An Econometric Analysis of Changes in the Cost and Production Structure of the Trucking Industry, 1953-1982.

A cost function is estimated using a time-series/cross-section database for the trucking industry covering the time period from 1953 through 1982 (i.e., after the implementation of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, which essentially deregulated the industry). Two conclusions emerge. First, similarities between early periods of regulation and deregulation are greater than between early and late periods of regulation. Second, a comparison of the regulated and deregulated cost functions indicates that the heaviest burden of regulation was borne by those firms which faced the highest costs. Copyright 1988 by MIT Press.