THE ADVANTAGE OF SIZE IN THE U.S. TRUCKING INDUSTRY: AN APPLICATION OF THE SURVIVOR TECHNIQUE. IN: PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL MEETING, TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH FORUM, OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 2, 1991, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

The purpose of this paper is to try to shed additional light on the extent to which size confers advantage to trucking firms. More specifically, this paper extends the work of Keeler (1989), who used the survivor technique and found a mildly positive relationship between firm size and market share. Keeler's work used data during the transition period after deregulation through 1984. This paper, by employing data through 1988, allows more time for industry adjustments to deregulation. In addition, this paper applies the survivor technique to all motor carriers grouped together as well as to less-than-truckload carriers in a separate analysis. The primary result is that larger firm size appears to confer a marketplace advantage in the motor carrier industry.