U.S. International Trade in Transportation-Related Services
U.S.
trade in transportation
services totaled $133.5 billion (in current dollars1)
in 2004, up 67 percent from $79.8 billion in 1994 (figure 11-4). However, this
growth in transportation-related services trade has not been steady as
increases in 2002 and 2003 occurred after two years of decline [1].
By
2004, 58 percent of trade was imports (payments to foreign countries),
resulting in a trade deficit of $21.5 billion-the largest trade deficit for transportation
services since 1998 (figure 11-5). Unlike trade in transportation-related
goods, the
United States
had a surplus in
transportation services from 1994 through 1997. The trade surplus was highest
in 1996, at $3.3 billion.
U.S.
exports and imports in
transportation services include freight services provided by carriers; port
services provided by airports, seaports, and terminals; and passenger travel
services provided by carriers (box 11-A).
U.S.
trade in transportation
services generates substantial revenues for
U.S.
businesses in receipts to
U.S.
carriers and ports. These
services also result in payments by
U.S.
companies to foreign
freight and passenger carriers and ports. Because an efficient transportation
system puts a premium on system reliability and speed, the performance of
freight carriers and ports directly influences the competitiveness of
U.S.
businesses engaged in
international trade.
Source
1. U.S. Department of Transportation, Research
and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
calculations using data from U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic
Analysis, International Transactions Accounts, available at
http://www.bea.doc.gov/, as of May 2005.
1 All dollar amounts in this section are in current
dollars. While it is useful to compare trends in economic activity using
constant or chained dollars to eliminate the effects of price inflation, it is
not possible to do so in this instance (see the note on the figures and table
11-4 and table 11-5 in appendix B).
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