Loose car railroading is alive & well up here in the PNW as well. Just today I watched a N/B freight roll through Auburn, WA. Included in its' consist were J.B.Hunt cans on chassis, boxcars, autoracks, plastic pellet & grain covered hoppers, & even loaded lumber centerbeams.( Why lumber loads were headed TOWARDS Canada I do not know. )
Now, a quote from the November, 2010 issue of Trains : " And whereas the typical loaded car of coal in 2009 brought Norfolk Southern almost $1,600, and the boxcar of general merchandise more than $2,000, its average revenue per container or trailer was a mere $605."
Considering the different weights of the loads, and the differing amounts of effort ( read labor & fuel ) required to gather, haul, & deliver each type of load, which load generated the most NET profit ??? Also, which type of load is subject to the most competition among railroads, as well as truck and / or water ??? I'm not surprised the container or trailer contributes the least amount of revenue; it's the most competitive type of freight that today's railroads haul.
After reading of the horrible, lengthy I.C.C. Merger & rate hearings of the 1960's & 1970's, I feel the best result of the Staggers Act has been in this area.