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Productivity Improvements in the U.S. Rail Freight Industry, 1980-2010

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  • Martland, Carl D.

Abstract

Between 1980 and 2008, extensive productivity improvements and changes in traffic mix allowed railroads to become more profitable despite declining prices and stronger competition from motor carriers. These productivity improvements enabled the Class I railroads to halve their real costs per ton-mile, even though costs for fuel and other resources rose faster than inflation. Productivity improvements were greatest for bulk traffic moving in unit trains, containers moving in doublestack trains, and high-volume shipments moving long-distances in specialized equipment. While the rail industry indeed achieved tremendous improvements in productivity following passage of the Staggers Act in 1980, it is incorrect to point to deregulation as the primary reason for these gains. Other factors that were even more critical to productivity growth included technological advances, new labor agreements, improved management, and public policy responses to the Northeast Rail Crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Martland, Carl D., 2012. "Productivity Improvements in the U.S. Rail Freight Industry, 1980-2010," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 51(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ndjtrf:207329
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.207329
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    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/207329/files/2012v51n3_06_RailroadProductivity.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. José A. Gómez-Ibáñez & Ginés de Rus (ed.), 2006. "Competition in the Railway Industry," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 4213.
    2. Bereskin, C. Gregory, 2009. "Railroad Economies of Scale, Scope, and Density Revisited," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 48(2).
    3. Martland, Carld D. & Alpert, Steve, 2007. "Origin-to-Destination Performance for General Merchandise Traffic Moving to or from Short Line Railroads," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 46(3).
    4. Lewis, Paul, 2012. "Rail Freight Traffic: An Analysis to Better Understand the Industry and the Factors that Influence Traffic," 53rd Annual Transportation Research Forum, Tampa, Florida, March 15-17, 2012 207110, Transportation Research Forum.
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    Cited by:

    1. Abdullah Al-Hadi, Azrina & Peoples, James, 2016. "Input Price Effect on Productivity Gains in the United States Railroad Industry," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 50(2), pages 3-14.
    2. Babcock, Michael W. & Gayle, Philip G., 2014. "Specifying and Estimating a Regional Agricultural Railroad Demand Model," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 53(01).
    3. Andrade Furtado, Francisco Manuel Bastos, 2013. "U.S. and European Freight Railways: The Differences That Matter," Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, Transportation Research Forum, vol. 52(2).

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