Costs and Characteristics of Operating Interstate Motor Carriers of Grain in North Dakota

Truck transportation has become very important to the North Dakota grain industry. Identification of the costs and characteristics of exempt motor carriers allowed evaluation of the performance of the industry. Average mileage per vehicle was about 88,000 per year. Firms larger than four trucks achieved higher annual mileage as well as larger percent of return trip that was loaded (59 percent compared to 25 percent for the smaller firms). Seventy-eight of the firms had been in business five years or more. Costs per operating mile appeared to be about 92 cents for the industry. Larger firms had a four cent per mile advantage over smaller firms. Three conclusions were: The industry has become more mature and stable in the past five years after experiencing a significant influx in 1966-76 period. Larger firms have increased in importance and have a competitive advantage over small firms. Variable costs per mile are an important part of total costs.