2011

RITA Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Pocket 

Guide to

Transportation
For additional copies of this guide or information 

about the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and 

its products and services, contact:

Product Orders

Internet: http://www.bts.gov/publications/pocket_

guide_to_transportation/2011/

Mail: Product Orders

Research and Innovative

 Technology Administration

Bureau of Transportation Statistics 

ATTN: Product Orders

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E36-109

Washington, DC 20590

Information Service

Phone: 1-800-853-1351

Email: RITAinfo@dot.gov

January 2011
Pocket 

Guide to

Transportation

2011

RITA Bureau of Transportation Statistics
U.S. Department of

Transportation

Ray LaHood

Secretary

John D. Porcari

Deputy Secretary

Research and

Innovative

Technology

Administration

Peter H. Appel

Administrator

Robert L. Bertini, Ph.D.

Deputy Administrator

Bureau of

Transportation

Statistics

Steven K. Smith, Ph.D.

Acting Director

Acknowledgments

Produced under the

direction of:

Deborah Johnson

Assistant Director for 

Transportation Analysis

Project Manager

Sean Jahanmir

Contributors

Steven Anderson

David Chesser, Ph.D. 

Bingsong Fang, Ph.D.

Chester Ford

Xiaoli Han, Ph.D.

Getachew Mekonnen

Adam Mengesha

William Moore

Long Nguyen

Hilary Ross

Gang Shao, Ph.D.

Michael Spencer

Lei Tang, Ph.D.

Alpha Glass Wingfield
1

Resident population (thousands) 248,791 307,007

Total area (thousand sq. mi.) 3,718 3,794 (2000)a

Total civilian labor force (thousands) 125,840 154,142

Real gross domestic productb

(trillions)

$8.0 $12.9 

Median household incomeb,c $41,465 $45,410

Average household incomeb,c $44,160 $57,342

Average household expendituresb,c $39,338 $44,909

Number of households (thousands) 93,347 117,538

Life expectancy at birth (years) 75.4 77.9 (2007) a

 Data for 2000 include inland water, coastal water, Great Lakes, and territorial water. The Census Bureau tabulates area data for the decennial census years only. b

 Data in 2005 chained dollars (see Glossary 

for definition). c

 BTS calculations, November 2010.

Sources: Area—U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), U.S. 

Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2002 and 2010, 

available at www.census.gov as of November 2010. GDP—USDOC, 

Bureau of Economic Analysis, available at www.bea.gov as of November 2010. Population, number of households, and median household 

income—USDOC, U.S. Census Bureau, available at www.census.gov 

as of November 2010. Average household income and expenditures, 

and labor force—U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, available at www.bls.gov as of November 2010. Life expectancy—

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, available at www.cdc.gov 

as of November 2010.

America’s transportation system continues to change 

along with the population, work force, and economy. 

The following table puts those changes in perspective: 

Context 1990 2009

Glossary 48

Environmental Sustainability 42

Economic Competitiveness 27

Livable Communities 15

State of Good Repair 11

Safety 2

Contents
2 Pocket Guide to Transportation

The safety of the traveling public is the number one 

concern of the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Although progress has been made in reducing fatalities, 

roughly 94 percent of transportation fatalities arose from 

motor vehicle crashes. Injuries from crashes are a major 

U.S. public health issue.

1 Safety

Mode 1990 2005 2008 2009

1-1

Transportation Fatalities by Mode: 1990–2009

Air

Large U.S. air carriera 39 22 3 52

Commuter air carriera 6 0 0 0

On-demand air taxia 51 18 69 17

General aviationa 770 563 494 474

Highwayb 44,599 43,510 37,423 33,808

Pipeline, gas and 

hazardous liquid

9 14 8 13

Railroadc 599 525 514 458

Transitd 339 236 240 230

Waterborne

Vessel-related, 

 commercial ship 

85 78 51 57

Nonvessel-relatede,

 commercial ship

101 60 67 93

Recreational boating 865 697 709 736 a

 Includes airborne and ground-level fatalities. b Includes motor vehicle occupants, 

nonoccupants, and fatalities at railroad crossings. c

 Includes fatalities from 

nontrain incidents as well as train incidents and accidents. Also includes 

train occupants and nonoccupants except motor vehicle occupants at 

grade crossings. d

 Fatalities resulting from all reportable incidents, not just 

accidents. Includes commuter rail, heavy rail, light rail, motorbus, on-demand 

service, van pool, and automated guideway. e

 Fatalities unrelated to vessel 

operations, e.g., individual falling overboard and drowning. 

Notes: Data for 2008 has been revised for on-demand air taxi, general aviation, 

highway, railroad and transit. Air and railroad fatalities in 2009 are preliminary. 

Sources: Air—National Transportation Safety Board. Highway—National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pipeline—Office of Pipeline Safety. Rail—

Federal Railroad Administration. Transit—Federal Transit Administration and 

personal communication. Water—U.S. Coast Guard as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 2-1, 

available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ 

as of January 2011. 
Safety 3

Passenger car occupants 13,095 36.38

Light-truck occupants 10,287 28.58

Motorcycle riders 4,462 12.40

Pedestrians struck by motor vehicles 4,092 11.37

Recreational boating 736 2.04

Pedalcyclists struck by motor vehicles 630 1.75

Other and unknown motor vehicle occupants 563 1.56

Large-truck occupants 503 1.40

General aviation 474 1.32

Railroad trespassers (excl. grade crossings)a 428 1.19

Other nonoccupants struck by motor vehiclesb 150 0.42

Heavy rail transit (subway) 96 0.27

Waterborne transportation (nonvessel-related) 93 0.26

Grade crossings, not involving motor vehiclesc 66 0.18

Transit buses, accident-related fatalities 63 0.18

Waterborne transportation (vessel-related) 57 0.16

Air carriers 52 0.14

Light rail transit 33 0.09

Rail employees and contractors on dutya 28 0.08

Bus occupants (school, intercity, transit) 26 0.07

Private grade crossings, with motor vehiclesa 19 0.05

Air taxi 17 0.05

Gas distribution pipelines 9 0.03

Demand response transit, accident-related 

fatalities 5 0.01

Transit buses, fatalities not related to accidentsd 4 0.01

Hazardous liquid pipelines 4 0.01

Passengers on railroad trains 3 0.01

Demand response transit, fatalities not related 

to accidentsd 2 0.01

Total, all modese 35,997 100.00

Other counts, redundant with above

Crashes involving large truckse 3,380

Public grade crossings, with motor vehiclesa 161

Commuter rail 67 a

 Includes fatalities outside trains. b Includes all nonoccupant fatalities in motor vehicle 

crashes, except pedalcyclists and pedestrians. c Public grade crossing fatalities involving 

motor vehicles are included in motor vehicle counts. d Includes large truck occupants, 

other vehicle occupants, and nonoccupants. e Unless otherwise noted, includes fatalities outside vehicles. 

Notes: Fatality data are preliminary for general aviation, air carriers, air taxi, railroad trespassers (excluding grade crossings), passengers on railroad trains, on-duty rail employees and contractors, commuter air, grade crossing not involving motor vehicles, public 

grade crossing with motor vehicles and private grade crossings with motor vehicles. 

There were no fatalities related to gas transmission pipeline or commuter air in 2009. 

Sources: Air—National Transportation Safety Board. Highway—National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Rail—Federal Railroad Administration. Transit—Federal Transit Administration. Waterborne—U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational boating—U.S. Coast 

Guard, Office of Boating Safety, Pipeline—Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation 

Statistics, table 2-4, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2011.

Category Number %

1-2

Distribution of Transportation Fatalities: 2009
4 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Occupants 28,936 11,890 41.1

Single-vehicle crashes 15,386 7,806 50.7

Two-vehicle crashes 11,458 3,443 30.0

More than two-vehicle 

 crashes

2,092 641 30.6

Pedestrians 4,092 1,997 48.8

Single-vehicle crashes 3,736 1,806 48.3

Multiple-vehicle crashes 356 191 53.7

Pedalcyclists 630 252 40.0

Single-vehicle crashes 600 237 39.5

Multiple-vehicle crashes 30 16 53.3

Others/unknown 150 49 32.7

Total 33,808 14,188 42.0

a

 Total fatalities. b Total alcohol-related fatalities. c Alcohol-related fatalities as 

a percentage of total fatalities.

Notes: Category numbers may not sum to totals due to rounding. A motor 

vehicle crash is considered to be alcohol-related if at least one driver 

or nonoccupant (e.g., a pedestrian or pedalcyclist) involved in the crash 

is determined to have had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01 grams 

per deciliter or greater. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates alcohol involvement when test results of alcohol concentration are unknown. 2009 data are preliminary.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Database, 

personal communication, November 2010 as cited in USDOT, RITA, BTS, 

National Transportation Statistics, table 2-20, available at http://www.bts.

gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2011.

1-3

Alcohol-Related Fatalities in Motor Vehicle Crashes 

by Person Type and Crash Type: 2009

 % Alcohol

 Fatalities Alcohol involveCrash category in categorya involvementb mentc
Safety 5

1-4

Fatality Rates for Selected Modes: 1985–2008

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Passenger car occupants

Per 100 million vehicle-miles

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0 Per 100 million vehicle-miles

Light-truck occupants

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0 Per 100 million vehicle-miles

Large-truck occupants

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0

10

20

30

40

50

60 Per 100 million vehicle-miles

Motorcycle riders

Actual

Smoothed

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

0

3

6

9 Per 100,000 aircraft departures

Air carriers (actual and

smoothed fatality rates)

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Per 100,000 aircraft-hours own

0

1

2

3

4

5

General aviation

Notes: Air carrier data were smoothed using an exponential smoothing model, with a weight of 

0.945 to reduce the year-to-year fluctuations. Air carrier fatalities resulting from the Sept. 

11, 2001, terrorist attacks include only onboard fatalities. 2007 passenger car occupant, 

light-truck occupant, large-truck occupant, and motorcycle rider data are revised. 1992, 

1995, 1998, and 2006 are revised for general aviation fatalities and rates.

Sources: Passenger car occupants, Light-truck occupants, Large-truck occupants, and 

Motorcycle riders—U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Traffic Safety Facts 2008, table 7 to 

10, available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov as of October 2010. Air carriers and General 

aviation—National Transportation Safety Board, Annual Review of Aircraft Accident Data— U.S. 

Air Carrier Operations and U.S. General Aviation, available at http://www.ntsb.gov/ as of October 

2010 as reported in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, tables 

2-9 and 2-14, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ 

as of October 2010.
6 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Air

Large U.S. air carriera 29 31 23 23

Commuter air carriera 11 7 2 1

On-demand air taxia 36 12 12 4

General aviationa 409 309 258 278

Highwayb 3,230,666 3,188,750 2,346,000 2,217,000

Pipeline, gas and 

hazardous liquid 76 81 63 67

Railroadc 22,736 10,424 7,993 7,103

Transitd 54,556 56,697 23,222 21,420

Waterborne

Vessel-related, 

 commercial ship 175 150 152 132

Nonvessel-related, 

 commercial shipe U 607 464 379

Recreational boating 3,822 4,355 3,331 3,358

a

 Includes serious injuries only. b Includes passenger car occupants, motorcyclists, 

light-duty and large-truck occupants, bus occupants, occupants of unknown 

vehicle types, and pedestrians, pedalcyclists, and other nonmotorists. c

 Injuries resulting from train accidents, train and nontrain incidents, and occupational illness. Includes Amtrak, as well as train occupants and nonoccupants 

except motor vehicle occupants at grade crossings. d

 Injuries resulting from 

all reportable incidents, not just from accidents. Includes commuter rail, 

heavy rail, light rail, motorbus, on-demand service, van pool, and automated 

guideway. The drop in the number of injuries in 2008 is due largely to a 

change in definitions by the Federal Transit Administration. Only injuries 

requiring immediate medical treatment away from the scene now qualify 

as reportable. Previously, any injury was reportable. e

 Injuries unrelated to 

vessel operations.

Key: U = unavailable.

Notes: Reporting criteria and/or estimation methods for injuries are not standardized across modes. Large U.S. air carrier data for 2000 are revised. 2008 

data have been revised with the exception of commuter air carrier, general 

aviation, pipeline, and waterborne data. 

Sources: Air—National Transportation Safety Board. Highway—National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pipeline—Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration. Railroad—Federal Railroad Administration. 

Transit—Federal Transit Administration. Waterborne—United States Coast 

Guard as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National 

Transportation Statistics, table 2-2, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/

national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2011. 

1-5

Injured Persons by Transportation Mode: 1990–2009

Mode 1990 2000 2008 2009
Safety 7

AL MT

AK  NE 

AZ NV

AR  NH 

CA   NJ  

CO  NM

CT   NY  

DE   NC 

DC   ND

FL OH

GA  OK

HI OR  

ID PA

IL  RI 

IN SC

IA  SD

KS  TN 

KY  TX

LA  UT 

ME VT 

MD   VA 

MA  WA  

MI  WV

MN  WI 

MS WY 

MO PR

U.S., 

total

9 31

Note: While nine States have universal bans on hand-held devices and tex- ting, many other States have partial bans on either or both that restrict 

use for novice drivers or bus drivers. Delaware’s laws were passed in 

2010 but not enforced until Jan. 2, 2011. In Iowa and Virginia, secondary 

enforcement is applied to texting while driving. In Maryland, secondary 

enforcement is applied to using hand-held devices while driving. The 

term “secondary enforcement” means that motorists must be stopped 

for another violation before they can be cited for texting or using a cell 

phone.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, State Laws on Distracted Driving, available at http://www.

distraction.gov/state-laws/ as of Oct. 27, 2010 

1-6

State Laws on Distracted Driving: Bans on HandHeld Devices and Texting While Driving as of 

October 2010

 Ban on Texting Ban on Texting

 handheld ban handheld ban

State devices State devices
8 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Highway 7,297 15,063 16,932 14,808 12,728 

 Accident-related 249 329 321 302 252 

 Injuries 311 164 161 153 153 

 Fatalities 8 16 9 6 12 

Rail 1,279 1,058 752 750 643 

 Accident-related 48 62 53 26 37 

 Injuries 73 82 56 63 38 

 Fatalities 0 0 0 1 1 

Air 297 1,419 1,556 1,278 1,358 

 Accident-related 0 3 7 8 2 

 Injuries 39 5 8 7 10 

 Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 

Water 7 17 61 98 90 

 Accident-related 0 0 0 0 0 

 Injuries 0 0 3 0 0 

 Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 

Natural gas 

 distribution

110 154 153 149 158 

 Injuries 52 59 36 56 52 

 Fatalities 6 22 9 7 9 

Natural gas

 transmission

89 80 132 141 129 

 Injuries 17 18 7 5 11 

 Fatalities 0 15 2 0 0 

Liquid 180 146 120 145 117

 Injuries 7 4 10 2 4 

 Fatalities 3 1 4 2 4 

Notes: Accident-related excludes human errors, package failures, and unreported cases. 

Water data are for incidents involving packaged materials only and do not include 

incidents where the vessel is the container (e.g., a barge or oil tanker). Nonpipeline 

reporting requirements changed in 2002. Pipeline data contains all incidents reported 

to PHMSA based on the reporting criteria in effect at the time of the incidents. Natural 

gas transmission includes gathering system. The 2007 data are revised for total highway 

incidents, accident-related incidents, and fatalities; for rail accident-related incidents; 

for total air incidents; and total liquid incidents. The 2008 highway data and natural gas 

distribution data are revised, as are incidents for rail, air, and hazardous liquid categories. 

Hazardous liquid incident figures reflect all incidents, which differ from previous edi- tions of Pocket Guide reporting significant incidents only.

Sources: Highway, Rail, Air and Water—USDOT, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration (PHMSA), Hazardous Materials Information System Database, available at 

http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/library/data-stats as of November 2010 as reported in 

USDOT, RITA, BTS, National Transportation Statistics, table 2-6, available at http://www.

bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2011. Pipeline— USDOT, PHMSA, Office of Pipeline Safety, Accident/Incident and Mileage Summary Stats, available at http://ops.dot.gov/stats/stats.htm as of December 2010.

1-7

Hazardous Materials Transportation Incidents, 

Injuries, and Fatalities: 1990–2009

 1990 2000 2007 2008 2009

Pipeline 1990 2000 2007 2008 2009
Safety 9

Knivesa 1,607,125 1,056,687 626,182 N

Incendiaries and 

explosive/

flammable 

materials

113,700 89,623 116,200 127,176

Other cutting 

instrumentsa 163,419 101,387 59,459 N

Clubsa 12,296 9,443 6,447 N

Box cuttersa 15,999 11,908 6,284 N

Firearms 2,075 1,416 902 889

Othera 11,797,145 5,245,558 157,336 1,396

Total prohibited 

items 

13,711,759 6,516,022 972,810 129,461

a

 2008 consists of data up to Aug. 8, 2008 with the exception of Firearms and 

Incendiaries. TSA has stopped the collection of data on all prohibited items 

except for Firearms and Incendiaries as of Aug. 8, 2008.

Key: N = data are nonexistent.

Notes: Other cutting instruments include scissors, hatchets, swords, sabers, 

meat cleavers, ice axes, and picks. Effective Dec. 22, 2005, scissors less than 4 

inches and tools less than 7 inches were no longer prohibited. Knives include 

any length and type except round-bladed, butter, and plastic cutlery. Clubs 

includes martial arts items, baseball bats, night sticks, hammers, pool cues, 

and billy clubs. Firearms includes any weapon (including a starter gun) that is 

designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action 

of an explosive, as well as spear guns, BB guns, flare pistols, compressed air 

guns, and stunning devices. Other refers to tools, self-defense items, compressed gas cylinders, bleach, lighters, and certain sporting goods. Lighters 

(except for torch lighters and micro torches) were removed from the prohibited items list effective Aug. 4, 2007.

Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security 

Administration, personal communication, November 2010 as reported in 

USDOT, RITA, BTS, National Transportation Statistics, table 2-16b, available at 

http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 

2011.

1-8

Prohibited Items Intercepted at U.S. Airport 

Screening Checkpoints: 2006–2009

Items 2006 2007 2008 2009
10 Pocket Guide to Transportation

1-9

International Piracy and 

Armed Robbery at Sea: 1997–2009

1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009

Number of incidents

0

100

200

300

400

500

Notes: Incidents include attempts and threatening actions. 2008 

data are revised.

Source: International Maritime Organization, Reports on Acts of 

Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships: Annual Report, available 

at http://www.imo.org as of August 2010.
State of Good Repair 11

The U.S. transportation system is an extensive, interrelated 

public and private network of roads, airports, railroads, 

transit routes, waterways, terminals, ports, and pipelines. Millions of people and businesses rely on this expanding system 

to get to work, conduct business, ship goods within the United 

States and abroad and travel on vacations. The transportation 

system links regions and connects urban and rural areas.

 State of Good Repair 2

Mode Components

2-1

The Transportation Network: 2009

Highway Public roads

(2008) 47,011 miles of Interstate highway

117,084 miles of other National Highway 

System roads

3,895,244 miles of other roads

Air Public-use airports

5,178 airports

Airports serving large certificated carriers 

(enplaned passengers)

25 large hub areasa

 (71 airports), 461 million 

passengers

36 medium hub areas (65 airports), 127 

million passengers

74 small hub areas (93 airports), 55 million 

passengers

890 nonhub areas (924 airports), 20 million 

passengers

Rail Miles of railroad operated

(2008) 94,082 miles by Class I freight railroads in the 

United Statesb

16,690 miles by regional freight railroads

28,554 miles by local freight railroads

21,178 miles by Amtrak (passenger)c

continued next page
12 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Mode Mode Components Components

2-1—continued

Urban transit Directional route-milesd

Bus: 238,360e

Trolley bus: 456e

Commuter rail: 7,561

Heavy rail: 1,623

Light rail: 1,477

Stations 

Commuter rail: 1,214

Heavy rail: 1,041

Light rail: 836

Water Navigable channels: 25,320 miles (2008)

Ferry routes: 697 directional route-miles 

Commercial waterway facilitiesa

Great Lakes: 646

Inland: 1,883 shallow-draft

Ocean: 5,821

Lock chambers: 238

Pipeline Miles of oil pipe

Total oil: 172,048

Miles of gas pipe

Transmission: 301,896

Distribution: 1,217,967 a

 See Glossary for definitions. b There are also 561 miles of railroad operated 

within the U.S. Class I freight railroad system that are owned by Canadian 

railroads. c

 Approximately 97% of the trackage on which Amtrak operates 

is owned by other railroads. d

 Directional route-miles includes both directly 

operated and purchased transport service. e

 Includes directional route-miles 

on exclusive right-of-way, controlled right-of-way, and mixed traffic.

Sources: Highway—USDOT, FHWA, Highway Statistics 2008 (Washington, DC: 

2009), table HM-18. Air—Public-use airports: FAA as cited in USDOT, RITA, 

BTS, National Transportation Statistics, tables 1-3, available at http://www.bts.gov/

publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of October 2010. Airports 

serving large certificated carriers: USDOT, RITA, BTS, Airport Activity Statistics 

of Certificated Air Carriers, Summary Tables, October 2010. Rail—Association 

of American Railroads, Railroad Facts 2009. Transit—USDOT, Federal Transit 

Administration, National Transit Database 2009, tables 21, 23, and 24, available 

at http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/data.htm as of November 2010. 

Water—Commercial waterway facilities—U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources, Navigation Data Center, The U.S. Waterway System 

Facts, December 2009 (Alexandria, VA: 2009). Navigable channels—U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers as cited in USDOT, RITA, BTS, National Transportation 

Statistics, table 1-1, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of October 2010. Pipeline—PHMSA as cited in USDOT, 

RITA, BTS, National Transportation Statistics, tables 1-1 and 1-10, available at 

http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 

2011. 
State of Good Repair 13

Air

Air carrier 6,083 8,055 8,044 7,856

General aviation 198,000 217,533 231,607 228,663

Highway

Automobiles 133,700,496 133,621,420 135,932,930 137,079,843

Other 2-axle, 

 4-tire vehiclesa

48,274,555 79,084,979 101,469,615 101,234,849

Buses (municipally 

 owned transit and

 commercial, federal, and

 school buses)

626,987 746,125 834,436 843,308

Motorcycles 4,259,462 4,346,068 7,138,476 7,752,926

Trucks

 Single-unit 4,486,981 5,926,030 6,806,630 6,790,882

 Combination 1,708,895 2,096,619 2,220,995 2,215,856

Rail—Passenger

Amtrak–Cars 1,863 1,894 1,164 1,177

Amtrak–Locomotives 318 378 270 278

Commuter railcars 

 and locomotives 

4,982 5,497 6,279 6,494

Transitb 11,477 11,617 13,024 13,325

Rail—freight

Class I–Freight cars 658,902 560,154 460,172 450,297

Class I–Locomotives 18,835 20,028 24,143 24,003

Other freight carsc 553,359 820,642 925,537 942,675

Waterborne

Nonself-propelled 

 vessels (barges)d,e

31,209 33,152 31,654 31,238

Self-propelled vesselsd,e 8,236 8,202 9,041 9,063

Oceangoing shipse

 (1,000 gross tons 

 and over)

636 454 275 272

Recreational boats

 (numbered boats)

10,996,253 12,782,143 12,875,568 12,692,892

a

 Includes vans, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and other 2-axle, 4-tire motor vehicles 

that are not passenger cars. b Includes light and heavy rail transit only. c Includes Non- class I and car companies’ and shippers’ freight cars only. d

 See Glossary for definitions. e

 U.S.-flag vessels. 1990 and 2000 data include private and government owned vessels 

of 1,000 gross tons and over. Beginning in 2007, data are for privately-owned vessels of 

1,000 gross tons and over. 

Note: Transit and commuter rail data for 2000 and 2007 are revised, as are oceangoing ships data for 1990 and 2000. 

Sources: Air—Federal Aviation Administration. Highway—Federal Highway Administration. Rail—Amtrak and Association of American Railroads. Transit—American Public 

Transportation Association. Waterborne—U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast 

Guard, and Maritime Administration as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

National Transportation Statistics, table 1-11, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/

national_transportation_statistics/ as of July 2010.

2-2

Number of Aircraft, Railcars, Vehicles, and Vessels: 

1990–2008

Mode 1990 2000 2007 2008
14 Pocket Guide to Transportation

2-3

Condition of U.S. Highway Bridges: 1990–2009

Total all bridges 572,205 589,674 601,396 603,259

Urban 108,770 133,384 153,407 156,305

Rural 463,435 456,290 447,989 446,954

Structurally deficient 

bridges, total

137,865 86,678 71,461 71,177

Urban 16,847 13,079 12,896 12,828

Rural 121,018 73,599 58,565 58,349

Functionally obsolete 

bridges, total

100,355 81,510 79,933 78,477

Urban 30,266 29,398 33,691 33,743

Rural 70,089 52,112 46,242 44,734

Notes: Explanations for the terms “structurally deficient” and “functionally 

obsolete” can be found on pages 14 and 15 in chapter 3 of the Federal 

Highway Administration’s 2006 Conditions and Performance Report, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/2006cpr/pdfs/chap3.pdf as of 

October 2010. U.S. totals include the 50 States, the District of Columbia, 

and Puerto Rico. Data include: rural–interstate, principal arterial, minor 

arterial, major collector, minor collector, and local roads; urban–interstate, other freeways or expressways, other principal arterial, minor arterial, collector, and local roads. Data are as of December for 1990, 2008, 

and 2009 of those years and as of August for the year 2000.

Sources: 1990 and 2000: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Bridge Technology, National Bridge Inventory 

(NBI), personal communications, August 2001 and April 2008. 2008 and 

2009: Ibid., Count, Area, Length of Bridges by Highway System, available at 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/britab.htm as of April 2010 as reported in 

U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation 

Statistics, table 1-27, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_

transportation_statistics/ as of October 2010.

Mode 1990 2000 2008 2009
Livable Communities 15

The U.S. transportation system makes possible a high degree of personal accessibility and freight activity. The data 

in this section show growth in travel and freight shipments 

over time. Factors influencing this growth include vehicle 

availability, travel costs, population, congestion, the economy, 

and consumer income.

 Livable Communities 3

3-1

Vehicle-Miles: 1990–2008

(Millions)

Mode 1990 2000 2007 2008

Air

Air carrier 3,963 5,662 6,733 6,446

Highway

Passenger cars 1,408,266 1,600,287 1,672,467 1,615,850

Other 2-axle, 4-tire vehiclesa 574,571 923,059 1,112,271 1,108,603

Motorcycles 9,557 10,469 13,621 14,484

Busesb 5,726 7,590 6,980 7,114

Trucks

 Single-unit 51,901 70,500 82,014 83,951

 Combination 94,341 135,020 145,046 143,507

Total Highway 2,144,362 2,746,925 3,032,399 2,973,509

Railc

Transitd 561 647 741 762

Commuter 213 271 325 337

Intercity/Amtrake 301 368 267 272

Class I freight 26,159 34,590 38,186 37,226

Other transitf 322 628 916 989 a

 Includes vans, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and other 2-axle, 4-tire motor 

vehicles that are not passenger cars. b Includes municipally owned transit and 

commercial, Federal, and school buses. c Car-miles. d Includes light and heavy rail 

only. e Fiscal year data. f Includes on-demand service and other unspecfied forms 

of transit. 

Notes: Air and other transit data for 2000 are revised. All 2007 data except for motor- cycles, Intercity/Amtrak, and Class I freight are revised.

Sources: Air Carrier—Bureau of Transportation Statistics. General Aviation— National Transportation Safety Board. Highway—Federal Highway Administration. 

Class I freight and Intercity/Amtrak Rail—Association of American Railroads. Transit and Commuter Rail—American Public Transportation Association and Federal 

Transit Administration as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and 

Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National 

Transportation Statistics, table 1-32, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/

national_transportation_statistics/ as of October 2010.
16 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Air

Air carrier 345,873 516,129 607,546 583,506

General aviationa 13,000 15,200 U U

Highway

Passenger cars 2,281,391 2,544,457 2,642,498 2,553,043

Other 2-axle, 

 4-tire vehiclesb 999,754 1,467,664 1,928,319 1,921,960

Busesc 121,398 160,919 147,985 150,827

Motorcycles 12,424 11,516 17,298 18,395

Rail

Transitd 12,046 15,183 18,068 18,931

Commuter 7,082 9,400 11,137 11,032

Intercity/Amtrake 6,057 5,498 5,784 6,179

Other transitf 841 1,518 2,125 2,390 a

 All domestic operations of U.S. carriers other than those operating under 

14 CFR 121 and 14 CFR 135. b

 Includes vans, pickup trucks, sport utility 

vehicles, and other 2-axle, 4-tire motor vehicles that are not passenger 

cars. c

 Includes municipally owned transit and commercial, federal, and 

school buses. d

 Includes light and heavy rail only. e Fiscal year data. f Includes 

on-demand service, ferryboat, and other unspecified means of transit.

Key: U = unavailable.

Notes: Highway and air data are revised for 2007. Rail (except Intercity/

Amtrak) and other transit data are also revised for 2007. Transit data from 

2000 and after are not comparable to the data for earlier years or to the 

data published in previous editions of the report due to differences in data 

sources.

Sources: Air Carrier—Bureau of Transportation Statistics, General Aviation—Eno Transportation Foundation. Highway—Federal Highway Administration. Intercity/Amtrak Rail—Association of American Railroads. Transit 

and Commuter Rail—American Public Transportation Association and 

Federal Transit Administration as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 1-37, available at http://

www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of April 2010.

3-2

Passenger-Miles: 1990–2008

(Millions)

Mode 1990 2000 2007 2008
Livable Communities 17

3-3

Passenger Travel and Freight Transportation 

Per Person: 2009

 Number

Trips

Daily trips per person 3.8

Daily trips per person per year 1,378

Miles

Daily miles per person 37.2

Daily miles per person per year 13,571

Domestic freight transportation (2007)

Tons per capita, annually 41.6

Ton-miles per capita, annually 11,090

Notes: Tons per capita is calculated with BTS methodology based on 

data from the 2007 Economic Census: Transportation Commodity Flow 

Survey. Data based on the National Household Travel Survey presented 

here use the source frame population estimate, which does not 

include persons under five years of age. The 2009 passenger travel 

data are preliminary.

Sources: Passenger—U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), 

Federal Highway Administration, 2009 National Household Travel Survey, 

available at http://nhts.ornl.gov/ as of October 2010. Freight—U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census: Transportation Commodity Flow Survey, December 2009. Population—U.S. 

Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, 

Annual Population Estimates, December 2009, available at http://www.

census.gov/popest/estbygeo.html as of October 2010.
18 Pocket Guide to Transportation

3-4

Travel Between the United States 

and Other Countries: 2000, 2008, and 2009

Overseas

overnighta

North 

American

overnight

North 

American 

same-day

Total

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Millions of visitors

2000 2008 2009 

a

 Overseas excludes Canada and Mexico. 

Note: Year 2000 data are revised.

Sources: Overseas overnight and North American overnight—U.S. 

Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, 

Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, 2009 United States Resident 

Travel Abroad, available at http://tinet.ita.doc.gov as of October 2010. 

North American same-day, Canada and North American same-day, 

Mexico—North American Transportation Statistics Database, tables 

9-1b and 9-1c, available at http://nats.sct.gob.mx as of November 

2010.
Livable Communities 19

Total for all U.S.-Mexico crossings

Personal vehicles 70,305

Personal vehicle passengers 141,017

Buses 228 

Bus passengers 2,429

Train passengers and crew 4

Pedestrians 41,315

Personal vehicles—top 5 gateways

San Ysidro, CA 13,355

El Paso, TX 10,529

Hidalgo, TX 6,178

Brownsville, TX 5,513

Laredo, TX 5,452

Personal vehicle passengers—top 5 gateways

San Ysidro, CA 23,935

El Paso, TX 18,377

Laredo, TX 12,729

Hidalgo, TX 12,074

Brownsville, TX 11,157

Buses—top 5 gateways

San Ysidro, CA 72

Laredo, TX 43

Otay Mesa, CA 35

Hidalgo, TX 28

El Paso, TX 19

Bus passengers—top 5 gateways

Laredo, TX 846

San Ysidro, CA 453

El Paso, TX 312

Hidalgo, TX 301

Nogales, AZ 167

Train passengers and crew—top 4 gatewaysa

Nogales, AZ 2.3

Tecate, CA 0.9

Calexico East, CA 0.6

Otay Mesa/San Ysidro, CA 0.5

Pedestrians—top 5 gateways

El Paso, TX 7,638

San Ysidro, CA 6,188

Laredo, TX 4,090

Nogales, AZ 4,038

Calexico, CA 3,905 a

 Although there are eight U.S.-Mexico Ports of Entry for rail, four are in Texas where 

train crews are exchanged at the border, resulting in no new entry of persons 

into the United States. Therefore, no persons are recorded as entering the U.S. 

by train at Texas Ports of Entry. There is no regularly scheduled rail passenger 

service across the border. 

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Border Crossing/Entry Data, 

available at http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/ as of September 2010 as 

reported in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation 

Statistics, table 1-45, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of September 2010.

3-5

U.S.-Mexican Border Land-Passenger Crossings: 

2009

(Thousands)

 Entering the U.S.
20 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Total for all U.S.-Canada crossings

Personal vehicles 26,698

Personal vehicle passengers 53,509

Buses 116

Bus passengers 2,503

Train passengers and crew 218

Pedestrians 380

Personal vehicles—top 5 gateways

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 5,292

Detroit, MI 4,082

Blaine, WA 2,843

Port Huron, MI 1,570

Champlain-Rouses Point, NY 1,040

Personal vehicle passengers—top 5 gateways

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 11,818

Detroit, MI 7,271

Blaine, WA 5,966

Port Huron, MI 3,320

Champlain-Rouses Point, NY 2,198

Buses—top 5 gateways

Detroit, MI 30

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 29

Blaine, WA 15

Skagway, AK 11

Champlain-Rouses Point, NY 9

Bus passengers—top 5 gateways

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 883

Blaine, WA 323

Detroit, MI 298

Champlain-Rouses Point, NY 283

Skagway, AK 161

Train passengers and crew—top 5 gateways

Skagway, AK 65

Blaine, WA 45

Champlain-Rouses Point, NY 36

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 28

International Falls, MN 7

Pedestrians—top 5 gateways

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 245

Sumas, WA 27

Calais, ME 17

Detroit, MI 17

International Falls, MN 15

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Border Crossing/Entry Data, available at http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/ as of September 2010 as reported 

in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 

1-44, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ 

as of September 2010.

3-6

U.S.-Canadian Border Land-Passenger Crossings: 2009

(Thousands)

 Entering the U.S.
Livable Communities 21

3-7

Top 20 U.S. Passenger Airports: 1999 v. 2009 

Rankings

(Thousands of enplaned passengers on large certificated air carriers)

1999 2009

Airports Rank

Total 

enplaned 

passengers Rank

Total 

enplaned 

passengers

% 

change 

1999-

2009

Atlanta, GA 1 37,232 1 41,876 12.5

Chicago (O’Hare), IL 2 31,658 2 28,994 -8.4

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX 3 27,593 3 26,333 -4.6

Denver, CO 5 17,502 4 23,722 35.5

Los Angeles, CA 4 24,044 5 21,677 -9.8

Houston (G. Bush), TX 13 14,735 6 18,610 26.3

Phoenix, AZ 8 16,090 7 18,329 13.9

Las Vegas, NV 10 15,367 8 18,314 19.2

Charlotte, NC 21 9,442 9 17,078 80.9

New York (JFK), NY 20 10,138 10 16,192 59.7

San Francisco, CA 7 16,563 11 15,997 -3.4

Minneapolis/

St. Paul, MN 9 15,391 12 15,506 0.7

Newark, NJ 12 14,912 13 15,209 2.0

Orlando, FL 16 12,564 14 15,063 19.9

Detroit, MI 6 16,570 15 15,042 -9.2

Seattle, WA 14 13,064 16 14,720 12.7

Philadelphia, PA 19 10,347 17 14,714 42.2

Miami, FL 15 12,764 18 13,390 4.9

Boston, MA 17 11,091 19 11,378 2.6

New York 

(La Guardia), NY 18 10,805 20 10,751 -0.5

Top 20 airports 343,360 372,894 8.6

Top 20, percentage 

of totala 56.1 56.2 0.1

All airports 611,582 663,173 8.4 a

 The value in the last column is the percent change in total enplaned passengers from 1999 

to 2009.

Notes: The 1999 top 20 airports total does not reflect the total of this table because some 

airports that appeared in the 1999 top 20 did not appear in the 2009 top 20. Charlotte, 

NC, was not in the top 20 in 1999. St. Louis (STL), MO, was in the top 20 in 1999 but 

not in 2009.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Schedule T-3 Data, special tabulation, April 2010 

as reported in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 

1-41, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of 

August 2010.
22 Pocket Guide to Transportation

3-8

Top 20 U.S. Gateways for Nonstop International 

Air Travel: 2008 and 2009

(Thousands of international passengersa

)

2009 Gateway % change rank airport 2008 2009 2008–2009 

1 New York (JFK), NY 21,983 21,423 -2.5

2 Miami, FL 15,957 15,715 -1.5

3 Los Angeles, CA 16,225 14,727 -9.2

4 Newark, NJ 10,959 10,583 -3.4

5 Chicago (O’Hare), IL 11,125 10,204 -8.3

6 Atlanta, GA 9,255 8,765 -5.3

7 San Francisco, CA 8,331 7,905 -5.1

8 Houston (G. Bush), TX 7,687 7,606 -1.1

9 Washington (Dulles), DC 6,020 5,999 -0.3

10 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX 4,949 4,662 -5.8

11 Philadelphia, PA 3,724 3,739 0.4

12 Boston, MA 3,573 3,493 -2.2

13 Honolulu, HI 3,414 3,276 -4.0

14 Fort Lauderdale, FL 3,073 2,933 -4.6

15 Orlando, FL 2,588 2,905 12.3

16 Detroit, MI 3,805 2,738 -28.0

17 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 2,802 2,528 -9.8

18 Charlotte, NC 2,303 2,344 1.8

19 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 2,563 2,214 -13.6

20 Las Vegas, NV 2,235 2,153 -3.7

Total, top 20 U.S. 

international airports 140,336 133,759 -4.7

Top 20, percentage of totalb 87.4 88.5 1.1

Total, all U.S. international 

airports 160,589 151,096 -5.9 a

 International passengers are residents of any country traveling nonstop 

to and from the United States on U.S. and foreign carriers. b

 The 

value in the third column is the percent change in international passengers from 2008 to 2009.

Notes: Ranking is based on 2009 data. The data cover all passengers arriving and departing from U.S. airports on nonstop commercial international flights with 60 seats or more. 2008 data has been revised.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office 

of Airline Information, T-100 International Segment Data, special calculation, September 2010.
Livable Communities 23

1 Atlanta, GA (Hartsfield) 90,039 88,032 -2.2

2

London, England 

(Heathrow) 67,056 66,038 -1.5

3

Beijing, China 

(Beijing Capital) 55,937 65,372 16.9

4 Chicago, IL (O’Hare) 69,354 64,158 -7.5

5 Tokyo, Japan (Haneda) 66,755 61,904 -7.3

6

Paris, France 

(Charles de Gaulle) 60,875 57,907 -4.9

7

Los Angeles, CA 

(Los Angeles) 59,498 56,521 -5.0

8

Dallas/Ft Worth, TX 

(Dallas/Ft. Worth) 57,093 56,030 -1.9

9

Frankfurt, Germany 

(Frankfurt) 53,467 50,933 -4.7

10 Denver, CO (Denver) 51,245 50,168 -2.1

11 Madrid, Spain (Barajas) 50,824 48,251 -5.1

12 New York, NY (JFK) 47,808 45,915 -4.0

13

Hong Kong, China 

(Hong Kong) 47,858 45,559 -4.8

14

Amsterdam, Netherlands 

(Schiphol) 47,430 43,570 -8.1

15

Dubai, United Arab 

Emirates (Dubai) 37,441 40,902 9.2

16

Bangkok, Thailand 

(Suvarnabhumi) 38,603 40,500 4.9

17 Las Vegas, NV (McCarran) 43,209 40,469 -6.3

18 Houston, TX (G. Bush) 41,709 40,007 -4.1

19

Phoenix, AZ 

(Phoenix Sky Harbor) 39,891 37,825 -5.2

20

San Francisco, CA 

(San Francisco) 37,235 37,339 0.3 a

 Passenger movements include enplanements and deplanements, with in-transit passengers counted once. Both domestic and international passenger movements 

are included. General aviation passengers are excluded.

Notes: Airports include those participating in the ACI annual traffic statistics collection as of Aug. 5, 2010. Airports are ranked based on 2009 data. The value in 

the third column is the percent change in passengers enplaned, deplaned, and 

in-transit from 2008 to 2009

Source: Airports Council International, Annual Traffic Data, available at 

http://www.airports.org/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.

jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-55_666_2__ as of August 2010.

3-9

Top 20 World Airports by Passenger Movementsa

: 

2008 and 2009 

(Thousands of passengers enplaned, deplaned, and in-transit 

at airport)

2009 City % change

rank airport 2008 2009 2008–2009
24 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Airport

On-time 

rank %

On-time 

rank %

Salt Lake City, UT 1 83.6 1 85.1

Phoenix, AZ 2 80.9 2 83.9

Chicago (Midway), IL 3 80.7 3 83.5

Portland, OR (PDX) 16 77.7 4 83.0

Las Vegas, NV 15 77.8 5 82.9

Houston (G. Bush), TX 9 78.3 6 82.8

Los Angeles, CA 18 76.9 7 82.7

Baltimore, MD 4 80.3 8 82.5

Seattle, WA 20 75.6 9 82.2

Cincinnati, OH 6 79.1 10 82.2

St. Louis, MO (STL) 17 77.3 11 81.9

Detroit, MI 5 80.0 12 81.9

San Diego, CA 11 78.1 13 81.7

Tampa, FL 12 78.0 14 81.3

Orlando, FL 14 77.8 15 80.9

Washington (Dulles), DC 23 74.1 16 80.8

Denver, CO 8 78.3 17 80.8

Washington 

(Reagan National), DC 13 77.9 18 80.3

Charlotte, NC 10 78.3 19 80.1

Chicago (O’Hare), IL 29 67.7 20 79.4

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX 19 76.2 21 79.0

Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 7 78.9 22 78.9

Fort Lauderdale, FL 22 75.1 23 78.0

Boston, MA 24 73.4 24 76.5

Miami, FL 26 70.9 25 75.8

Philadelphia, PA 25 73.0 26 74.6

San Francisco, CA 27 69.1 27 73.5

New York (JFK), NY 28 68.6 28 73.5

Atlanta, GA 21 75.5 29 72.6

New York 

(LaGuardia), NY 30 62.8 30 68.7

Newark, NJ 31 62.3 31 65.8

Notes: On-time flights arrive within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time. 2008 

Portland and Salt Lake City data have been revised.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Airline On-Time 

Performance Data (December Issues), table 4, available at http://www.bts.gov/

programs/airline_information/airline_ontime_tables as of August 2010.

3-10

Major U.S. Airports On-Time Arrival 

Performance: 2008 and 2009

(Percent on-time, rank in 2009)

 2008 2009
Livable Communities 25

3-11

Households by Number of Motor Vehicles: 2009

Note: Data cover the household population and exclude the population 

living in institutions, college dormitories and other group quarters. 

Data do not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 

American Community Survey, table B25044, available at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.html as of October 2010.

 1 vehicle

(33.7%)

 0 

vehicles

(8.9%)

 2 vehicles

(37.6%)

 3+ vehicles

(19.9%)
26 Pocket Guide to Transportation

On-time performance

Total (weighted) 68.6% 71.2% 80.4% 79.7%

Short distance 

(<400 miles)a 72.2% 73.6% 81.1% 80.5%

Long distance 

(>400 miles) 39.5% 52.0% 75.5% 73.7%

Hours of delay by cause 

Totalb 101,655 94,566 79,304 79,976

Amtrakc 22,902 23,223 21,813 23,404

Host railroadd 72,565 64,724 46,842 44,090

Othere 6,187 6,618 10,648 12,482 a

 Includes all Amtrak Northeast Corridor and Empire Service (New York State) 

trains. b

 Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. c Includes all delays 

when operating on Amtrak-owned tracks and delays for equipment or engine 

failure, passenger handling, holding for connections, train servicing, and mail/

baggage handling when on tracks of a host railroad. d

 Includes all operating 

delays not attributable to Amtrak when operating on tracks of a host railroad 

(e.g., track- and signal-related delays, power failures, freight and commuter 

train interference, routing delays). e

 Includes delays not attributable to Amtrak 

or host railroads (e.g., customs and immigration, law enforcement action, 

weather, or waiting for scheduled departure time). 

Notes: All percentages are based on Amtrak’s fiscal year (Oct. 1–Sept. 30). Host 

railroad is a freight or commuter railroad over which many Amtrak trains 

operate for all or part of their trips.

Amtrak trains are considered on time if the actual arrival time at the endpoint is 

within the minutes of scheduled arrival time as shown on the following chart. 

Trip length is based on the total distance traveled by that train from origin to 

destination:

3-12

Amtrak On-Time Performance Trends and Hours 

of Delay by Cause: 2007–2010

 2007 2008 2009 2010

Trip length 

(miles)

Minutes late 

at endpoint 

0–250 0 or less 

251–350 15 or less

351–450 20 or less

451–550 25 or less

> 551 30 or less

Source: Amtrak, personal communication, 

October 2010.
Economic Competitiveness 27

Transportation is a major sector of the U.S. economy. It 

moves people and goods, employs millions of workers, 

generates revenue, and consumes resources and services 

produced by other sectors of the economy. In 2009, transportation related goods and services contributed $1.2 trillion to the $14.1 trillion U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

 Economic Competitiveness 4

4-1 

U.S. Gross Domestic Product by 

Major Societal Function: 2009

Housing

(20.8%)

Health care

 (16.9%)

 Food

(11.1%)

Transportation-

 relateda

 (8.6%)

Education

 (7.5%)

Recreation

 (7.2%)

 Otherb

(28%)

a

 Includes purchases of transportation-related goods (e.g., vehicles and fuel) 

and services (e.g., auto insurance), private investment in transportationrelated structures and equipment, net exports related to transportation, 

and changes in motor vehicle inventory. b

 Includes all other categories. 

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, calculated based 

on data from U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, 

National Income and Product Account Tables, available at http://www.bea.gov/

national/nipaweb/Index.asp as of October 2010 as reported in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 

3-5, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2011. 
28 Pocket Guide to Transportation

4-2

Average Household Expenditures by

Major Spending Category: 2009

Current dollars

Apparel and

services

(4%) Othera

(16%) Personal

insurance 

and pensions

(11%)

Health 

care

(6%)

Housing

(34%)

Food 

(13%)

Transportation

(16%) 

$7,658 

Private vehicle expenditures = $7,179

Vehicle purchases = $2,657

Gasoline and motor oil = $1,986

Other vehicle expenditures = $2,536

Public transportation expenditures = $479

Airline fares = $301

Mass transit fares = $65

Ship fares = $48

Taxi fares = $30

Intercity train fares = $15

Local transportation on out-of-town trips = $11

Intercity bus fares = $9

School bus = <$1 a

 Includes alcoholic beverages, entertainment, personal care products 

and services, reading, education, tobacco products and smoking, 

miscellaneous, and others.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2009, personal communication, October 

2010.
Economic Competitiveness 29

4-3

Transportation Services Index (TSI): 

January 1990–August 2010

Seasonally adjusted

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

60

80

100

120

Chain-type index: 2000 = 100

TSI total

TSI freight

TSI passenger

Notes: June–August 2010 data are preliminary. The TSI total is a monthly 

measure of the volume of services provided by for-hire transportation industries in the United States using 2000 as the base year. 

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), 

special calculation, available at http://www.bts.gov/xml/tsi/src/index.xml 

as of November 2010.
30 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Total U.S. labor force (Nonfarm) 109,487 131,785 136,790 130,920

Total transportation related 

labor forceb 12,317 13,907 13,212 12,232

Transportation as a percent 

of U.S. total 11.2 10.6 9.7 9.3

For-hire transport & warehousing 3,476 4,410 4,508 4,235

 Air 529 614 491 460

 Water 57 56 67 64

 Railroad 272 232 231 219

 Transit/ground 

 passenger transportation 274 372 423 419

 Pipeline 60 46 42 42

 Trucking 1,122 1,406 1,389 1,266

 Support activities 364 537 592 549

Scenic/sightseeing transportation 16 28 28 28

Couriers/messengers 375 605 573 547

Warehousing/storage 407 514 672 642

Related services & construction 5,256 6,177 5,844 5,432

Automotive repair services/

parking; automotive equipment 

rental/leasing; gasoline stations 1,800 2,125 2,005 1,913

Highway, street, bridge construction 289 340 327 286

Dealers or wholesalers of motor 

vehicles, parts, petroleum, 

supplies, equipment 1,993 2,360 2,304 2,087

Travel arrangement/

reservation services 250 299 223 196

Ambulatory health care services 99 173 238 246

Postal service 825 880 747 703

Transportation-related manufacturingc 2,683 2,447 1,965 1,672

Governmentb 903 873 895 893 a

 Annual averages. Data are NAICS-based. See Glossary for definition. b Fiscal year data. 

Includes U.S. DOT and state and local personnel. State and local component of government employment includes highway, air, transit, and water modes. c

 Includes transportation equipment; petroleum products; tires; rubber; plastics; search, detection, navigation, 

guidance, aeronautical, and nautical systems; and instrument manufacturing.

Notes: U.S. Coast Guard employees are excluded from government for years 2003 and after. 

All 2008 data are revised. Due to independent rounding, individual components may not 

sum to total. This table does not include in-house employment.

Sources: Total and transportation related labor force—Bureau of Labor Statistics, Government—Bureau of the Census and U.S. Department of Transportation as cited in U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau 

of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 3-19b, available at http://

www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2011.

4-4

Employment in Transportation and Selected 

Transportation-Related Industriesa

: 1990–2009

(Thousands)

 1990 2000 2008 2009
Economic Competitiveness 31

Motor vehicles 

and parts (87) 73,602 131,069 204,671 -57,467

Aircraft, spacecraft, 

and parts (88) 82,958 18,344 101,302 64,614

Ships, boats, 

and floating 

structures (89) 2,042 1,268 3,310 774

Railway or 

tramway 

locomotives and 

parts (86) 2,221 1,257 3,478 964

Total, 

transportation 

commodities 160,823 151,938 312,761 8,885

Total, all 

commodities 1,056,932 1,557,876 2,614,808 -500,944

Transportation 

commodities share 

of trade 15.2% 9.8% 12.0% 1.8%

Notes: The numbers in parentheses are the classification categories from the 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Classification category (87) also includes 

bicycles, wheelchairs, and baby carriages.

a Total trade = exports plus imports. b Trade balance = exports minus imports.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics; special calculation based on data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. International 

Trade Commission, Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb, available at http://

dataweb.usitc.gov as of October 2010.

4-5

U.S. Trade in Transportation-Related 

Commodities: 2009

(Millions of current U.S. dollars)

Commodity Total Trade

 and code Exports Imports tradea balanceb
32 Pocket Guide to Transportation

4-6

U.S. Domestic Freight Shipments by Mode: 2007

(Commodity Flow Survey data only)

Total 11,685 12,543 3,345 

Single modes 9,539 11,698 2,894 

Trucka 8,336 8,779 1,342 

Rail 436 1,861 1,344 

Water 115 404 157 

Air (including truck and air) 252 4 5 

Pipelineb 400 651 S

Multiple modes 1,867 574 417 

Parcel, USPS, 

 or courier 1,562 34 28 

Truck and rail 187 226 197 

Truck and water 58 146 98 

Rail and water 14 55 47 

Other multiple modes 45 114 46 

Other and 

unknown modes 279 272 34 

a

 Truck as a single mode includes any shipment that was made by private truck 

only, by for-hire truck only, or by a combination of private and for-hire 

truck. b

 Estimates for pipeline exclude shipments of crude petroleum.

Key: S = Estimate does not meet publication standards because of high sampling variability or poor response quality.

Notes: The data presented in this table exclude shipments from entities 

classified in forestry, fishing, utilities, construction, transportation, and 

most retail and services industries. Farms and government-owned entities (except government-owned liquor stores) were also excluded. Also 

excluded are most imports and commodities shipped from a foreign location to another foreign destination that pass through the United States. 

Other and unknown modes refers to shipments using modes not listed 

above or any shipment for which the mode of transportation could not 

be determined.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. 

Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Economic Census: 

Transportation Commodity Flow Survey, December 2009.

 Value Tons Ton-miles

 Mode ($billions) (millions) (billions)
Economic Competitiveness 33

4-7

Value of U.S.–International Merchandise Trade by 

Mode of Transportation: 2009

(Millions of current U.S. dollars)

Modal Modal Total Total

 Exports % Imports % trade modal %

Total 1,056,932 100.0 1,557,876 100.0 2,614,808 100.0

Water 367,520 34.8 795,279 51.0 1,162,799 44.5

Air 334,444 31.6 366,938 23.6 701,382 26.8

Truck 231,961 21.9 222,866 14.3 454,827 17.4

Rail 35,263 3.3 60,361 3.9 95,624 3.7

Pipeline 3,420 0.3 45,786 2.9 49,205 1.9

Other, 

unknown & 

miscellaneous 84,324 8.0 66,647 4.3 150,971 5.8

Notes: Individual categories may not sum to totals due to rounding. Excludes 

intransit data (merchandise shipped from one foreign country to another via 

a U.S. port).

Imports—excludes imports valued at less than $1,250. Import value is based on 

U.S. general imports, customs value basis.

Exports—excludes exports valued at less than $2,500. Export value is FAS (free 

alongside ship) and represents the value of exports at the port of export, 

including the transaction price and inland freight, insurance, and other charges.

The data for other, unknown & miscellaneous are derived by subtracting the sum 

of water, air, truck, rail and pipeline from the total value of merchandise trade.

Sources: Total, water and air—U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census 

Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, FT920 U.S. Merchandise Trade: Selected Highlights, 

December 2009, available at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/

ft920_index.html as of November 2010. Truck, rail, and pipeline—U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, 

Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data, available at http://

www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/ as of November 2010.
34 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Total 637,048 100.0 1,062,068 100.0 1,699,116 100.0

Watera 498,049 78.2 826,420 77.8 1,324,469 78.0

Air 3,130 0.5 3,522 0.3 6,653 0.4

Truckb 79,804 12.5 75,436 7.1 155,240 9.1

Railb 47,375 7.4 61,057 5.7 108,432 6.4

Pipelineb 3,419 0.5 95,181 9.0 98,600 5.8

Other, unknown, 

& miscellaneousb 5,270 0.8 451 <0.05 5,722 0.3

a

 The weight data for water transportation vary from those officially reported 

by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, because the data in this table 

exclude intransit shipments (merchandise shipped from one foreign 

country to another via a U.S. port but not part of U.S. official merchandise trade). BTS uses U.S. Census Bureau trade-based data to allow for a 

complete modal comparison among the different freight transportation 

modes. b

 The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) estimated the 

weight of exports for truck, rail, pipeline, mail and other and unknown 

modes based on the import weight-to-value ratios that vary by country, 

mode, and commodity. The import weight-to-value ratios at the six, four, 

and two-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule code commodity detail are 

applied. Since the weight-to-value ratio of a given commodity drastically 

fluctuates from year to year, BTS removed the irregular components 

(outliers) of the import ratios to produce consistent and reliable export 

weight estimates. 

Notes: Individual categories may not sum to totals due to rounding. Excludes 

intransit data (merchandise shipped from one foreign country to another 

via a U.S. port). Imports—excludes imports valued at less than $1,250. 

Import value is based on U.S. general imports, customs value basis. 

Exports—excludes exports valued at less than $2,500. Export value is 

FAS (free alongside ship) and represents the value of exports at the port 

of export, including the transaction price and inland freight, insurance, and 

other charges.

Sources: Water and air—U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census 

Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, FT920 U.S. Merchandise Trade: Selected Highlights (December Issues), available at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/

Press-Release/ft920_index.html as of August 2010. Truck, rail, pipeline and 

other, unknown, and miscellaneous—U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, available at http://www.bts.gov/

programs/international/transborder/ as of November 2010, and BTS special 

calculation, August 2010.

4-8

Weight of U.S.–International Merchandise Trade 

by Mode of Transportation: 2009

(Thousands of short tons)

Modal Modal Total Total

Exports % Imports % trade modal %
Economic Competitiveness 35

NAFTA trade, total 100.0 100.0

Trucka 61.9 27.8

Raila 13.0 19.4

Pipelinea 6.7 17.7

Air 5.3 0.1

Water 8.1 34.0

Other and unknowna 5.0 1.0

U.S.-NAFTA imports, total 100.0 100.0

Truck 55.5 20.4

Rail 15.0 16.5

Pipeline 11.4 25.7

Air 4.1 0.0

Water 10.8 37.3

Other and unknown 3.2 0.1

U.S.-NAFTA exports, total 100.0 100.0

Trucka 69.5 42.6

Raila 10.6 25.3

Pipelinea 1.0 1.8

Air 6.9 0.1

Water 4.7 27.4

Other and unknowna 7.3 2.8

a

 Because export weights for surface modes are not currently reported, 

BTS estimated the export weight for truck, rail, pipeline, and other 

and unknown based on value-to-weight ratios from the import data.

Note: U.S. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) refers to 

U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico.

Sources: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data, special calculation available at http://www.bts.gov/

programs/international/transborder/ as of November 2010.

4-9

U.S. Merchandise Trade With Canada and 

Mexico by Mode Share: 2009

 Value Weight

Mode (percent) (percent)
36 Pocket Guide to Transportation

1 Los Angeles, CA (w) 28.0 167.7 195.6 

2 New York, NY, and NJ (w) 38.3 104.5 142.8 

3 JFK International Airport, NY (a) 65.8 61.2 127.0 

4 Houston, TX (w) 48.4 57.7 106.1 

5 Laredo, TX (l) 45.3 49.8 95.1 

6 Chicago, IL (a) 31.0 59.8 90.8 

7 Detroit, MI (l) 47.7 37.2 85.0 

8 Long Beach, CA (w) 24.2 44.4 68.5 

9 Los Angeles Intl. Airport, CA (a) 30.9 32.2 63.1 

10 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY (l) 33.2 27.8 61.0 

11 Port Huron, MI (l) 28.4 30.1 58.5 

12 Savannah, GA (w) 18.9 27.7 46.6 

13 New Orleans, LA (a) 19.2 25.7 44.9 

14 Norfolk, VA (w) 18.9 24.0 43.0 

15 El Paso, TX (l) 17.9 24.4 42.3 

16 San Francisco Int’l Airport, CA (a) 21.0 18.8 39.8 

17 Miami Int’l Airport, FL (a) 27.5 11.7 39.1 

18 Dallas/Ft. Worth Int’l Airport, TX (a) 14.9 20.9 35.8 

19 Anchorage, AK (a) 8.4 26.2 34.7 

20 Oakland, CA (w) 12.7 21.1 33.8 

Key: a = airport; l = land port; w = water port.

Notes: Air gateways include a low level (generally less than 3% of the total 

value) of freight shipped through small user-fee airports located in the 

same area as the gateways listed. Air gateways not identified by airport 

name (e.g., Chicago, IL) include major airport(s) in that area and small 

regional airports. Due to Census Bureau confidentiality regulations, cou- rier operations are included in airport totals for only JFK, Los Angeles, 

Chicago, and Anchorage. 

Sources: Air and Water—calculations based on data from U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, USA 

Trade Online, available at http://data.usatradeonline.gov/ as of November 

2010. Land—U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative 

Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder 

Freight Data as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and 

Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 

National Transportation Statistics, table 1-47, available at http://www.bts.gov/

publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of January 2011.

4-10

Top 20 U.S. - International Trade Freight Gateways 

by Value of Shipments: 2009

(Billions of current dollars)

Rank Gateway Exports Imports Total
Economic Competitiveness 37

South Louisiana, LA 224.0 Los Angeles, CA 5,521

Houston, TX 212.2 Long Beach, CA 4,843

New York, NY, and NJ 153.5 New York, NY and NJ 4,103

Long Beach, CA 80.2 Savannah, GA 2,086

Corpus Christi, TX 76.8 Norfolk Harbor, VA 1,645

New Orleans, LA 73.0 Oakland, CA 1,548

Beaumont, TX 69.5 Tacoma, WA 1,458

Huntington - Tristate 69.3 Houston, TX 1,371

Mobile, AL 67.6 Charleston, SC 1,307

Plaquemines, LA 63.7 Seattle, WA 1,224

Los Angeles, CA 59.8 Honolulu, HI 859

Lake Charles, LA 53.8 San Juan, PR 801

Texas City, TX 52.6 Port Everglades, FL 677

Baton Rouge, LA 51.8 Miami, FL 665

Duluth - Superior, 

MN, and WI 45.3 Jacksonville, FL 544

Norfolk Harbor, VA 44.6 Baltimore, MD 505

Baltimore, MD 43.4 Anchorage, AK 288

Pittsburgh, PA 41.8 New Orleans, LA 242

Tampa, FL 39.7 Portland, OR 204

Paulsboro, NJ 36.4 Philadelphia, PA 199

Total, top 20 1,559 30,091

Total, all ports 2,477 32,007

Notes: Includes exports, imports, and domestic shipments. See table 4-10 for 

top 20 freight gateways by value of shipments.

TEUs = 20-foot equivalent units. One 20-foot container equals one TEU.

Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce of the United 

States, Part 5, National Summaries, tables 1-1 and 5-2, available at http://

www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/wcsc.htm as of July 2010 as cited in 

USDOT, RITA, BTS, National Transportation Statistics, table 1-51, available 

at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of 

October 2010. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Container Traffic for U.S. Ports and all 50 States and U.S. Territories, Port TEUs, available at 

http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/wcsc.htm as of August 2010.

4-11

Top 20 U.S. Water Ports by Shipment Weight & 

Top 20 U.S. Water Ports by Container TEUs: 2008

Port by Short tons Port by Full TEUs

shipment weight (millions) container TEUs (thousands)
38 Pocket Guide to Transportation

1 1 Singapore Singapore 29,918

2 2 Shanghai China 28,006

3 3 Hong Kong China 24,494

4 4 Shenzhen China 21,416

6 5 Busan South Korea 13,446

8 6 Dubai United Arab Emirates 11,827

12 7 Ningbo China 11,226

13 8 Guangzhou China 11,001

7 9 Rotterdam Netherlands 10,784

11 10 Qingdao China 10,024

10 11 Hamburg Germany 9,737

9 12 Kaohsiung Taiwan 9,677

15 13 Antwerp Belgium 8,663

18 14 Tianjin China 8,503

17 15 Port Kelang Malasyia 7,974

14 16 Los Angeles United States 7,850

16 17 Long Beach United States 6,350

21 18 Bremen/

Bremerhaven 

Germany 5,488

19 19 Tanjung Pelepas Malasyia 5,466

20 20 New York/

New Jersey 

United States 5,265

Notes: TEUs = 20-foot equivalent units. One 20-foot container equals one 

TEU. 

Source: American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), Port Industry 

Statistics, World Port Rankings (Container Traffic), available at http://www.

aapa-ports.org/ as of August 2010.

4-12

Top 20 World Container Ports: 2007 and 2008

(Thousands of full and empty TEUs)

Rank Rank 

(2007) (2008) Port Country TEUs
Economic Competitiveness 39

4-13

New Passenger Car and Light Truck Production:

Model Years 1985–2010

Cars

Light trucks

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

0

Millions of vehicles

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Notes: Data are based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) definitions of light trucks (gross vehicle weight of 8,500 pounds or less). 

Model year 2010 data are projected production from the automotive 

companies. Cars and light trucks data for 2003, 2008, and 2009 are 

revised.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Light-Duty Automotive 

Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 

Through 2010, appendix E, available at http://www.epa.gov/oms/fetrends.

htm as of November 2010.
40 Pocket Guide to Transportation

4-14

U.S. Oil Imports: 1980–2009

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

Total OPEC Total Non-OPEC

Thousand barrels per day, average

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Notes: OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) members 

are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, 

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Angola joined 

OPEC in January 2007. Ecuador was a member of OPEC from 1973-

1992, and rejoined OPEC in November 2007. Gabon was a member 

from 1975-1994. Indonesia withdrew from OPEC in May 2008.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 

Monthly Energy Review (Washington, DC: October 2010), tables 3.3c 

and 3.3d, available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/petro.html as of 

October 2010.
Economic Competitiveness 41

Canada 1 934 1,807 2,493 2,479 

Mexico 2 755 1,373 1,302 1,210 

Venezuela (OPEC) 3 1,025 1,546 1,189 1,063 

Saudi Arabia (OPEC) 4 1,339 1,572 1,529 1,004 

Nigeria (OPEC) 5 800 896 988 809 

Russia 6 45 72 465 563 

Algeria (OPEC) 7 280 225 548 493 

Angola (OPEC) 8 NR NR 513 460 

Iraq (OPEC) 9 518 620 627 450 

Brazil 10 49 51 258 309 

U.S. Virgin Islands 11 282 291 320 277 

Colombia 12 182 342 200 276 

United Kingdom 13 189 366 236 245 

Ecuador (OPEC) 14 49 NR 221 185 

Kuwait (OPEC) 15 86 272 210 182 

Netherlands 16 55 30 168 140 

Norway 17 102 343 102 108 

Libya (OPEC) 18 0 0 103 79 

Total, major 

suppliers

6,690 9,806 11,473 10,333

Total, all U.S. imports 8,018 11,459 12,915 11,691

Key: NR= Not reported; OPEC = Organization of Petroleum Exporting 

Countries; R= revised.

Notes: The country of origin for petroleum products may not be the country 

of origin for the crude oil used to produce the products. For example, 

refined products imported from western European refineries may have 

been produced from Middle Eastern crude oil. Angola joined OPEC in 

January 2007. Ecuador was a member of OPEC from 1973-1992, and 

rejoined OPEC in November 2007. Data for Angola for 1973-2006, 

and Ecuador for 1993-2007 are included in Total Non-OPEC in Energy 

Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, table 3.3d. All 2000 

data are revised. The data for Colombia, Netherlands, Norway and Libya, 

which were not included in last year’s table, are included in this year’s 

table, thus Total, major suppliers is revised accordingly.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 

Monthly Energy Review (Washington, DC: October 2010), tables 3.1, 3.3c–d, 

available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/petro.html as of October 

2010.

4-15

Major 2009 Suppliers of U.S. Imported Crude Oil 

and Petroleum Products v. Production in Earlier 

Years

(Thousand barrels per day, average; rank in 2009)

 Rank 1990 2000 2008 2009
42 Pocket Guide to Transportation

While transportation enhances the quality of our lives, 

it also generates environmental impacts that can 

lead to human health problems and environmental damage. 

Overall, most transportation air emissions in the United 

States, such as particulates, have declined since 1980 despite 

significant increases in U.S. population, Gross Domestic 

Product, and vehicle-miles traveled. However, carbon dioxide 

emissions from transportation fuel use rose steadily until 

2007 before decreasing in 2008.

Environmental Sustainability 5

5-1

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions From 

Energy Use: 1985–2009

Notes: Electric utility emissions are distributed across sectors. 

Data for all years except 2009 are revised.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), Energy Information Administration (EIA), Monthly Energy Review, Carbon 

Dioxide Emissions From Energy Consumption, tables 12.2 to 12.5, 

available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/environ.html as 

of November 2010.

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

Commercial

Residential

Transportation

Industrial

Million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2

)

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Environmental Sustainability 43

5-2

Index of Key Air Pollutant Emissions From 

U.S. Transportation: 1990–2008

Index: 1990 = 1.0

Key: PM-10 = airborne particulates of less than 10 microns, PM-2.5 = airborne 

particulates of less than 2.5 microns.

Notes: The indexes are calculated using data on emissions from highway 

vehicles only. Particulate matters include PM without condensibles. 2003 

data are revised except carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, 

and ammonia. 2004 data are revised except nitrogen oxide, sulur dioxide, 

and ammonia. 2005 data are revised except carbon monoxide, sulfur diox- ide, and ammonia. 2006 data are revised except carbon monoxide, volatile 

organic compounds, and ammonia. 2007 data revised except carbon mon- oxide, sulfur dioxide, and ammonia.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clearinghouse for Inventories 

and Emissions Factors (CHIEF), Current Emission Trends Summaries, available 

at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/trends/index.html as of November 2010.

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0

1990 1995 2000 2005

Carbon monoxide

0.4

0.2

0

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1990 1995 2000 2005

Nitrogen oxides

1990 1995 2000 2005

0.4

0.2

0

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

Volatile organic compounds

PM-10

PM-2.5

1990 1995 2000 2005

0.4

0.2

0

0.6

0.8

1.2

1.0

PM-10; PM-2.5

1990 1995 2000 2005

Sulfur dioxide

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1990 1995 2000 2005

0.0

0.4

0.8

1.2

1.6

2.0

Ammonia
44 Pocket Guide to Transportation

5-3

New Passenger Car and Light Truck Fuel Economy

Averages: Model Years 1985–2010

30

35

25

20

15

10

5

Miles per gallon

0

1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Light trucks

Cars

Notes: Fuel economy is miles divided by gallons. All data are revised.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Summary of 

Fuel Economy Performance (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), available 

at http://www.nhtsa.gov/, as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 4-23, 

available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_

statistics/ as of January 2011.
Environmental Sustainability 45

1999 0 17 17

2000 0 9,350 9,350

2001 0 20,282 20,282

2002 0 22,335 22,335

2003 0 47,566 47,566

2004 2,993 81,206 84,199

2005 15,960 189,868 205,828

2006 24,198 229,320 253,518

2007 77,629 275,233 352,862

2008 86,082 229,606 315,688

2009 81,882 208,350 290,232

a

 Sales include leased vehicles and fleet sales. b Includes 

vehicles produced in Canada and Mexico.

Notes: The first domestic hybrid vehicle was not introduced in the U.S. market until 2004. A hybrid vehicle 

is a vehicle powered by a combination of batteryelectric motor(s) and an internal combustion engine. 

Source: Ward’s Automotive Group, WardsAuto.com, 

personal communication, April 2010.

5-4

Hybrid Vehicle Salesa

 in the United States: 

1999–2009

(Units)

Year Domesticb Import Total
46 Pocket Guide to Transportation

5-5

U.S. Petroleum Production and Consumption: 

1975–2009

0

5

10

15

20

25

Million barrels per day

Total consumption

Transportation consumption

Total production

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Notes: 2009 data are preliminary. Data for all other years are revised. 

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 

Monthly Energy Review (Washington, DC: September 2010), tables 3.1, 

and 3.7c, available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/petro.html as of August 

2010 as cited in USDOT, RITA, BTS, National Transportation Statistics, 

table 4-1, available at http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/ as of October 2010.
Environmental Sustainability 47

5-6

Transportation’s Share of U.S. Petroleum Use: 

1975–2009

0

3

6

9

12

15

Million barrels per day

Transportation

Industry

Buildings

Utilities

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Notes: 2009 data are preliminary. Data for all other years are revised.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, 

Monthly Energy Review (Washington, DC: October 2010), tables 3.7a–c, 

available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/mer/petro.html as of October 2010.
48 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Glossary

Air carrier: Certificated provider of scheduled and nonscheduled 

services.

Chained dollars: A method to measure real changes in dollar values 

between years; uses chain-type indexes, rather than constant dollars. 

The method first calculates the real changes between adjacent years. 

Annual rates of real changes are then chained (multiplied) together to 

obtain the rate of real changes between nonadjacent years.

Class I railroad: Railroads earning adjusted annual operating revenues 

for three consecutive years of $250,000,000 or more based on 1991 

dollars with an adjustment factor applied to subsequent years.

Commercial waterway facilities: Waterway facilities, as defined by 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are piers, wharves, and docks. Not 

included are those facilities used exclusively for recreational or active 

military craft and generally those providing nonmaritime use.

Commuter rail: Urban/suburban passenger train service for shortdistance travel between a central city and adjacent suburbs run on 

tracks of a traditional railroad system. Does not include heavy- or 

light-rail transit service.

Congestion cost: Value of travel time delay (estimated at $15.47 per 

hour of person travel and $102.12 per hour of truck travel in 2007) 

and excess fuel consumption (estimated using the average cost per 

gallon by state).

Contracted service (purchased transportation): Transportation 

service provided to a public transit agency or governmental unit from a 

public or private transportation provider based on a written contract.

Delay: The extra travel time (hours) spent traveling at congested 

speeds rather than free-flow speeds (60 mph on freeways and 35 mph 

on principal arterials) divided by the number of persons making a trip 

during the peak period (6:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.).

Demand-response transit: A nonfixed-route, nonfixed-schedule 

form of transportation that operates in response to calls from 

passengers or their agents to the transit operator or dispatcher.

Directional route-miles: The sum of the mileage in each direction 

over which transit vehicles travel while in revenue service.

Directly operated service: Transportation service provided directly 

by a transit agency, using their employees to supply the necessary labor 

to operate the revenue vehicles.

Draft: The depth of water a vessel draws, loaded or unloaded.

General aviation: Civil aviation operations other than those air 

carriers holding a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. 

Types of aircraft used in general aviation range from corporate, multiengine jets piloted by a professional crew to amateur-built, singleengine, piston-driven, acrobatic planes.

Gross Domestic Product: The total value of goods and services 
Glossary 49

produced by labor and property located in the United States. As 

long as the labor and property are located in the United States, the 

suppliers may be either U.S. residents or residents of foreign countries.

Heavy-rail transit: High-speed transit rail operated on rights-of-way 

that exclude all other vehicles and pedestrians.

Hub area: As used here, a geographic area based on the percentage of 

total enplaned passengers in that area. A hub area can comprise more 

than one airport and falls into one of the following classes: large—a 

community enplaning 1% or more of the total enplaned passengers; 

medium—0.25%–0.99%; small—0.05%–0.24%; nonhub area—less than 

0.05%. The definition of hub used here is distinct from airline usage 

of the term to describe “hub-and-spoke” route structures or other 

definitions of hubs used by the Federal Aviation Administration, which 

relate to traffic at individual airports.

Intermodal: Transportation activities involving more than one mode 

of transportation, including transportation connections, choices, 

cooperation, and coordination of various modes.

Large certificated air carrier: Carriers operating aircraft with a 

maximum passenger capacity of more than 60 seats or a maximum 

payload of more than 18,000 pounds. These carriers are also 

grouped by annual operating revenues: majors—more than $1 billion; 

nationals—between $100 million and $1 billion; large regionals—

between $20 million and $99,999,999; and medium regionals—less 

than $20 million.

Light-rail transit: Urban transit rail operated on a reserved rightof-way that may be crossed by roads used by motor vehicles and 

pedestrians.

Light truck: Trucks of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating or 

less, including pickup trucks, vans, truck-based station wagons, and 

sport utility vehicles.

Long-distance travel: As defined in the National Household Travel 

Survey, long-distance trips are trips of 50 miles or more from home to 

the farthest destination traveled and include the return component as 

well as any overnight stops and stops to change transportation mode.

Metric ton: A unit of weight equal to 2,204.6 pounds.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS): 

NAICS (established in April 1997) replaces the Standard Industrial 

Classification (SIC) and groups producing and nonproducing economic 

activities into 20 sectors and 1,170 industries in the U.S. version. It was 

developed to provide common industry definitions for Canada, Mexico, 

and the United States to facilitate analyses of the economies of the 

three countries.

Nonself-propelled vessels: Includes dry cargo, tank barges, and 

railroad car floats that operate in U.S. ports and waterways.
50 Pocket Guide to Transportation

Particulates: Carbon particles formed by partial oxidation and 

reduction of hydrocarbon fuel. Also included are trace quantities of 

metal oxides and nitrides, originating from engine wear, component 

degradation, and inorganic fuel additives.

Passenger-mile: One passenger transported one mile. For example, 

one vehicle traveling 3 miles carrying 5 passengers generates 15 

passenger-miles.

Pedalcyclist: A person on a vehicle powered solely by pedals. 

Self-propelled vessels: Includes dry cargo vessels, tankers, and 

offshore supply vessels, tugboats, pushboats, and passenger vessels, 

such as excursion/sightseeing boats, combination passenger and dry 

cargo vessels, and ferries.

Serious injury (Air Carrier/General Aviation): An injury that 

requires hospitalization for more than 48 hours, commencing within 

7 days from the date when the injury was received; results in a bone 

fracture (except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose); involves 

lacerations that cause severe hemmorrhages, nerve, muscle, or tendon 

damage; involves injury to any internal organ; or involves second- or 

third-degree burns or any burns affecting more than 5 percent of the 

body surface.

Short-ton: A unit of weight equal to 2,000 pounds.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC): SIC (first used in 1937) 

groups entities by primary activity to ease data collection, tabulation, 

presentation, and analysis. SIC was intended to promote greater 

uniformity and comparability in data presentations by government, 

industry, and research institutions. SIC classifies industries by 

composition and structure of the economy.

Ton-miles: A unit of measure equal to the movement of one ton over 

one mile.

Truck: 

Single unit: A large truck on a single frame with at 

least 2 axles and 6 tires. 

Combination: A power unit (truck or truck 

tractor) and one or more trailing units.

Vehicle-mile: One vehicle traveling one mile.
Statistics published in this Pocket Guide to Transportation

come from many different sources. Some statistics are 

based on samples and are subject to sampling variability. 

Statistics may also be subject to omissions and errors in 

reporting, recording, and processing. 

Photo Credits

Front cover

City bus - Marsha Fenn

Airplane - Pavel Jedlicka

Cargo ship - Elliott Linder

Passenger rail - BTS Staff

Back cover

Truck - BTS Staff

Train - BTS Staff

Pipeline - Kevin Abbott

Freeway - James Lin
http://www.bts.gov/publications/pocket_guide_to_transportation/2011/

Printed on paper containing recycled post 

consumer waste paper.