The post-war Dutch planning policy concerning freight transport was particularly characterised by a balance between supply and demand for transport modes that was perpetually being sought. The chief method used to achieve this objective was that of issuing licenses. In this article, this capacity policy is evaluated, notably in conjunction with organised road freight haulage. This evaluation is not based on legislation, namely the Law on Vehicular Freight Transport (1954) and on all the amendments made during the course of time, but rather on calculations relating to the capacity levels supplied and demanded so as to establish whether or not the government was actually successful in upholding an effective capacity policy. The period of time investigated extended to 1996. This made it possible to see if the deregulatory measures phased in on 1st May 1992, when the new Road Haulage Law came in, did actually cause a trend shift. After a brief theoretical review on excess capacity, the article deals with excess capacity calculations concerning organised road freight transport. (A)
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