This study is a preliminary examination of whether shippers of domestic surface freigh pay the full social costs of the services that they use. It is desirable that shippers and carriers pay the full social costs of their freigh operations - that is, that the special taxes and fees paid by the shipper or carrier for each shipment of freight be enough to offset the cost to the government of the shipment and the external costs that the shipment imposes on others. The study is intended to not to provide definitive answers as to whether shippers pay their full social costs but rather to determine the feasibility of making such estimates. Moreover, it is not this study's purpose to build a case for any new form of extensive government involvement or interference in the industry. This study uses the concept of marginal social costs in measuring whether freight users are subsidized or not. Chapter 1 describes the origin of the study, the study scope and objectives, and some of the public policy questions. A framework for analyzing subsidies in freight transportation is presented in Chapter 2, and methods and problems of estimating each major component of subsidies are described in Chapter 3. Subsidy estimates for case study freight movements, designed to highlight conceptual issues and data requirements, are given in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 contains a description of ways in which more refined estimates of subsidies could aid decision making on taxation, public investment, and regulation, and the committee's recommendations are presented in Chapter 6.
Abstract