1. how rates change with the distance of haul.
 2. if rates are sensitive to the number of pickups and
 drops, and if carrier type and/or the method of arranging
 carriage influences rate levels; and
 3. if rates are influenced by cargo value and shipping
 urgency.


 In the next section of the bulletin the literature regard-
 ing the three objectives will be briefly reviewed. The purpose
 is twofold. First, the section will establish the current
 level of knowledge regarding the issues addressed in the objec-
 tives. Second, the importance of these questions will be made
 clearer. In the next section the data employed in the study
 will be described. This is followed by a description of the
 methodology adopted for the empirical estimation. Finally, the
 results are presented, and conclusions are drawn.




 REVIEW OF LITERATURE


 The literature addressing rate determination in transpor-
 tation and, in particular, in unregulated markets is considera-
 ble but disappointing, at least with regard to empirical work
 addressing the concerns of this study. Due to difficulties
 obtaining data regarding unregulated markets and to the domi-
 nance of regulated freight in the overall transportation pic-
 ture, most rate studies have concentrated on regulated markets
 (e.g. Benishay and Whitaker, Oum, Sugrue et al., Spady and
 Friedlaender, and Cherry and Garston). Most of the studies
 employed highly aggregated data which precluded detailed analy-
 sis of rate differentials due to load and shipment characteris-
 tics, carrier type and method of arranging loads.


 In the agricultural literature the picture is only some-
what brighter. The majority of the transportation work has
focused on grain and soybean movements, rather than perisha-
bles. Again the majority of the studies have focused on regu-
lated rail movements of these goods and the data have been