Introducing Competition Into Natural Monopoly Industries
Introducing Competition into Natural Monopoly Industries: An Evaluation of Mandated Access to Australian Freight Railroads By Mark Fagan, Senior Fellow* Taubman Center for State and Local Government WP-2008-01 1 I. Study Context Policy makers have long grappled with introducing competition into natural monopoly industries such as transportation, telecommunications and electricity in order to eliminate excess profits and assure efficient provision of service. Freight railroads presented a particular challenge because rather than earn monopoly rents, the industry in North America, Europe and Australia struggled to remain financially viable in the face of competition from other modes, especially trucks. For example, US rail share of freight transportation declined 33% between 1950 and 1975. During the 1970s, the rail industry’s return on equity was in the 3% range and return on sales was only 4%. Several major US railroads declared bankruptcy in the 1970s including the Penn Central, the Rock Island, and the Erie Lackawanna. The freight rail experience in Europe and Australia was similar although government subsidies and road freight regulation kept the railroads in business. Policy makers in the US were the first to tackle the problem of freight railroad viability. The solution adopted was total economic deregulation. The rationale for the change was that regulation was inhibiting the rail industry from responding to competitive pressures from the trucking industry. With the Staggers Act of 1980, US railroads were free to enter and exit markets, introduce new service offerings, enter into private contracts with shippers, set rates and abandon track. Over the next two decades, the railroads reduced costs, rationalized capacity and increased productivity.
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