In recentyears,railroads have been combining with each other,merging into supersystems,causing heightened concerns about monopoly.As recently as 1995,the top four
railroads accountedfor under 70 percent of the total ton一miles moved by rails.Next year,after a series of mergers iscompleted,just four railroads will control well over 90
percent of all thefreight moved by major rail carriers.
Supporters of thenew supersystems argue that these mergers will allow for substantial costreductions and better coordinated service.Any threat of monopoly,they argue,is
removed by fiercecompetition from trucks.But many shippers complain that for heavy bulkcommodities traveling long distances,such as coal,chemicals,and grain,truckingis
too costly and therailroads therefore have them by the throat.
The vastconsolidation within the rail industry means that most shippers are served byonly one rail company.Railroads typically chargesuch"captive"shippers 20 to 30
percent more thanthey do
when anotherrailroad is competing for the business.Shippers who feel they are beingovercharged have the right to appeal to the federal government's Surface Transportation
Board for raterelief,but the process is expensive,time consuming,and will work only in trulyextreme cases.
Railroads justifyrate discrimination against captive shippers on the grounds that in the longrun it reduces everyone's cost.If railroads charged all customers the sameaverage
rate,they argue,shippers who have the option of switching to trucks or other forms oftransportation would do so, leaving remaining customers to shoulder the cost ofkeeping
up the line.It's atheory to which many economists subscribe,but in practice it often leavesrailroads in the position of determining which companies will flourish andwhich
will fail."Dowe really want railroads to be the arbiters of who wins and who loses in themarketplace?"asks Martin Bercovici,a
shippers.
Many captiveshippers also worry they will soon be hit with a round of huge rateincreases.The railroad industry as a whole,despite its brighteningfortunes,still does not earn
enough to cover the costof the capital it must invest to keep up with its surging traffic.Yet railroadscontinue to borrow billions to acquire one another,with Wall Street
cheering themon.Consider the $10.2 billion bid by
million,less thanhalf of the carrying costs of the transaction.Who's going to pay for the restof the bill?Many captive shippers fear that they will,as Norfolk Southern andCSX
increase their gripon the market.
A.who work ascoordinators
B.who function asjudges
C.who supervisetransactions
D.who determine theprice
[单选题]Railroad SupersystemIn recentyears,railroads have been combining with each
[单选题]Railroad SupersystemIn recentyears,railroads have been combining with each
[单选题]Railroad SupersystemIn recentyears,railroads have been combining with each
[单选题]Railroad SupersystemIn recentyears,railroads have been combining with each
[单选题]Animal TestingControversyTo paraphrase18th-century statesman Edmund Burke,"
[单选题]Animal TestingControversyTo paraphrase18th-century statesman Edmund Burke,"
[单选题]Animal TestingControversyTo paraphrase18th-century statesman Edmund Burke,"
[单选题]Animal TestingControversyTo paraphrase18th-century statesman Edmund Burke,"
[单选题]Animal TestingControversyTo paraphrase18th-century statesman Edmund Burke,"
[单选题]Malnutrition"Much of thesickness and death attributed to the major communic