U.S. Federal Regulations and Motor Carrier Profitability

Abstract

This study explores the impact of recent federal regulations, such as Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010, Hours of Service Changes, Environmental Regulations, and electronic logbooks on motor carrier profitability. Quarterly data from 2004–2015 from U.S. publicly traded motor carriers isused to estimate the temporal trends on various financial ratios after controlling for general economic and carrier specific characteristics. Results of the analysis reveal that motor carrier profitability was declining between 2004 and 2009 but has been improving since that time.