In Norway, freight transport on own account represents more than 20 per cent of the ton-kilometres dispatched by road, and close to 60 per cent of the freight vehicle kilometres. It is poorly understood why so many companies choose to own and operate their own vehicles, rather than purchase the necessary freight services in the market, which in the typical case would appear more economical. In an attempt to shed light on this issue, a stated preference (SP) survey among freight users in the Norwegian wholesale industry was carried out. This industry represents some 25-30 per cent of the road freight transport services carried out in Norway, when (the estimated value of) own-account freight is included. In this paper the authors focus primarily on the methodological aspects of the survey. A more detailed account and interpretation of results is forthcoming in Fridstrem and Madslien (2001).
Samenvatting