United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Baltimore & Ohio R. Co. v. United States, 305 U.S. 507 (1939)

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. v. United States

No. 133

Argued December 7, 8, 1938

Decided January 3, 1939

305 U.S. 507

Syllabus

Interstate carriers at the Port of New York, in a competitive effort to induce shippers to patronize their respective lines and so increase their line-haul traffic, furnished warehouse space and services at less than cost to the carriers and at less than the rates charged by private warehousemen.

Held:

1. That the Interstate Commerce Commission properly ordered the carriers to cease furnishing such facilities below cost, upon the grounds that such warehousing is "commercial," and not part of the transportation, and the effect of furnishing it below cost, in order to attract line-haul patronage, is to allow what amounts to a rebate to those shippers who enjoy the below-cost warehousing and to work unjust discrimination and unreasonable prejudice against other shippers paying the published transportation rates, in violation of §§ 2, 3, and 6 of the Interstate Commerce Act. P. 305 U. S. 520.

2. To this conclusion, the question whether the shipper pays less than fair or market value is immaterial. P. 305 U. S. 523.

3. Inclusion of such below-cost warehousing service in the carrier's tariff, in connection with "storage in transit" privileges, though required by the Commission, does not make it a transportation cost or save it from the condemnation of § 6(7) of the Act. P. 305 U. S. 525.

20 F.Supp. 273, id., 917, affirmed.

Appeal from a decree dismissing a bill to enjoin enforcement of an order of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Interstate Commerce Commission, the Warehousemen's Protective Committee, the American Warehousemen's Association, the Boston Port Authority, and the City of Boston intervened and prayed for dismissal of the bill.

Page 305 U. S. 513