INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION EX PARTE No. MC-22 NEW ENGLAND MOTOR CARRIER RATES Decided December 21, 1940 Petition seeking a modification of the prior findings herein, 8 M. C. C. 287 and supplemental reports, with respect to rates on wool and related articles of common carriers by motor vehicle between certain New England points, denied. Appearances shown in prior reports. TWENTY-SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSION DIVISION 5, COMMISSIONERS EASTMAN, LEE, AND ROGERS BY DIVISION 5: In our original report herein, 8 M. C. C. 287, as subsequently modified,' we prescribed bases of minimum reasonable class and commodity rates, with certain exceptions, for the transportation of property by common carriers by motor vehicle (1) between points in New England and (2) between points in New England, on the one hand, and points in eastern New York and northeastern New Jersey, on the other. We shall consider herein a petition filed by The New England Motor Rate Bureau, Inc., for modification of the orders heretofore entered with respect to the rates on wool and related articles between certain points in New England, on which a hearing has been held. Unless otherwise indicated, the rates referred to are stated in amounts per 100 pounds. The present rates on wool, camels' hair, mohair, wool noils, woolen piece goods, and related commodities, hereinafter collectively referred 18 M. C. C. 549; 9 M. C. C. 737; 10 M. C. C. 157, 522, and 581; 11 M. C. C. 325; 12 M. C. C. 417; 16 M. C. C. 499; 18 M. C. C. 79; 19 M. C. C. 471 and 777; 21 M. C. C. 373; 22 M. C. C. 705; 23 M. C. C. 361 and 389; 24 M. C. C. 213, 423, and 723; 26 M. C. C. 195, 623, 689, and 783. 27 M. C. C. 1 to as wool, between New England points, are generally any-quantity commodity rates. Few changes have been made in these rates since they became effective on October 1, 1937. The New England Motor Rate Bureau seeks authority to increase the wool rates between many points in New England. On shipments weighing 7,000 pounds and over, it proposes rates approximately 110 percent of the present any-quantity rates, and on shipments weighing under 7,000 pounds, it proposes rates approximately 130 percent of the present any-quantity rates. The rates sought are the result of a study made by a committee representing motor common carriers which specialize in the transportation of these articles. The commodities are separated into four groups, and it is proposed to continue the present groupings with a few minor changes. Group 1 rates are the lowest of the four, and the rates for commodities in groups 2, 3, and 4 progress upward in that order. Based on the experience of the wool carriers, the commodities are grouped with relation to their shipping densities, size and shape of the packages in which they are shipped, and other factors. The proposed rates generally apply between base points and certain points grouped therewith, and some adjustments in the origin and destination groups are sought. Petitioner's proposal includes increases in the interstate rates between points in the same State. In our original report herein, supra, we excluded from this proceeding the prescription of rates "which are published to apply on interstate or foreign commerce from and to points in the same State." Petitioner contends that since our order entered July 18, 1939, broadened this investigation to include rates in interstate and foreign commerce between points in the same State, we should consider rates on such wool traffic under the instant proposal. In our prior reports herein we have not prescribed rates on wool or any other commodities transported between points within a single State, nor have we held any hearings thereon except with respect to the class rates, and classifications on which hearings were recently completed. Petitioner estimated that the wool carriers' costs have increased from 10 to 20 percent since 1937. These increased costs are attributed, among other things, to higher wages paid to drivers and their helpers, increased Federal and State taxes, and higher costs of gasoline and tires. Wool is generally transported in trucks of 3 to 5 tons' registered capacity. The wages paid by motor carriers generally in Boston to union drivers of trucks of this size increased from $34 a week of 48 hours in 1937 to $37 in 1940, and the wages of the helpers increased from $32 in 1937 to $35 in 1940. Comparable increases in wages are said to have been made throughout New England. Petitioner contends that, because of the level of the present wool rates, the wool carriers made no profit in 1938 and 1939 or that their profits were small. The record is entirely lacking in details of actual earnings and operating costs of these specialized carriers and of their alleged increased costs of operation except with respect to the wages paid in the Boston area. The carriers specializing in the transportation of wool use opentop vehicles with rack sides which are not suitable for the transportation of general commodities. Motor carriers of wool as a rule do not handle wool shipments through terminals, but are required by the custom of the wool trade to go directly from the receiving point to the destination. Single collection and delivery are common even when the shipment is small. Between many New England points no changes in the rates are sought. Also, no increases in the rates are proposed on wool between certain points in Maine and points in other New England States. The present rates from and to the Maine points apply on shipments weighing under 6,000 pounds, from 6,000 to 11,999 pounds, from 12,000 to 19,999 pounds, and 20,000 pounds and over, and in some instances they are any-quantity rates. It appears that individual members of the wool carriers' group decided to which points the increases sought generally would not be applied. Dana L. Clark, Jr., doing business as Blue Line Express, who transports wool principally, opposes any increase in the rates on shipments weighing 7,000 pounds and over between certain Massachusetts points, on the one hand, and New Hampshire and Vermont points, on the other. Between these points, on shipments weighing under 7,000 pounds, he proposed certain increases not exceeding 5 percent of the present any-quantity rates. Clark contends that his wool traffic would be lost to private carriage if the increases sought by the bureau are approved between points on his route. He feels that a 5-percent increase on shipments weighing under 7,000 pounds is a maximum increase the traffic will bear, and that such rates would return reasonably compensatory earnings. Clark did not participate in the work of the wool carriers' committee which formulated the instant proposal. Waste and shoddy in bags weighing under 125 pounds are accorded group 4 rates; in bags weighing from 125 to 199 pounds, group 3 rates; and in bags weighing 200 pounds and over, group 1 rates. Under the proposal, group 4 rates would apply on these articles in bags weighing under 176 pounds and group 1 rates when in bags weighing 176 pounds and over. Clark would maintain the present commodity groups or apply group 3 rates to shoddy and waste in bags weighing 175 pounds or less between points on his route. The plan to cancel the any-quantity rates and to establish rates on shipments weighing under 7,000 pounds and on shipments weighing 7,000 pounds and over, under which the lower bases of increased rates would apply, was the result of the conferences of the committee. The 7,000-pound minimum, petitioner contends, fits the need of the woolen industry, and this contention was supported by the representative of a wool and worsted manufacturer. No authority is needed from us to increase the rates on wool, because only minimum rates are prescribed in this proceeding. Petitioner, however, is of the opinion that the increased rates should be prescribed, since the failure of any of the motor carriers voluntarily to increase their rates as proposed by it would nullify the attempt to obtain increased revenues. No shipper opposed the petition, and the representative of a wool manufacturer which uses motor carriers for the transportation of these articles in substantial volume between New England points was of the opinion that the respondents should have the increased rates sought. In connection with the general increases sought in the rates on wool, we are asked to prescribe certain tariff rules. Some of the rules are the same or substantially the same as those currently in effect. To the extent that they are the same or provide increases in the rates, respondents require no authority from us to publish them, subject, of course, to protest. The other rules are too indefinite to constitute specific statements of rates, and motor-carrier witnesses in some instances disagreed with respect to the charges which would apply under the rules. We are of the opinion that the rules are too indefinite to warrant their prescription. Petitioner's plan of excluding certain points from the increases sought generally would result in many incongruities. Petitioner failed to supply an exhibit showing the points which it proposes to exclude from the increases on shipments weighing 7,000 pounds and over, although at the hearing it was permitted to do so by the presiding examiner. The points excluded from the proposed increases are said to be those from and to which a large volume of traffic is shipped and between which there are two-way movements, and the committee felt that the present any-quantity rates are reasonably compensatory particularly when applied on shipments weighing 7,000 pounds and over. The existence of a back haul, petitioner urges, reduces the costs of operations and warrants the preferential 27 M. C. C. treatment which it proposes to accord the heavier shipping points. The record does not contain any evidence which will permit a comparison of the cost of transporting the wool on which it is proposed to increase the rates with the cost of transporting other wool. In a readjustment of rates on wool as broad as the one here proposed, it would appear that an opportunity presented itself to respondents to remove many of the inconsistencies in the present rate structure. Unfortunately, the proposal not only carries forward the existing incongruities, but in some instances they are accentuated. The following table shows the approximate highway distances between representative points and the rates proposed on shipments of wool in the grease and other group 1 articles weighing 7,000 pounds and over: The foregoing table discloses some of the incongruities in the proposal. Although the highway distance from Boston to Harrisville, N. H., is less than three-fourths the distance from Boston to Stafford Springs, Conn., the rate proposed to Harrisville is 20 percent higher than to Stafford Springs. There is no evidence of record which would justify the prescription of rates so unrelated as the rates proposed of 37 cents to Harrisville and 31 cents to Stafford Springs. Petitioner appears to have selected the points to which it proposes an increase based on the volumes of movement between the wool-shipping and wool-receiving points, and whether the individual carrier serving the origin and destination operates empty or loaded in the reverse direction. Under the proposed rates, a mill served by a carrier having little back-haul traffic would be required to pay a considerably higher charge to receive its wool from Boston than a mill the same or a greater distance from Boston which is served by a carrier which has return loads. Further, the exclusion of certain Maine points from the |