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Transportation Indicators

This report is intended to provide timely, easily accessible information for the transportation community. It was developed by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and is updated each month on the BTS website.

Each indicator is placed under a heading corresponding to one of the five strategic goals of DOT — safety, mobility, economic growth, environment, and national security. Some indicators are related to more than one strategic goal.

The indicators fall under two broad categories: those that provide context about the economy and society in which transportation functions, and those that convey information about an aspect of transportation. To the extent possible, these latter indicators are transportation-wide in scope; however, some apply to only part of the transportation system. Reference tables at the beginning of the document provide key statistics about U.S. social and economic characteristics, and about the extent of the transportation system.

For indicators that are highly seasonal, the current value of that indicator is compared to the same time period in the previous year (e.g., April 2001 compared to April 2000). Otherwise, the tables show a comparison of the current value to a comparable preceeding period of time (e.g., the data for the month of April 2001 compared to that of March 2001).

NOTE: The final issue of this report was December 2002. These reports are provided as a historical reference. A minimal number of indicators are being updated in the White House Economic Statistics Briefing Room.