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This paper reports on the varied and inconsistent responses of a group of economists to a survey seeking resolution of a puzzle in open economy macroeconomics. The paper suggests that the puzzle is unresolved and is the source of many anomalies which quite undermine macroeconomics.

Since the 1973–74 oil embargo, many comparisons have been made relative to the fuel efficiency of various modes for different trip characteristics. The most commonly cited comparison is between truck and rail. No doubt this is due to the natural competition between these modes and the availability of data for making head to head comparisons. While no clear consensus has emerged from these studies, there is at least the conventional wisdom that intercity rail is more energy efficient than truck. We intend to show that making intermodal comparisons between truck and rail is more complex than the conventional wisdom suggests. In so doing, we examine these procedures which rely exclusively on the use of one‐dimensional measures of energy efficiency, e.g., Btu/ton‐mile. We suggest alternative measures, which are multi‐dimensional and include a variable for various aspects of service.