Opinion ID: 421082
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Current or Past Truck Service

Text: 75 The Commission's first reason for believing that Lamoille Valley's service is not essential has some probative force. It is plausible that a shipper formerly served by truck can again use trucks and that a shipper now served partially by truck can adequately be served entirely by truck. We must still determine, however, whether the record supports the Commission's belief that the individual shippers now served by the Lamoille Valley can be adequately served by truck. 76 We pass quickly over the one shipper, E.T. & H.K. Ide Co., which has access to Canadian Pacific's rail service, for that service is surely an adequate substitute for Lamoille Valley's service. For a second shipper, Lamoille Grain, the record shows that the price difference between rail and truck service is small. Indeed, as recently as 1980, Lamoille Grain switched from rail to truck because truck rates were slightly lower. It switched back only after Lamoille Valley reduced its rates to make them competitive with truck rates. 22 Thus, Lamoille Grain can be served adequately by truck. 77 The third shipper, Eastern Magnesia Talc Co., presents a much harder case. It operates a talc mine from which it ships talc by truck to some nearby locations and by rail (usually 100-ton hopper cars) to more distant locations. Eastern Magnesia Talc explained to the ICC that the cost of loading to truck, hauling to a [railhead], unloading, ... and loading to railroad cars would be prohibitively expensive and would effectively prevent it from serving distant locations. 23 78 In light of Eastern Magnesia Talc's uncontradicted statement about the need for rail service for a substantial part of its business, the Commission could not reasonably conclude that because Eastern Magnesia Talc uses trucks for part of its business, trucks are an adequate substitute for rail for the remainder of its business. We turn therefore to the Commission's alternate reason for concluding that Eastern Magnesia Talc could switch to truck service--that Eastern Magnesia Talc had not asserted that it would be forced out of business if it loses rail service.