These supply chains are built on effectively moving information, product specifications, orders, sales forecasts, and goods, parts, components, finished products, both physically and electronically. In the United States, we have been working hard to foster a domestic and international environment conducive to the development of the internet and e-commerce. We've encouraged private sector leadership. These steps to make the telecommunications and air services sectors more market-oriented and competitive have been vital to the success of the new economy. Our policies have brought tangible dividends.
Consumers enjoy greater choice and lower prices.
The U.S. economy has achieved high growth in combination with low inflation, thanks in considerable part to the increased productivity achieved through the use of information technology. Civil Aviation Nowhere has the marriage of the internet and transportation been more marked than in air cargo transport. In fact, some recent studies show that the air cargo industry is now expanding at a faster rate than are air passenger services. The information age has played an important role in that expansion. Online commerce demands efficient, global cargo networks that can deliver purchased goods quickly and at reasonable costs.