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Abstract
The issue addressed in this paper is more fully understanding the relationship of intrarailroad
competition and rail rates for wheat in the largest wheat producing states, which are Idaho, Kansas,
Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. The overall
objective of the study is to investigate railroad pricing behavior for wheat shipments. The rate model
was estimated with OLS in double-log specification utilizing the 2012 STB Confidential Waybill
sample and other data.
The research found that the distance from origin to destination and the total shipment weight
had the expected negative relationships with railroad wheat rates and were statistically significant.
The distance from origin to the nearest barge loading location had the expected positive relationship
to railroad wheat rates and was also significant. The weight of each covered hopper car and the
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index were both non-significant. However, the study used other data to
determine that intrarailroad competition for wheat shipments within states appears to be present in
most states.