Future Impact of Trucking Reform on Railway Revenue

Abstract

As vehicle weight and dimension (VWD) regulations governing the Canadian trucking industry are relaxed, the need to understand the competitive relationship between trucking and the nation's railways becomes acute. The 1990s will see the highway freight industry adapt to larger allowable vehicle weights and dimensions, strengthening its competitive position in the freight service marketplace. This paper predicts the impacts of trucking weights and dimensions reform on the railway industry in Canada. Commodity sections moved by the two main modes, rail and truck, are studied. The annual tonnage of freight for the four. largest commodity sections are identified, where the competition between the railway and trucking industries is very high.