Freight Transportation Policy: Cost & Mobility Considerations (Transportation Issues, Policies and R&d)

Road, rail, and waterway freight transportation is vital to the nation's economy. Government tax, regulatory, and infrastructure investment policies can affect the costs that shippers pass on to their customers. If government policy gives one mode a cost advantage over another, by, for example, not recouping all the costs of that mode's use of infrastructure, then shipping prices and customers' use of freight modes can be distorted, reducing the overall efficiency of the nation's economy. This book provides an overview of how government policies can affect competition and efficiency within the surface freight transportation sector.