In the same way truckers have marginalized the YWR, the same happened on the NWP for many years squeezing profits at the same time maintenance costs remained the same. Throughout the 1980's through the late 1990's all of the spurs at the lumber companies up and down the line were an excuse for the Lumber company to hold the NWP hostage by saying if they didn't lower their rates they would go to trucking. Under the Staggers Act of 1980, NWP could set their own rates, however, if a shipper said the truck was lower then if they wanted the business they would have to beat the trucking rate. Center beams helped the NWP get some of this traffic back to the rails because of the of their greater carrying capacity.