The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 deregulated the trucking industry in the United States, allowing trucking companies to set their own prices and obtain licenses more easily. This led to increased competition and lower prices, but also made it harder for truckers to negotiate wages and work conditions. The earlier Motor Carrier Act of 1935 had increased regulation for safety reasons.
Two different pieces of legislation in the United States are known as the Motor Carrier Act, one passed in 1935 and the other in 1980. This article focuses on the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, passed as part of a deregulatory program to the transport industry. This piece of legislation had the effect of reducing government oversight of the trucking industry in the United States. Proponents of the Motor Carrier Act argued that it would increase competition and decrease the inflationary prices associated with trucking costs.
Deregulation of the US transportation industry began in the late 1970s with the railroads. The 1980 Motor Carrier Act was intended to address perceived problems with government regulation. Truckers and industry representatives were concerned about regulatory interference with trucking operations, making it more difficult to do things like fix prices. Often, the increased costs associated with trucking were passed down because trucking companies could not raise prices directly due to regulatory restrictions.
Under the Motor Carrier Act, the activities of the Interstate Commerce Commission were restricted, allowing trucking companies to set their own prices and change the regulatory procedures for obtaining trucking licenses. The legislation still required basic liability insurance and other measures, but significantly deregulated trucking in the United States.
Competition has actually increased in the wake of the Motor Carrier Act. The number of trucking companies in the United States has increased dramatically, and there has been a particularly large jump in low-cost, non-union trucking companies. For truckers, this made union work harder to find, putting truckers in a weaker position when it came to negotiating the details of their work environment and wages. Prices for trucking have also become much more flexible, with prices fluctuating more naturally in response to changing market conditions. Deregulation also contributed to the growth of mail order and, later, Internet commerce, making shipping fast and convenient.
Since the passage of the Motor Carrier Act, other pieces of trucking legislation have been passed to address issues such as trucking safety, the types of goods that trucking companies can transport, and taxes and fees on the goods carried on truck.
The earlier Motor Carrier Act of 1935 was essentially the opposite. It increased regulation of the transportation industry, classifying bus lines and airlines as public utilities and requiring tight government oversight. This was done for safety, as well as other reasons. The general trend towards regulation in the early part of the 20th century and deregulation in response to political pressure in the later part can be seen in a number of other industries in the United States.
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