Erik F. Haites

Economies of Scale in Western River Steamboating

This paper analyzes 1850 cost data for a sample of 36 steamboats operating on five routes. The results indicate no economies or diseconomies of scale. Substantial differences in the cost per ton-mile are found between routes. These differences are largely explained by differences in capacity utilization.

Steamboating on the Mississippi, 1810–1860: A Purely Competitive Industry

Estimates of costs and revenues for steamboating in the Louisville-New Orleans trade indicate that after the 1820s the steamboat transport market experienced the long–run equilibrium characteristic of purely competitive industries.

The Profitability of Steamboating on Western Rivers: 1850

This study indicates that profit rates in western river steamboating were typical of the returns earned in other antebellum business activities, and that returns were much higher on tributary than on trunk steamboating routes.