Gumport

In this bankruptcy proceeding, we must decide whether, under the Interstate Commerce Act, a motor carrier transported shipments as a contract carrier or as a common carrier.

I

Leonard Gumport, as Chapter 7 Trustee (“Trustee”) for debtor Transcon Lines, a motor carrier, appeals the district court’s and bankruptcy court’s orders upholding the determinations of the' Interstate Commerce Commission (“ICC”), 2 which rejected the Trustee’s claims under the Interstate Commerce Act (“ICA”), 49 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq., against six of Transcon’s former customers who were allegedly undercharged on numerous freight shipments. The Trustee sought to collect interstate motor common carrier freight charges. The ICC determined that the shipments were transported in contract, rather than common, carriage. The Appellees, former shipping customers of Transcon, are ACF Industries, Inc., American Standard, Inc., A.O. Smith Corporation, AT & T Technologies, Inc., Eastman Kodak Company *563 d/b/a Texas Eastman Company, and International Business Machines Corporation (collectively “Shippers”). The ICC intervened on behalf of the Shippers.

Chapter 7 debtor Transcon was once the twelfth largest motor…