Michael Belzer

Faculty Profile

Professor
ai6896@wayne.edu

Department

Economics

Secondary Title

Director of Graduate Studies

Phone

313-577-1328

Fax

313-577-9564

Office

2127 Faculty/Administration Building
656 W Kirby St.
Detroit, MI 48202-3622

Biography

Dr. Michael H. Belzer is a professor of economics at Wayne State University. He teaches principles of macroeconnomics and has tauight graduate courses in industrial organization, labor economics, and transportation economics. Dr. Belzer created and chaired the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Trucking Industry Research for more than 12 years and serves as Emeritus Member of that committee for life. He served nine years on the TRB Committee on Truck and Bus Safety and Truck and Bus Safety Committee Subcommittee on Motor Coach Bus Safety as well as nine years on the TRB Committee on Freight Transportation Economics and Regulation, in addition to service on the TRB Freight Systems Group Executive Board. He has served on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Sector Council for Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities since 2006. 

He is author of "Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation" (Oxford University Press, 2000), co-author of "Truuck Driver Occupational Safety and Health: 2003 Conference Report and Selective Literature Review" (with Gregory M. Saltzman; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2007), and numerous peer-reviewed articles on trucking industry economics, labor, occupational safety and health, infrastructure, and operational issues. He testified to members of the Australian Parliament on November 21, 2011, in support of SafeRates legislation, passed in March 2012, which creates a new regulatory regime for Australia intended to take compensation out of competition in an otherwise competitive, deregulated trucking industry. He also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business on July 11, 2012, regarding safety regulation of the motor carrier industry.

He has led and completed numerous projects for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Volpe Center, including “Truck Crashes and Work-Related Factors Associated with Drivers and Motor Carriers” (2009), “Impact of Compensation Practices on Number of Citations & Recordable Accidents Incurred” (2003), and “Economic Impact Assessment of Proposed Hours of Service Changes” (2002).  He completed a study of the North American motorcoach bus industry in August of 2009, which found dramatic safety differences between traditional U.S. intercity motor coach bus carriers and “curbside” bus companies, which have become common between major U.S. city centers (typically Chinatowns), and an expanding industry segment consisting of intercity and international bus companies serving the Spanish-speaking market associated with Mexican and Latin American clientele. His research with Prof. Peter Swan of Penn State – Harrisburg estimated the elasticity of truck operator demand for toll roads and estimated the diversion of trucks as tolls rise, and their research has shown that truck diversion to secondary roads causes safety costs that far exceed the benefits in higher tolls, suggesting that selective tolling may be bad public policy.

Starting in 2009, Dr. Belzer developed a strategic economic development plan to transform Southeast Michigan into a global freight transportation hub, presenting a feasibility analysis, “Transforming Michigan into a Global Freight Gateway”, at the Atlantic Gateway Initiative conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia in October 2009 and at many public and private for a since then. He is president of Great Lakes Gateway, a Michigan not-for-profit corporation sponsoring the Great Lakes Global Freight Gateway, a strategic initiative to create an inland port in southeast Michigan. His organization brought major cargo owners together with the CN Railway, Halifax Port Authority, and the State of Michigan on October 11, 2011.

His consulting firm, Sound Science Inc., works on trucking and other transportation issues, especially safety and worker misclassification and has acted as an expert witness in numerous lawsuits involving trucking labor issues.

China labor relations

Professor Belzer and his colleague, Dr. Jinyun Liu, are exploring research and teaching associated with Chinese trucking industry industrial relations. The trucking industry in China is so highly competitive that it suffers from a well known problem of "destructive competition". Truck drivers and small trucking business owners have no bargaining power and compete so aggressively for freight that they cannot make any money. This competition leads to low prices for consumers – which is a good thing – but also leads to low freight rates for drivers. These low freight rates lead to dangerous highways and extremely difficult working conditions lead to severe truck driver safety and health concerns.

News mentions

Selected publications

Featured

Recent articles

  • “Excessive work hours and hypertension: Evidence from the NIOSH survey data.” With Takahiko Kudo. Safety Science 129. September 2020. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104813
  • “Safe Rates and Unpaid Labor: Non-driving pay and truck driver work hours.” With Takahiko Kudo. Economic and Labour Relations Review 30(4), 532–548. December 2019
  • “The association between truck driver compensation and safety performance.” Safety Science 120, 447-455. December 2019. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2019.07.026
  •  “Returns to Compensation in Trucking: Does Safety Pay?” With Michael Faulkiner. The Economic and Labour Relations Review. 30(2): 262-284. Published OnlineFirst March 20, 2019. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1035304619833859.
  • “Work-Stress Factors Associated with Truck Crashes: An Exploratory Analysis.” Economic and Labour Relations Review 39(2), 262-284. August 2019
  • “Why Do Long Distance Truck Drivers Work Extremely Long Hours?” With Stanley A. Sedo. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 29(1), 59–79. 2018. doi:10.1177/1035304617728440
  • “Tolling and Economic Efficiency: Do the pecuniary benefits exceed the safety costs?” With Peter F. Swan. Public Works Management & Policy, 18(2), 167–84. 2013. Published online before print September 26, 2012. pwm.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/09/26/1087724X12461143.abstract
  • “Environmental determinants of obesity-associated morbidity risks for truckers.” International Journal of Workplace Health Management. With Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez, and Mona M Shattell. 5(2), 120 - 138, 2012
  • “Supply Chain Security: Agency Theory and Port Drayage Drivers.” With Peter F. Swan. The Economic and Labour Relations Review 22(1), 41-64. May 2011
  • “Worksite-Induced Morbidities Among Truck Drivers in North America: A Comprehensive Literature Review.” With Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez, and Mona M. Shattell. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses [AAOHN] Journal. 58(7), 285-96. 2010
  • “Empirical Evidence of Toll Road Traffic Diversion and Implications for Highway Infrastructure Privatization.” With Peter F. Swan. Public Works Management & Policy 14(4), 351-73. April 2010
  • “Pay Incentives and Truck Driver Safety: A Case Study.” With Daniel A. Rodriguez and Felipe Targa. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 59(2), 205-225. January 2006
  • “Effects of Truck Driver Wages and Working Conditions on Highway Safety: Case Study.” With Daniel Rodríguez, Marta Rocha, and Asad J. Khattak. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, no. 1833 (Freight Policy, Economics, and Logistics; Truck Transportation), 2003, pp. 95-102
  • “The Case for Strengthened Motor Carrier Hours of Service Regulations.” With Gregory M. Saltzman. Transportation Journal, 41(4), 51-71. Summer 2002
  • “Technological Innovation and the Trucking Industry: Information Revolution and the Effect on the Work Process.” Journal of Labor Research, 23(3); 375-396. Summer 2002.
  • “Government Oversight and Union Democracy: Lessons from the Teamsters Experience.” With Richard Hurd. Journal of Labor Research 20(3), 343-365. Summer 1999
  • “Collective Bargaining in the Trucking Industry: Do the Teamsters Still Count?” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 48(4), 636-655. July 1995

Scholarly books published

  • Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000

Monographs published

  • Gillespie, Robin Mary; Andrew Krum; Darrell Bowman; Stephanie Baker and Michael H. Belzer. 2016. Bus Operator Workstation Design for Improving Occupational Health and Safety, TCRP. Washington: Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. National Academies of Science. 127 pages. trb.org/main/blurbs/174183; onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_185.pdf
  • Burks, Stephen V., Michael H. Belzer, KWAN Quon, Stephanie G. Pratt, and Sandra Shackelford. 2010. Trucking 101: An Industry Primer. In TRB Transportation Research Circular E-C146, edited by Transportation Research Board Committee on Trucking Industry Research (AT060). Washington: Transportation Research Board. December 22. 68 pages. onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec146.pdf
  • Truck Driver Occupational Safety and Health: 2003 Conference Report and Selective Literature Review.  With Gregory M. Saltzman.  Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services Publication No. 2007-120. 2007. 117 pages. cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2007-120
  • Paying the Toll: Economic Deregulation of the Trucking Industry.  Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute. 1994. Briefing and Working Papers Series

Book chapters  

  • “Economic Liberalisation of Road Freight Transport in the EU and the USA” With Annette Thörnquist (Linköping University, Sweden). In The Regulation and Management of Workplace Health and Safety: Historical and Emerging Trends. Peter Sheldon, Sarah Gregson, Russell Lansbury, and Karin Sanders, editors. Routledge, an imprint of Taylor and Francis. 2020, pp. 52-79 (Chapter 4)
  • “Labor and Human Resources in the Freight Industry.”  In Intermodal Transportation: Moving Freight in a Global Economy. Lester Hoel, Genevieve Giuliano, and Michael Meyer, editors. Publisher: Eno Transportation Foundation, Inc. May 2011
  •   "The Next Move: Metropolitan Regions and the Transformation of the Freight Transport and Distribution System." With Susan Christopherson. In Urban and Regional Policy and Its Effects, edited by Nancy Pindus, Howard Wial, and Harold Wolman. Brookings Institution Press. 2009
  • “The Effects of Trucking Firm Financial Performance on Safety Outcomes.”  With Marta S. Rocha and Daniel A. Rodriguez.  In Transportation Labor Issues and Regulatory Reform. James H. Peoples and Wayne K. Talley eds. Research in Transportation Economic Series. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishers, 2004, pp. 35-55
  • “Trucking: Collective Bargaining Takes a Rocky Road.” In Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector, edited by Paul F. Clark, John T. Delaney, and Ann C. Frost.  Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association, 2002, pp. 311-342
  • “Commentary on Railroad Deregulation and Union Labor Earnings.”  In Regulatory Reform and Labor Markets, edited by James Peoples.  Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997, pp. 155-182
  • “Labor Market Regulation: Balancing the Benefits and Costs of Competition.”  With Dale Belman.  In Government Regulation of the Employment Relationship, edited by Bruce Kaufman.  Madison, Wisconsin: Industrial Relations Research Association, 1997, pp. 179-220
  • "The Motor Carrier Industry: Truckers and Teamsters under Siege."  In Contemporary Collective Bargaining in the Private Sector, edited by Paula B. Voos.  Madison, Wisconsin: Industrial Relations Research Association, 1994, pp. 259-302

Peer-reviewed journal articles published

  • "Work-stress factors associated with truck crashes: An exploratory analysis." The Economic and Labour Relations Review. OnlineFirst June 6, 2018. doi:10.1177/1035304618781654
  • "Why Do Long Distance Truck Drivers Work Extremely Long Hours?" With Stanley A. Sedo. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 29(1), 59–79. 2018. doi:10.1177/1035304617728440
  • "Tolling and Economic Efficiency: Do the pecuniary benefits exceed the safety costs?" With Peter F. Swan. Public Works Management & Policy Vol.18, No.2: pp 167–84. 2013. Published online before print September 26, 2012. pwm.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/09/26/1087724X12461143.abstract
  • "Environmental determinants of obesity-associated morbidity risks for truckers." International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 5 Iss: 2 pp. 120 - 138. With Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez, and Mona M Shattell, 2012
  • "Supply Chain Security: Agency Theory and Port Drayage Drivers." With Peter F. Swan. The Economic and Labour Relations Review Vol. 22, No.1: pp 1-23. May 2011
  • “Worksite-Induced Morbidities Among Truck Drivers in North America: A Comprehensive Literature Review.” With Yorghos Apostolopoulos, Sevil Sönmez, and Mona M. Shattell. American Association of Occupational Health Nurses [AAOHN] Journal. Vol. 58, No. 7, 2010: pp. 285-96
  • "Empirical Evidence of Toll Road Traffic Diversion and Implications for Highway Infrastructure Privatization." With Peter F. Swan. Public Works Management & Policy, Vol.14, No. 4 (April 2010): pp 351-73
  • “Pay Incentives and Truck Driver Safety: A Case Study.”  With Daniel A. Rodriguez and Felipe Targa.  Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 59, No. 2 (January 2006), pp. 205-225
  • “Effects of Truck Driver Wages and Working Conditions on Highway Safety: Case Study.”  With Daniel Rodríguez, Marta Rocha, and Asad J. Khattak.  Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, no. 1833 (Freight Policy, Economics, and Logistics; Truck Transportation), 2003, pp. 95-102
  • “The Case for Strengthened Motor Carrier Hours of Service Regulations.”  With Gregory M. Saltzman.  Transportation Journal, Vol. 41, No. 4, Summer 2002, pp. 51-71
  • “Technological Innovation and the Trucking Industry: Information Revolution and the Effect on the Work Process.” Journal of Labor Research, Vol. 23, No. 3; Summer 2002, pp. 375-396
  • “Government Oversight and Union Democracy: Lessons from the Teamsters Experience.”  With Richard Hurd.  Journal of Labor Research, Vol. 20, No. 3, Summer 1999, pp. 343-365
  • “Collective Bargaining in the Trucking Industry: Do the Teamsters Still Count?”  Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 48, No. 4; July 1995, pp. 636-655

Research Description

Dr. Michael H. Belzer is Associate Professor of Economics at Wayne State University, teaching industrial organization, macroeconomics, and transportation. He founded the Transportation Research Board Committee on Trucking Industry Research and served as chairman for 13 years, and remains a member of three TRB committees – Trucking Industry Research, Freight Economics and Regulation, and Truck and Bus Safety. Dr. Belzer serves as an expert resource for numerous government agencies, private sector firms and organizations. He is author of Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation (Oxford University Press, 2000) and Truck Driver Occupational Safety and Health: 2003 Conference Report and Selective Literature Review (with Gregory Saltzman; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2007) as well as numerous peer-reviewed articles and studies on trucking industry economics, labor, occupational safety and health, infrastructure, and operational issues. Dr. Belzer authored the book chapter "Labor and Human Resources" in Intermodal Transportation: Moving Freight in a Global Economy, edited by Lester Hoel, Genevieve Giuliano and Michael Meyer (Washington: Eno Foundation for Transportation). Dr. Belzer also developed a strategic economic initiative to transform Detroit into an inland port by fostering the development of intermodal centers in partnership with Canadian-based railroads and ports.

Affiliated Departments