{"product_id":"railroad-regulation-economic-and-financial-impacts-of-the-staggers-rail-act-of-1980-rced-90-80-9781289024086","title":"Railroad Regulation: Economic and Financial Impacts of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980: Rced-90-80","description":"Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO: (1) reviewed the economic and financial impacts of the Staggers Rail Act on railroads and shippers; (2) analyzed the financial performance of the railroad industry; and (3) compared railroads' financial performance with that of other transportation industries. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e GAO found that: (1) the Staggers Rail Act provided greater rate-setting and contracting freedom; (2) cost reduction measures, abandonments, sales of unprofitable lines, and productivity improvements made the railroad industry more competitive; (3) improved competitiveness allowed railroads to regain a share of the intercity freight transportation market; (4) shippers benefited from reduced railroad regulation; (5) railroad reliability increased and freight car shortages, which might interrupt a business, declined; (6) rates did not change to the same degree for all shippers and, because of line abandonments and joint rate cancellations, some shippers experienced increased costs or reduced service; (7) shippers expressed dissatisfaction with the Interstate Commerce Commission's (ICC) relief procedures and questioned whether ICC adequately protected their interests; and (8) in response to shippers' concerns, ICC adopted new policies and procedures for mediating rates and other disputes. GAO also found that: (1) reduced costs and increased efficiency increased the nation's largest railroads' profits, improved their ability to pay long-term obligations, and reduced their debt levels; (2) while ICC deemed certain railroads' revenues as adequate, the railroad industry as a whole did not achieve revenue adequacy and its return on investments did not equal or exceed the current cost of capital; (3) railroads lagged behind both trucks and natural gas pipelines in profitability; and (4) since the 1981-1982 recession, railroads have improved their average annual return on investments by only 3 percent, compared with 16 and 6 percent improvements for trucking and gas pipelines, respectively.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e U. S. Government Accountability Office (\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bibliogov\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/26\/2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 78\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.34lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.69h x 7.44w x 0.16d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781289024086\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bibliogov","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44239355510899,"sku":"9.78129E+12","price":26.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/files\/img_0eba9862-93d6-4811-a724-6aeb380b6e18.jpg?v=1768913186","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/railroad-regulation-economic-and-financial-impacts-of-the-staggers-rail-act-of-1980-rced-90-80-9781289024086","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}