Predation or Competition?

Trailer Bridge wants the STB to investigate Sea-Star's pricing strategy with an eye to ordering rate increases

When 85-year-old transportation pioneer Malcom McLean devised a seamless motorwater service between the U.S. interior and Puerto Rico called Trailer Bridge in 1991, he said the marketplace demanded greater service efficiency. More recently McLean, hailed by Forbes magazine as one of the few who made the world change, said price is everything and, if low enough, could make service quality chopped liver.

So there's some irony to a complaint filed with the Surface Transportation Board by Trailer Bridge alleging a competitor is using predatory pricing to drive Trailer Bridge out of business. Trailer Bridge is asking the STB to investigate its price-conscious competitor and prescribe a higher rate structure …