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Abstract
Despite the widespread adoption of shuttle train grain elevators and their potential for reducing
rates for grain transport, few studies have evaluated their impact on railroad pricing. The aim of
this paper is to assess railroad pricing behavior as well as empirically examine the impact of shuttle
train movement on hard red spring wheat transport from North Dakota over time. Ordinary least
squares estimation of the pricing model has rate per ton-mile as a dependent variable and supply
and demand determinants as regressors. Intermodal competition and shuttle trains were found to
have played a significant role in rate reduction over time.