Market Dominance Determinations and the Use of Product and Geographic Competition: A Verified Statement Before the Surface Transportation Board

On April 29, 1998, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) opened a proceeding to consider elimination of the consideration of geographic and product competition from its market dominance guidelines for rail rates. This publication includes the Verified Statement of John Bitzan and Denver Tolliver in this proceeding. Before a rate can be challenged under the maximum reasonable rate guidelines established by Ex Parte 347, it must first be determined that the STB has jurisdiction over the movements in question. Currently, the STB considers four factors in its determination of market dominance: intramodal competition, competition between railroads at the same general location; intermodal competition, competition between railroads and other modes: geographic competition, competition between railroads able to supply the same product to a destination, but originating at different sources, or competition between railroads able to ship an originating product to different destinations; and product competition, competition between railroads at different locations in shipping substitute products. Because of the large burdens placed on shippers from responding to railroad statements of geographic and product competition in market dominance proceedings, and because of the potential inconsistency of burdensome market dominance guidelines with the STB’s recent efforts to make rate challenges more accessible to small shippers, the STB has opened this proceeding. In this Verified Statement, the authors argue that geographic and product competition should be eliminated from consideration in market dominance proceedings. The authors believe that the revenue to variable cost ratio should be the sole determinant of market dominance.

• Record URL:
  https://www.ugpti.org/resources/reports/details.php?id=270
• Corporate Authors:

  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

  North Dakota State University
  1320 Albrecht Boulevard
  Fargo, ND  United States  581052
• Authors:
  • Bitzan, John D
  • Tolliver, Denver D
• Publication Date: 1998-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Tables;
• Pagination: 31p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Competition; Geography; Guidelines; Market dominance; Methodology; Railroad transportation; Rates
• Identifier Terms: Surface Transportation Board
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01701533
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DP-122
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 8 2019 4:56PM