STATEMENT OF FACTS

Applicant is an irregular-route, motor common carrier specializing in the transportation of various foodstuffs. In conjunction with two named affiliates, Kroblin operates 415 tractors and more than 600 trailers, including several hundred refrigerated trailers. As pertinent hereto, it maintains a terminal at Fairview, N.J., approximately 2.5 miles from New York City. Kroblin offers a multiple-pickup and delivery service of the type required by shipper, and it weekly terminates approximately 100 trailers in New York City and within 50 miles thereof. Applicant has participated in the transportation of shipper's products in joint-line service (in twoand three-line hauls), and has done so by interlining over a New York City interchange point. Applicant indicates that during 1973, it transported for shipper 161 loads, weighing more than 4.7 million pounds, from the three considered New Jersey points of origin. It indicates, also, that during the first 8.5 months of 1974, it transported for shipper 123 loads weighing more than 3.7 million pounds from these points. All of the above traffic was transported in interline service. Kroblin avers, however, that it finds the involved interline operation cumbersome, costly, and wasteful. Delays and the necessity of paying toll bridge charges are among the difficulties noted. Most significantly, however, applicant states that during the first 8.5 months of 1974 it traveled more than 6,000 miles out of its way to observe its New York City interchange point and that it wasted a considerable amount of fuel in observing the gateway at New York City and at other pertinent points.

The Quaker Oats Company, Burry Division, manufactures assorted cookies, crackers, and wafers, and, additionally, redistributes various Quaker products such as prepared cereals, partially prepared cereals, pancake flour, and corn goods. Burry's customers include grocery chain warehouses, restaurants, institutional distributors, ice ice cream dairies, government installations, and the Girl Scouts of America. Shipper maintains a production facility at Elizabeth where it produces approximately 87 million pounds of product a year. It maintains limited warehouse space at its Elizabeth facility, however, and, because of increasing business, it has found it necessary to make use of public warehouses at points including Finderne and Metuchen. From Elizabeth and from the public warehouses, Burry ships directly to its customers as well as to other warehouses. Inasmuch as it does not carry an entire product line at its warehouses, and as the preponderance of its

shipments are less-than-truckload (LTL) in nature, Burry requires the services of a carrier able to make multiple pickups and to effect multiple deliveries over wide areas. Many of its shipments, Burry asserts, involve stopoffs in one State with final delivery in another. Shipper presently uses applicant in interline service but, it avers, it does so only out of necessity. It finds that interlining its traffic results in delays and, considering that its sales department often allows for short transit times and that during the Girl Scout cookie season 15 to 20 trailers a day may have to be loaded at any one location, any delays present shipper with problems. Shipper asserts a seasonal need for refrigerated equipment to protect its chocolate covered cookies. Shipper indicates its present volumes moving from Elizabeth and other locations to points in the considered States,' and it asserts that its shipping volumes will be increasing. Burry adds that it is trying to increase the consolidation of LTL orders into multiple-stopoff shipments and that its sales department is trying to have its customers order in larger volumes which would blend into a stopoff program. Direct movements would increase, and an irregular-route carrier with broad territorial authority would be needed.

Trans-Cold is an irregular-route carrier specializing in the transportation of foodstuffs. As pertinent, it holds authority to transport unfrozen food products from Elizabeth to points in Oklahoma and Texas. It proposes to serve the origin points of Finderne and Metuchen in joint-line service with its affiliated company, protestant Midwest Emery. Said joint-line service would involve the utilization of the equipment and drivers of Trans-Cold from origin to destination. Protestant operates 180 tractors and 190 trailers, all of which are equipped with mechanical refrigeration, and, as pertinent, it maintains a terminal at Jersey City, N.J. Protestant offers multiple-delivery service and peddle delivery service of the type required by shipper, and it contends that applicant is proposing no service which is not presently available to shipper. Protestant argues that shipper's evidence is lacking in the requisite specifics, particularly regarding any deficiencies in existing services, including the joint-line service presently available to it. Midwest Emery is a carrier of general commodities and various specified commodities and, as pertinent, holds authority enabling it to transport the considered traffic from all of the involved points of

'Pertinent approximate volumes in pounds: Colorado (825,000), Iowa (459,000), Kansas (730,000), Minnesota (1,262,000), Missouri (3,457,000), Nebraska (1,449,000), North Dakota (not given), Oklahoma (182,000), South Dakota (83,000), Texas (6,571,000), and Wisconsin (2,664,000).

to

origin to all points in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin, and numerous points in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. Additionally, as noted above, protestant serves points in Oklahoma and Texas in interline service with its affiliate Trans-Cold. Midwest Emery operates more than 1,300 tractors and 1,600 trailers, most of which are equipped with mechanical refrigeration, and, as particularly pertinent hereto, maintains a terminal at Jersey City. Midwest Emery asserts that shipper has failed to demonstrate that the joint-line service available to it is in any way deficient. Protestant argues further that whereas it has served Quaker Oats at points other than those involved herein, it has not been tendered any of the considered traffic and it should be afforded an opportunity to meet shipper's needs before a new competitive service is authorized.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

We believe that the sought authority should be granted. It is in our view clear that a public need exists for the proposed service and, further, that applicant cannot be regarded as a new entrant into the considered transportation market whose authorization here will endanger or impair the operations of other carriers, including protestants, contrary to the public interest.

First, protestants do not hold the full requisite authority to meet the supporting shipper's needs, including its increasing need for multiple pickups and multiple deliveries over a broad destination territory. Protestants are not authorized, taken individually or together, to provide service from the three considered origins to points in North Dakota and South Dakota and to many points in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. Protestants accordingly are not able to provide the full service needed by the supporting shipper. Moreover, protestants have not provided any of the considered service for shipper and, thus, will suffer no diversion of traffic by a grant of authority herein.

In addition, and perhaps of greater significance, applicant is already a substantial competitor as to the considered traffic via a joint-line service which results in not only delays but also a substantial waste of fuel which has been quantified.

As we indicated in Ace Freight Line, Inc., Ext.-Canned Goods, 124 M.C.C. 799, 802 (1976), it is fundamental that public convenience and necessity may be found in operating economies and in those things which contribute to expedition and efficiency

because, while they may most obviously benefit the carrier and shipper, they also contribute indirectly to more reliable, expeditious, and less costly transportation—the advantages of which are realized ultimately by the consuming public. Such operating economies take on particular significance where, as here, an existing substantial waste of fuel can be averted via our approval and where those objecting to the application have not provided any of the considered service for the supporting shipper.

Applicant is in essence seeking to obtain operating authority which will enable it to accomplish more efficiently and economically that which it is already doing. The record indicates that applicant has provided shipper a two- and three-line service of substantial volume from the considered origins to points in the proposed destination territory2 and it is apparent that there are substantial inefficiencies inherent in this present service.

Applicant has indicated that in providing this service it traveled, in less than 1 year, over 6,000 miles out of its way to observe interchange points. Shipper avers that, whereas it is in need of expeditious service, the available interline service is often fraught with delays. Considering the vagaries of the bakery goods trade, including the need for making scheduled deliveries to many customers, such as the Girl Scouts, and the need for the protection of the considered commodities from staleness and damage, we can easily appreciate shipper's position. Compare Tanksley Trucking, Inc., Ext.-Louisville, Ky., 120 M.C.C. 793, 800.

In commenting on the operational inefficiencies of applicant's existing joint-line service, the Review Board stated that applicant "was under no duty to establish its interlining arrangement to serve shipper." We believe, however, that the absence of such a duty should not be cause for the Commission to close its eyes to extensive use by the shipper of such a service provided by the applicant prior to the filing of the application. Although a shipper's preference for a single-line service is not reason in itself for a grant of authority, there should at the least be an awareness on the part of the Commission of those carriers to which the shipper has tendered traffic, of those carriers to which the shipper has not tendered traffic, and of the inefficiencies involved in the operations presently utilized by shipper.

We conclude that the grant of authority below, which has been rephrased to conform with the evidence and with Commission

It should be noted that no statements in opposition to the application have been received from carriers which participated with applicant in performing this joint-line service.

practice, is warranted. Applicant cannot be said to be in the same competitive position as a new carrier attempting to enter the field, and, in these circumstances, it does not appear that

grant of the authority sought herein would create a new or aggravated competitive situation to the detriment of existing carriers. Compare Mayfield Sons Trucking Co.-Removal of Restriction, 106 M.C.C. 892, 896 (1968), and Malone Freight Lines, Inc., Investigation of Operations, 113 M.C.C. 442, 465 (1971). Moreover, as indicated above, the operating economies to be realized from a grant of the sought authority militate strongly in favor of said grant.

FINDINGS

On reconsideration, we find that the present and future public convenience and necessity require operation by applicant, in interstate or foreign commerce, as a common carrier by motor vehicle, over irregular routes, of bakery goods (except frozen bakery goods), from the facilities utilized by the Quaker Oats Company, Burry Biscuit Division, at Elizabeth, Finderne, and Metuchen, N.J., to points in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin, restricted to the transportation of traffic originating at the named origins and destined to the indicated destinations; that applicant is fit, willing, and able properly to perform such service and to conform to the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Commission's rules and regulations thereunder; that this decision is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; and that an appropriate certificate should be issued.

Upon compliance by applicant with the requirements of sections 215, 217, and 221(c) of the act, and with the Commission's rules and regulations thereunder, within the time specified in the order entered concurrently herein, an appropriate certificate will be issued. An appropriate order will be entered.

COMMISSIONER MURPHY did not participate.

125 M.C.C.