Shipper associations are unregulated, non-profit organizations established by shippers to take advantage of quantity discounts and other transport savings. Typically, associations ship trailer loads of consolidated small shipments between major cities over 700 miles apart using TOFC ('piggyback') service for the line haul movement of the freight. Although information about the industry is sparse, railroad data indicate that since the mid-1960's, shipper association tonnage has almost quadrupled, while that of their regulated counterparts, the surface freight forwarders, has declined by about 10 percent. Interviews with nine association representatives indicated that most firms join shipper associations to save money and that service quality (trip time and dependability) is comparable to that offered by freight forwarders and LTL common motor carriers. Several associations suggested that without the lower rates that they provided, member firms would ship less because they could not compete in distant markets. Comparison of the rates of five shipper associations with the rates of regulated LTL motor carriers and forwarders indicates that savings vary widely from slight negative values to over 40 percent. The median savings of associations in comparison to LTL motor carriers and freight forwarders were 18 percent and 21 percent, respectively.


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    Title :

    An Examination of Unregulated Shipper Associations


    Contributors:
    T. A. Brown (author)

    Publication date :

    1980


    Size :

    73 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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