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The objective of this study was to assess the competitiveness of U.S. durum producers in supplying durum by estimating production levels and trade flows under alternative trade scenarios. Mathematical programming was used to compare production levels and distribution patterns for the durum market under...
This analysis is primarily focused on the materials management issues associated with the procurement of wheat straw for a processing plant in Pickert, North Dakota.
The Wyoming loop tour program, as evaluated in this study, involved two components. One component dealt with the location criteria and an evaluation of the existing loop tours which is contained in a companion report, MPC 94-29. Included in this study is a discussion of models used in determining economic...
This research effort is concerned with developing certain policy guidance tools that can be used to generate information that may be used by policymakers in deciding the desirability and utility of employing certain high technology options in solving ground transportation congestion and other large scale...
The goal of this research is to estimate productivity gains and cost savings in the railroad industry since 1978. Further, prior work was extended by separating output and size variables into measures of high and low density output and miles of track. For purposes of comparison, a translog cost function...
The purpose of this report is to describe the R-1 database and a series of programs written to manipulate the data files. These programs were used in a recent research project to generate a time-series database of railroad expense, investment, and operating data. The time-series database was used to...
The overall objective was to determine the extent that economies of size and density are available to short line railroads. Size economies are limited for short line railroads. For example, doubling the size of the network (from 56 to 129 miles) decreases costs by only 6.9 percent. The elasticity of...
The purpose of this report is to document a methodology for light-density cost analysis which is used in Phases I and II of the North Dakota Rail Services Planning (RSP) Study, as well as in line rehabilitation projects. The report describes a set of procedures for calculating Class I carrier line-segment...
The objective of this study is to determine whether local and regional railroads are beneficial for North Dakota. This is the basic question which must be answered before informed public policy can be developed.
The organization structure of railroads in the Upper Great Plains region is rapidly changing. Class I carriers such as the Burlington Northern are selling their branch lines to new rail operators. Line sale, on a significant scale, may affect traditional competitive relationships among railroads and...