Sutherland, D. L., chairman of the board, Middle Atlantic Transporta- Tobin, Frank L., research director, International Brotherhood of Triggs, Matt, assistant legislative director, American Farm Bureau Wells, Maxwell W., Maguire, Voorhis & Wells, Orlando, Fla Additional information submitted for the record by- American Association of Nurserymen, Inc., statement of Richard P. White, executive secretary.... American Farm Bureau Federation: Letters from Matt Triggs, assistant legislative director.. American Trucking Associations, Inc., statement of Joseph E. Keller Bennett, Hon. Charles E., letter from, transmitting letter from Charles Bernacki, Peter A., letter from Anthony P. Bernacki, manager. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, statement of J. T. Corbett Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, statement of Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, statement of Harry See Burdick, Hon. Usher L., letter from_. California Grape and Tree Fruit League, statement of J. A. Mont- gomery, manager, traffic and transportation... California State Board of Equalization, telegram from H. D. Abbott, Dairy Industry Committee, letter from M. H. Brightman, executive 509 Refrigerator cars installed, retired, on order, and awaiting repairs, March 1, 1953, compared to March 1, 1952. Statement showing number of refrigerator cars in United States 349 Helm's New York-Pittsburgh Motor Express, Inc., statement of 499 Letter from W. Y. Blanning, Director, Bureau of Motor Carriers 492 490 List of States which have laws affecting trip-leasing of equipment to authorized intrastate motor carriers, with reference to the King, Hon. Karl C., letter from, transmitting statement of Vegetable 507 Krueger, Hon. Otto, statement of.. 165 Missouri Farmers Association, statement of Fred V. Heinkel, 290 Additional information submitted for the record by-Continued National Association of Hothouse Vegetable Growers, statement of National Council of Farmer Cooperatives: Letter from Homer L. Brinkley, executive vice president.. National Council of Private Motor Truck Owners, Inc., statement Page 319 86 291 National Onion Association, statement of Veril Baldwin, president.. Northwest Horticultural Council: Carlot movement of apples from Order of Railway Conductors, statement of W. D. Johnson_ Safeway Truck Lines, Inc., statement of Joseph M. Scanlan _ Salem County (N. J.) Board of Agriculture, letter from B. G. Wegner, Scanlan, Joseph M., statement of, on behalf of motor carriers. Scott, Jack Garrett, letter from. Texas Farm Bureau Federation, telegram from J. Walter Hammond, 444 Valley Farm Bureau, Mercedes, Tex., telegram from C. B. Ray, execu- tive manager.... 444 TRIP LEASING (Interstate Commerce Act) TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 1953 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE, Washington, D. C. The committee met, at 10 a. m., pursuant to call, in room 1334, New House Office Building, Hon. Charles A. Wolverton (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. (H. R. 3203 above referred to is as follows:) [H. R. 3203, 83d Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend the Interstate Commerce Act in order to prohibit the Interstate Commerce Commission from regulating the duration of certain leases for the use of equipment by motor carriers, and the amount of compensation to be paid for such use Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 202 of the Interstate Commerce Act is amended by inserting at the end thereof the following: "(d) Nothing in this part shall be construed to authorize the Commission to regulate the duration of any lease, contract, or other arrangement for the use of any motor vehicle by a motor carrier in providing transportation, or the amount of compensation to be paid for such use." The CHAIRMAN. This bill proposes to amend section 202 of the Interstate Commerce Act by adding after the end of that section a new paragraph (d), which would specifically deprive the Interstate Commerce Commission of authority to regulate the duration of, and the compensation to be paid under, any lease, contract, or other arrangement for the use of any motor vehicle by a regulated motor carrier. The exercise of such authority by the Commission was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in American Trucking Association, Inc. v. United States, decided January 12, 1953. A petition for rehearing was denied by the Supreme Court on March 9, 1953. On May 8, 1951, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued a report and order in Ex Parte No. MC-43: Lease and Interchange of Vehicles by Motor Carriers (52 M. C. C. 675), in which the Commission prescribed certain rules and regulations governing the practices of regulated motor carriers in the leasing or interchange of motor vehicle equipment. Suits were filed to test the validity of this order and, as I stated a moment ago, the Commission's authority in this matter was upheld by the Supreme Court. This order has not yet been made effective by the Commission. I would like to make a short summary of the proposed rule. 1 As I had stated on May 8, 1951, the Interstate Commerce Commission after extensive study and hearings issued a report and order in Ex parte No. MC-43; Lease and Interchange of Vehicles by Motor Carriers (52 M. C. C. 675) in which the Commission prescribed certain rules and regulations governing the practices of regulated motor carriers in the leasing or interchange of equipment. The Commission stated that these rules were designed to control certain evils that had developed and were essential to maintain effective control over the operational safety, carrier responsibility, and the economics of the motor-carrier industry. These rules, which have not yet been made effective, principally require the regulated carrier, when leasing equipment (1) To inspect said equipment for compliance with ICC safety regulations. (2) To execute the lease in writing. (3) To exercise for a period of not less than 30 days exclusive possession, control and assume complete responsibility for the leased equipment without option of subleasing. Existing leasing practices involving equipment specified in section 203 (b) (6) of the act, the so-called agricultural exemption provision, may, under certain conditions, be permitted for a period of 6 months from the effective date of these rules in order that proper adjustments to the new rules can be made. (4) To specify in the lease the compensation to be paid for the rental of leased equipment. Such compensation must not be computed on the basis of any division or percentage of any applicable rate on any commodity transported in said vehicle or on a division or percentage of any revenue earned by said vehicle during the effective period of the lease. The leasing of equipment by regulated common and contract carriers of property has been a practice of long standing, antedating the passage of the Motor Carrier Act of 1935. Many of the lessors are engaged in transportating commodities specified in section 203 (b) (6) of the act and are often described as "exempt-commodity haulers." After delivering these exempt commodities to market, and in order to avoid an empty return trip, these exempt carriers obtain a return load of merchandise traffic by leasing their equipment to a regulated carrier which can offer such a load in the proper direction. Regulated carriers utilize the vehicles of others under a great variety of arrangements, including informal oral arrangements made over the telephone, or on the spot, in many instances for a single haul or a round trip, as well as underwritten agreements applying for definite periods. The single-haul arrangement is generally known as a trip lease. There is considerable leasing between regulated carriers and by the carriers from concerns engaged entirely in renting and maintaining motor vehicle equipment. Former ICC Commissioner Rogers estimated that on February 1, 1950, there were approximately 40,000 haulers of agricultural commodities, farm supplies, and fish operating in interstate commerce owning 150,000 exempt trucks. |