SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN DEMAND AND THE ECONOMIC REGULATION OF TRUCKING

The author considers the theoretical argument that freedom from geographic and commodity restrictions will enhance intertemporal utilisation of truck capacity. Data from exempt agricultural carriers in the limited states and unregulated interstate highway transport in Australia are used to support the results of a simulation model discussed in the article. Although the model suggests that geographic restrictions contribute much more to poor utilisation than do commodity limitations, it is thought that this may be due to the unrealistically broad commodity groups assumed by the model. The importance of commodity restrictions might have been much greater if conditions under which trucking companies operate had been more faithfully reproduced. It is concluded that the deregulation of the trucking industry would not only eliminate the geographic and commodity restraints of the present system but also introduce rate flexibility as an additional means of improving the utilisation of truck capacity throughout the year. (TRRL)