PRELIMINARY ASSEESSMENT OF THE SHIPPING ACT OF 1984: A CASE STUDY OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST AGRICULTURE

This paper reviews the specific provisions of the Shipping Act of 1984, examines the perceptions of shippers towards the Act, and identifies some impacts of the Act on agricultural shippers. The shipper survey consisted of a mail questionnaire sent to 174 agricultural firms in the Pacific Northwest. Fifty responses were received from major agricultural exporting firms. Commodities covered by the responses include apples (90% of volume exported), frozen potatoes (70%), onions (over 50%), hay, and lumber. Some preliminary conclusions about the Shipping Act are as follows: The Act may be working well in balancing the concerns of carriers as they compete in international markets, but there are concerns from the viewpoint of the agricultural shipper; the power of the Federal Maritime Commission has been decreased, which probably is better for the carriers; significant impacts on agricultural shipments have occurred due to higher rates; shippers maintain that rate levels and volatility and container availability problems have increased, causing some loss of sales and markets; shippers want open conferences, if conferences are to be retained; shippers desire mandatory independent action with a short notice period; and the new provisions have made the conference structure fairly workable.

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trcircular/350/350-015.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00978515
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Circular No. 350, Ports, Waterways, Intermodal Terminals, and International Trade Transportation Issues, Proceedings of the 13th Annual Summer Conference, July 19-22, 1988, Seattle, Washington. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Casavant, K L
  • Wilson, W W
• Publication Date: 1989-5

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: p. 47-51
• Monograph Title: PORTS, WATERWAYS, INTERMODAL TERMINALS, AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRANSPORTATION ISSUES. PROCEEDINGS OF THE 13TH ANNUAL SUMMER CONFERENCE, JULY 19-22, 1988, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Circular
  • Issue Number: 350
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0097-8515

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Agricultural products; Data collection; Impacts; Questionnaires; Surveys; Traffic managers
• Identifier Terms: Shipping Act of 1984
• Uncontrolled Terms: Shippers
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00485250
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 31 1989 12:00AM