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The Motor Transportation Revolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2012

Merrill J. Roberts
Merrill J. Roberts
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics at University of Florida
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Abstract

Only recently have business historians turned their attention to the motor transportation industry. Interest in this “new” and obviously important field is well served by an historical analysis of major industry-wide trends. Too often the historian and the businessman alike work without benefit of such perspective. The evolution of the motor transportation industry is here divided into four major chronological divisions, with some summary observations about post-World War II conditions. Major emphasis is laid upon the different developmental patterns exhibited by various motor carrier classifications, upon the competitive interreaction of rail and motor transport interests, and upon the far-reaching effect of state and federal regulation. The history of the motor transportation revolution yields information of value about railroad developments and provides a background for understanding basic twentieth-century trends in commodity distribution.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business History Review , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , March 1956 , pp. 57 - 95
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1956

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