacking and intermodalism, terms used for rail truck movements in which entire truck trailers or truck containers are loaded onto railroad flat cars. Included are the following papers: (1) 'The Structure of Technology and Costs of U.S. and Canadian Railroads' examines the question of whether regulation inhibits technological changes in the railroad industry; (2) 'Intermodalism and Integrated Transportation Companies in the U.S. and Canada' explores whether intermodal ownership has encouraged the use of intermodal operations in Canada as opposed to the U.S.; (3) 'Rate Freedom and Intermodal Usage' compares the pricing structures of intermodal services in Canada and the U.S.; (4) 'Piggyback Plans: Costs, Rates, and Profitability' analyzes the profitability of piggyback operations, including peculiarities of such operations; and (5) 'Some Observation on Domestic Freight Forwarding in Canada and the U.S., An Hitherto Neglected Component of the Transportation Universe' examines the status of domestic freight forwarding operations in Canada and the U.S. and focuses on similarities and differences.