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Show Written for "Handling and Shipping, The Physical Distribution Management Magazine." To be read by men and women 20 to 65 who make their living in transportation and distribution. THE TRUTH ABOUT THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION AND AMERICAN TRUCKING SYSTEM President Ford and his administration recently set in motion the most sweeping changes in freight transportation regulation in recent times. Administration sponsored bills now before the Congress would deregulate rail, truck, and air transportation to an extent barely dreamed of only a year ago. Close observers of the Washington scene give this package of legislation little chance of passing into law in any way near the form in which it has been proposed. But it has brought to the surface such a complex of issues with such powerful political implications that one thing seems certain: Attitudes towards freight transportation may never be the same again. Are sweeping changes in the trucking industry really needed? The president, as well as some academic theorists, a few bureaucratic planners, and some of the news media seem to think so. They have joined in a concerted effort to eliminate or water down economic regulation of transportation. By and large these critics have no practical knowledge or experience in the complex world of handling and moving freight. Of course the federal agency which regulates transportation, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), is under heavy fire, with many of its severest critics advocating total abolishment of this government function. Tvpical of the criticism which focuses attention on the supposed |