For-Hire Trucking of Exempt Farm Products: Operating Practices and Nature of Competition

Excerpts from the report: Motor carriers hauling certain unprocessed agricultural commodities across State lines on a for-hire basis are exempt from economic regulation by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Much of the transportation involved in marketing agricultural commodities is performed by these operators. The exemption was written into the Interstate Commerce Act of 1935, and has been somewhat modified since that time. The part of the Act relating to the exemption, as it now reads, is given in the Appendix, together with a list of exempt and non-exempt commodities based on Administration Rulings 107 and 110 of the Bureau of Motor Carriers. This report summarizes the findings of a study of the activities of firms engaged in for-hire carrying of exempt farm products. It covers source of loads, methods by which rates are established, principal sources of competition, operating costs, trip-leasing, and type and amount of equipment used