The passage of the Staggers Rail Act in 1980 led brought a renaissance to the freight rail industry. In the decade following, economists documented the effects of the Act on a variety of important economic metrics including prices, costs, and productivity. Over the preceding years, and with the return of the industry to more stable footing, attention to the industry by economists faded. The lack of attention, however, has not been due to a dearth of ongoing economic and policy issues that continue to confront the industry. In this volume, we begin to rectify this inattention. Rather than retread older analyses or provide yet another look at the consequences of Staggers, we assemble a collection of ten chapters in four sections that collectively provide fresh and up-to-date analyses of the economic issues and policy challenges the industry faces: the first section sets the context through foundational discussion of freight rail; the second section highlights the role of freight rail in an increasingly interrelated economy; the third section examines industry structure and scope in freight rail; and the fourth section assesses current regulatory challenges that confront freight rail. This book will be of great value to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students interested in the fields of freight rail economics and policy, transportation, business history, and regulatory economics.

This seminar proceedings examines the relationship between transport economics research and policymaking.

Road, rail, and waterway freight transportation is vital to the nation's economy. Gov't., tax, regulatory, and infrastructure investment policies can affect the costs that shippers pass on to their customers. If gov't. policy gives one mode a cost advantage over another, then shipping prices and customers' use of freight modes can be distorted, reducing the overall efficiency of the nation's economy. This report: (1) describes how gov't. policies can affect competition and efficiency within the surface freight transportation sector; (2) determines what is known about the extent to which all costs are borne by surface freight customers; and (3) discusses the use of the findings when making surface freight transportation policy. Illus. A print on demand report.

This report identifies potential improvements in terms of more effective safety and environmental regulation for trucks, backed by better systems of enforcement, and identifies opportunities for greater efficiency and higher productivity.

NCHRP Report 586 explores guidance on evaluating the potential feasibility, cost, and benefits of investing in rail freight solutions to alleviate highway congestion from heavy truck traffic.

"... a well structured and documented book that certainly reflects the new era of logistics." Journal of the Operational Research Society (of a previous edition) Expanded edition includes new research results and numerous modifications to enhance comprehensiveness and clarity. Two new sections, a new appendix, and more than half a dozen new figures. Provides new concept for an integrated examination of logistics systems Features "reasonable" solutions requiring as little information as possible