Freight Rail Transportation: Long-Term Issues

This paper discusses the growth in demand for freight transportation and explores factors that may affect the railroads' ability to meet future demand. In general, data on trends in costs, productivity, and profitability suggest that the railroad industry has been moving forward in adding to capacity, although the picture is not entirely clear. By several measures, the amount of capital investment in the railroad industry has been fluctuating or declining; employment is well below its historical peak and has been drifting downward until recently. Yet productivity has risen markedly, enabling the railroads to provide more transportation services with fewer resources.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/01-17-rail.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Congressional Budget Office

  2nd and D Streets, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20515
• Publication Date: 2006-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 31p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Capital investments; Costs; Demand; Employment; Freight transportation; Future; Long range planning; Productivity; Profitability; Railroads; Statistical trends
• Uncontrolled Terms: Railroad capacity
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Freight Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01019118
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 15 2006 5:23PM