Study Of Competition In Transportation

This book represents the proceedings of a conference held at Kobe University, that brought together some of the world's leading researchers in the field of transportation planning and policy. It contains a compendium of papers representing state-of-the-art research on topics of competition and regulation and system structure in air and maritime transportation. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and others who can use it as a starting point for advancing the state of knowledge in important topics of transportation systems management. It can also serve as a textbook for an advanced graduate course in transportation, economics, or public policy as applied to maritime transportation and air transportation. As such it is the first text of its kind.

Issues of competition seem to have been neglected for a long time in the transportation sector. But the provision of transport services at competitive prices and quantities may have an important impact on economic development, both from a regional and a global perspective. This volume addresses such issues of competition in transportation. Part I deals with the air transport sector, part II is concerned with the road transport sector, part III takes a look at transportation costs and, in the final part, some visions of competition in transportation are discussed.

This report presents the findings of an independent study of the competitive state of the U.S. freight railroad industry performed by the study team assembled by Christensen Associates and commissioned by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB). In conducting this study, the Christensen Associates study team has received cooperation from the STB and numerous railroad industry stakeholders including railroads, various shipper group organizations, numerous individual shippers, government organizations, academics, and other stakeholders. The study team also assembled an Advisory Panel with representatives from a broad crosssection of industries, groups, and stakeholders. While valuable insights and assistance were obtained by the study team from these various groups, no individual, government agency, railroad, shipper, or any other industry stakeholder has influenced the findings of this study. The findings presented and conclusions reached in this report are the professional judgments and opinions of the Christensen Associates railroad study team.