Impact of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 on Small and Medium Sized Freight Carriers

摘要

Deregulation of the transportation industry has been a major force behind U.S. transportation policy during the past two decades. The major concern about this deregulation was that small and medium-sized carriers would lose out in the competition, becoming victims of fierce competition from large carriers. The overall objective of the study was to determine the impacts of regulatory reform of interstate trucking on small and medium sized motor carriers. Three areas of the carrier operations were examined: equipment utilization, involvement in regulated freight haulage, and financial performance indicators. Data came primarily from two sources: a mail survey of 536 small and medium sized carriers and data on over 9,000 long-distance roundtrips from a 7-year study of produce haulers.