"FREE-MARKET" FREIGHT CAR RENTALS?

Transportation capacity, in this case in empty barges, is spot traded regularly at the St. Louis Merchant's Exchange which deals primarily in grain. The author suggests that a similar procedure, currently prevented by ICC regulation, could apply to the carrying capacity of railroad cars and might be effective even if localized to car distribution on just a single railroad, but would require the cooperation of operating and marketing departments. Peaks would not inevitably be eliminated but can be smoothed as the marginal cost of equipment reaches the marginal value to the potential user. Nonessential movements are eliminated during peak periods and higher rates at those times stimulate added investment.