1. What are the various factors used in classifying commodities for tariff purposes?
The National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), as determined by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), is the tariff system that has classification and description of commodities based on four main characteristics. These are density of the commodity, liability, handling and storability of the commodity. Carrier companies negotiate the rate and terms of transporting the commodities on the basis of these four characteristics. It is important to mention that product density is the dominant factor that determines use of carrier’s vehicle and cost per hundredweight. Higher product density results in lower cost per hundredweight but higher capability of hauling product weight. A lower density of commodity results in high cost per hundredweight and lower capability of weight haulage.
2. What is the nature of intra-modal and intermodal competition in the motor carrier industry? How have the motor carriers fared in terms of intermodal competition since 1980?
The nature of inter-modal and intra-modal competition in the motor carrier industry has transformed over a period of last five decades. The motor carrier industry is composed of truckload (TL) and less than truckload (LTL) motor carriers. There has been an increment in the concentration among LTL carriers (ton miles as concentration measure) but decrease in number of firms. This means intra-modal competition in LTL motor carrier segment has increased. The 1980 Motor Carrier Act enhanced the competition in the LTL industry. The deregulation of motor carrier industry increased the rate competition between intra-modal motor carriers. Intra-modal competition in both TL and LTL industry segments has ...
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...ment. There was no inter-modal competition and there were no alternatives available for transporting commodities and materials. During the 20th century, the relative position of water carriers has decreased due to the emergence of air cargo and trucking industry that can effectively transport with more efficiency compared to the water carriers. The importance of water carriers is still vital in the developed and developing economies. Large-scale bulk transportation and long haul carriage requires the services of bulk carriers such as very large crude oil carriers (VLCCs) and ultra large crude oil carriers (ULCCs). Dry bulk carriers are used to transport large volumes of grain and other commodities. The importance of water carriers in transportation sector will remain primary, as the importance of crude oil and commodities is primary for the development of economies.
In the late 1800's, the invention of the internal combustion engine led to the powerful towboats seen on the Mississippi today. Towboats move 70 to 85 million tons of cargo annually between Minneapolis and the Missouri River [http://www.emtc.nbs.gov]. Underscoring the economic importance of such a feat, one 15-barge tow (one towboat pushing a 15 unit barge) can push the equivalent of 900 semi-trailers while using only 10 percent as much fuel [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1996].... ... middle of paper ... ...
The United States trucking industry is a very thriving industry and has continued to grow since the beginning of the 1900’s. The motor carrier act of 1935 allowed regulations to be set for the growing trucking industry. These standards made trucking safer for the driver and others as well. With the growing of mass production of products, transporting these goods was not efficient using trains or other types of shipping, so large trucks and trailers became the most popular method for shipping. This created a huge market for truck producers to supply trucks for the new form of freight transportation. Brother’s Jack and Augustus Mack saw the perfect opportunity to use their mechanical abilities.
The development of canal, steam boats and railroads provided a transportation network that linked different regions of the nation together. When farmers began migrating westward and acquiring land for crops, cheaper forms of transportation provided the means to transfer their goods to other regions for s...
Fuel prices is an area of concern for the motor carrier industry. Fuel prices are at an all-time high, driving the industry to make drastic changes. Individuals in the industry believe that by reducing the demand for fuel is the best way to address the current fuel issue. One of the leading alternatives to this fuel issue could be natural gas.
333-355. Hocking and Waud 1992, Oligopoly and Market Concentration' in Microeconomics 2nd Edition, Harper Educational Publishers, NSW, pp. 315-342. Kathleen Hanser, The Secret Behind High Profits at Low-fare Airlines'. a href="http://www.boeing.com/commercial/news/feature/profit.html">http://www.boeing.com/commercial/news/feature/profit.html/a> [accessed 15 May 2003]
With only a few large companies across the globe (Boeing, MD, and Airbus), the commercial aircraft industry essentially exhibits the qualities of an oligopolistic competition with intense rivalry. Here is an analysis of competition in the commercial aircraft business using Porter’s Five Forces.
The task of this assignment is to complete a competitive analysis of two of the largest competitors in the industry of chosen study. This researcher’s chosen field is the Car Wash industry. Unlike many industries, the Car Wash industry does not have dominant players or franchise names that rule across the country. Unlike other automobile related industries such as oil change (Rapid Oil Change), tires and batteries (Goodyear), and auto parts retailers (NAPA), where these types of name players may have thousands of locations throughout the country, there are no big name players in the Car Wash industry. Although there are companies that own and operate multiple car wash facilities, most of these multi-location owners operate multiple locations throughout a metropolitan or regional area and their overall location totals are nominal. Since there is a lack of dominant competitors to analyze, this researcher will focus on an analysis between the two main categories of car wash ownership: full service vs. unattended operations.
Power of buyers High, because of the low switching cost in change shippers and buyers are price sensitive so they could lead price war. Threat of substitutes Low, because ocean shipping is optimal choice for big and heavy cargo, air transport is too expensive and only attract buyers that are time sensitive. Rivalry among existing competitors High, because of the similar services among the container shipping industry, particularly MOLs, is a big pressure on Meli if it takes the acquisition. o SWOT Analysis • Strengths - Strong financial position of Meli: continuous profit from 19952007.
In the past two decades, transportation cost of cargo has decreased that has aided in improving productivity and economic growth. Nonetheless, the operations of the market forces and the rising cost of fuel as well as environmental concerns impact on the cost of transporting goods from one place to another. Subsequently, the high cost of moving goods will be felt throughout the economy affecting enter...
Over the past decade, the motor industry has faced many of mergers between companies in the bid to get more clients and internationalize their market share. The well planned mergers have arguably led to relative success while those that might have omitted some vital factor have had to contend with the pain of getting into damaging losses.
In the last few decades, America’s automotive industry has been losing revenue, decline of market share, and employment reduction but international business in the auto industry has been the opposite. For instance, General Motors (GM) have been doing poor in the automotive business while Honda, a Japanese manufacture have been increasing their sales, market shares and employment.
AutoEdge is facing crisis since millions of its automobiles has had to be recalled due to product quality issues. Many things should be considered in order to implement a proactive response to rectify the situation. As the research analysis, I have been tasked will helping to rebuild AutoEdge’s reputation as well as to reduce and control operating costs. When making any decision on implementing change within the organization market analysis must look at the market structure of the organization. Market structure is made up of the relationship that exists between buyers, sellers, competition, product differentiation, and ease of entry into and exit from the market. The article “Review of Market Structure” (n.d.) defines market structure as the “microeconomic characteristics of different markets” and include such elements as competition level, high versus low entry barriers, and scale (Review of Market Structure, n.d.) To make the decision the decision to relocate, AutoEdge must analysis and evaluate of market structure. This report will discuss the four different types of market structures: monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition, and pure competition. Additionally, it will outline the type of market structure AutoEdge fits into, how that market structure impacts the level of competition, elasticity of demand, price, and position in the industry.
The transportation & logistics industry is a form of industry that keeps people and products on the move, it includes airlines and airports, shipping companies, logistics service providers and other transportation companies. That’s why it is considered the backbone of modern global supply chains. In a place like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that has diverse geography with a dry desert and great temperature extremes and a large area of about 2.1 million square km, a transportation & logistics industry is a necessity. Imagine you need to move from one city to another (of course it will be so hard to cross large areas of empty deserts) you have only two options to transfer from one to another city; the first option is to drive and the second option is to fly and ship your car via a car transport carrier. The harsh climate in Saudi Arabia makes people to prefer using the second option, this cause the market of transport market to enlarge. Albassami International Group is one of the biggest companies established to satisfy those needs. It is considered one of the biggest companies specialized in vehicle transportation in the Middle East. The philosophy of the company is to serve the needs of the clients over the span of thirty two years, throughout which they constantly had an eye to the future by evaluating the most appropriate ways in which to make transporting clients’ vehicles via the best and safest answer. They operate round the clock to serve clients at all times.
The freight rate is the price of the carrier that pays by the charterer or ship owner. Freight rate is compulsory and it is measures by the value of goods, point of destination and the travel distance due to land, air or ocean. Freight rate also include with the custom clearance process. It is demanded by the fluctuation of supply and demand, the bargaining power of shipper, the competitors with other logistic company and the availability or alternative of transport modes (lorry, train and ship) (The Challenges Facing The Maritime Transport Industry,
(4) Abel, Ivan, Maali Ashamalla, and Robert Camp. Competitiveness of the US Automotive Industry: Past, Present, and Future. Rep. 2nd ed. Vol. 10. Indiana: American Society for Competitiveness, 2010. Print.