Preface
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Preface 

This study was required by Congress in Section 6206 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act 

of 2008 (PL 110-246), which directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and Transportation jointly to 

conduct a study of rural transportation issues. 

The results of this study are presented in 15 chapters. The primary focus is on the need for, 

and performance of, the transportation system in moving agricultural commodities and other 

products important to rural America, including examinations of issues important to 

stakeholders. The study provides information on: 

• The importance of freight transportation to agriculture 

• How freight transportation supports rural America 

• The transportation of biofuels and coal 

• Modal information on rail, barge, truck, and ocean freight transportation 

• The sufficiency and performance of rail competition, rates, service, capacity, 

investment, and rate grievance processes 

• Multimodal and policy issues 

The Act establishes these requirements: 

Sec. 6206. Study of Rural Transportation Issues. 

(a) In General—The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of 

Transportation shall jointly conduct a study of transportation issues 

regarding the movement of agricultural products, domestically 

produced renewable fuels, and domestically produced resources for 

the production of electricity for rural areas of the United States, and 

economic development in those areas. 

(b) Inclusions—The study shall include an examination of— 

(1) the importance of freight transportation, including rail, truck, 

and barge, to— 

(A) the delivery of equipment, seed, fertilizer, and other 

such products important to the development of 

agricultural commodities and products; 

(B) the movement of agricultural commodities and 

products to market; 

(C) the delivery of ethanol and other renewable fuels; 

(D) the delivery of domestically produced resources for use 

in the generation of electricity for rural areas; 

(E) the location of grain elevators, ethanol plants, and 

other facilities; 

(F) the development of manufacturing facilities in rural 

areas; and 
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(G) the vitality and economic development of rural 

communities; 

(2) the sufficiency in rural areas of transportation capacity, the 

sufficiency of competition in the transportation system, the 

reliability of transportation services, and the reasonableness of 

transportation rates; 

(3) the sufficiency of facility investment in rural areas necessary 

for efficient and cost-effective transportation; and 

(4) the accessibility to shippers in rural areas of Federal processes 

for the resolution of grievances arising within various 

transportation modes. 

 (c) Report to Congress—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation shall 

submit to Congress a report that contains the results of the study 

required by subsection (a). 

Acknowledgements 

The process of creating a work of this breadth and detail requires the collaboration of many 

talented and skilled people. USDA appreciates the efforts of all the individuals responsible for 

the study. 

The study was prepared by a team from the Transportation Services Division (TSD) of USDA’s 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), with assistance from our external partner, the 

Transportation Research Group (TRG) of Washington State University (WSU). The staff of the 

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) cooperated by reviewing and providing input on the 

study. 

Bruce Blanton, Director of TSD, managed the study and contributed to all chapters. Dr. Ken 

Casavant, Professor of Economics, WSU, was the primary author for five chapters and 

contributed to all chapters. Dr. Eric Jessup, Associate Professor of Economics, WSU, created the 

GIS maps and was a statistical sounding board for the project. 
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Chapter Authors and Other Contributors 

Contributions by the study team were as follows: 

Name* Contribution 

Dr. Ken Casavant Ch. 1 – Introduction and Overview 

Marina Denicoff, Dr. Eric Jessup, April Taylor, 

and Daniel Nibarger 

Ch. 2 – The Importance of Freight 

Transportation to Agriculture 

David Sears, Dr. Ken Casavant Ch. 3 – How Freight Transportation Supports 

Rural America 

Marina Denicoff, Hayk Khachatryan Ch. 4 – Biofuels Transportation 

Dr. Vicki McCracken, Dr. Ken Casavant, Dr. Eric 

Jessup Ch. 5 – Coal Transportation 

Dr. Marvin Prater, Dr. Ken Casavant, Dr. Eric 

Jessup 

Ch. 6 – Rail Competition and Its Importance to 

Agriculture 

Dr. Ken Casavant, Dr. Marvin Prater Ch. 7 – Rail Rates 

Dr. Ken Casavant, Dr. Marvin Prater Ch. 8 – Rail Service Performance 

Dr. Ken Casavant, Dr. Marvin Prater Ch. 9 – Rail Capacity 

Dr. Ken Casavant, Dr. Marvin Prater Ch. 10 – Rail Investment 

Pierre Bahizi, Daniel Nibarger, Johnny Hill, and 

Isaac Weingram Rail data, analysis and graphing 

Jeanne O’Leary, Dr. Marvin Prater Ch. 11 – Rail Rate Relief Processes for Shippers 

Nick Marathon Ch. 12 – Barge Transportation 

Brian McGregor, Dr. Ken Casavant Ch. 13 – Truck Transportation 

April Taylor and Dr. Surajudeen Olowolayemo Ch. 14 – Ocean Transportation 

Marina Denicoff, Nick Marathon, Brian 

McGregor, Dr. Marvin Prater, Daniel Nibarger, 

April Taylor, and Dr. Surajudeen Olowolayemo 

Ch. 15 – Multimodal Issues 

Mike Smith Editor 

Jessica Ladd Layout 

John V. (Jack) Wells, Randolph (Randy) Resor DOT review 

Ron Hagen, Camia Lane, Daniel Nibarger. Dr. 

Delmy Salin and Francine Torres 

Covering extra workload while other team 

members focused on the study 

 

*

 Primary authors are listed first; other contributors follow. 
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USDA expresses its appreciation to the staff of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for their 

assistance in providing the waybill data required for the USDA analysis for the rail chapters of 

the report. Specifically, William Huneke, William Brennan, Paul Aguiar, Michael Smith, Scott 

Zimmerman, and Jamie Rennert. 

USDA thanks the following individuals or organizations for their assistance, contributions and 

insights to the study: 

Dr. Harry Baumes, USDA, Office of the Chief Economist; Allen Baker, Richard Stillman, Nathan 

Childs, Agnes Peres, David Nulph, and James McDonald, USDA, Economic Research Service; 

Johnny Broussard, USA Rice Federation; Promod Chandhok, DOT, Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics; Howard Froelich, USDA, Farm Service Agency; Scott Greene, Joel Palley, and Raquel 

Wright, DOT, Federal Railroad Administration; Pam Guffain, The Fertilizer Institute; Susan 

Hassett and Shaku Jain, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Jay Johnson, USDA, National Agricultural 

Statistics Service; Howard McDowell, USDA, AMS, Dairy Program; Tony Furst and Michael 

Sprung, DOT, Federal Highway Administration; LeAnn Oliver, USDA, Rural Development; Joan 

Glickman, U.S. Department of Energy; Jerry Norton, USDA, World Agricultural Outlook Board; 

Laurits R. Christensen Associates; Tom Crowley, L.E. Peabody & Co.; Richard Jorgenson, Steve 

Cohen, and Steve Brown, Government Accountability Office; Shade May, Escalation 

Consultants; Terry Whiteside, Whiteside and Associates; Dr. Stephen Fuller, Texas A&M 

University; Gerald W. Brown, Retired, Cargill Marine Transport; Russ Byington and Mike 

Yarrington, DOT, Maritime Administration; and Cory Cinque, Federal Maritime Commission. 

Not an Endorsement 

The USDA study team is solely responsible for the facts, analyses, and findings in this report. 

Any mistakes, inconsistencies, or omissions are those of the study team. While USDA 

appreciates the assistance of the many individuals listed above, they are not responsible for any 

errors or the study’s content, nor should their assistance be construed as an endorsement.