Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
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Table 1-2: Number of Air Carriers, Railroads, Interstate Motor Carriers, Marine Vessel Operators, and Pipeline Operators

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  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Air carriersa N N 39 36 63 102 70 96 96 96 96 94 91 87 83
Major air carriers N N N N N 13 14 11 12 13 13 13 15 15 15
Other air carriers N N N N N 89 56 85 84 83 83 81 76 72 68
Railroads 607 568 517 477 480 500 530 541 553 550 559 555 560 571 552
Class I railroads 106 76 71 73 39 25 14 11 10 9 9 9 8 8 7
Other railroads 501 492 446 404 441 475 516 530 543 541 550 546 552 563 545
Interstate motor carriersb e e e e U U 216,000 346,000 379,000 417,000 477,486 517,297 560,393 592,909 600,104
Marine vessel operatorsc U U U U U U U (R) 1,381 (R) 1,348 (R) 1,311 (R) 1,235 (R) 1,174 (R) 1,114 1,063 U
Pipeline operatorsd N N 1,123 1,682 2,243 2,204 2,212 2,378 2,338 2,282 2,225 2,216 2,163 1,957 U
Hazardous liquid N N N N N g 222 187 209 215 217 225 216 243 239 U
Natural gas transmission N N 420 432 474 724 866 974 970 954 880 862 828 637 867
Natural gas distribution N N 938 f 1,500 f 1,932 1,485 1,382 1,444 1,397 1,363 1,366 1,382 1,351 1,305 1,311

KEY: N = data do not exist; R = revised; U = data are not available.

a Carrier groups are categorized based on their annual operating revenues as major, national, large regional, and medium regional. The thresholds were last adjusted July 1, 1999, and the threshold for major air carriers is currently $1 billion. The other air carrier category contains all national, large regional, and medium regional air carriers.

b Figures are for the fiscal year, October through September. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration deletes motor carriers from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) when they receive an official notice of a change in status. This most often occurs when a safety audit or compliance review is attempted. As a result, inactive carriers may be included in the MCMIS.

c The printed source materials do not contain totals for the number of operators and data files from which the figures can be determined are not available prior to 1993.

d There is some overlap among the operators for the pipeline modes so the total number of pipeline operators is lower than the sum for the three pipeline modes.

e Prior to 1980, the source of motor carrier data was the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which was abolished on Jan. 1, 1996. (Certain functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board and the Department of Transportation.) The system used by ICC to collect motor carrier data differs significantly from that used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in its Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), which began operations in 1980. The MCMIS is updated weekly, but archive versions are not retained. Because of differences between the two systems, data are not comparable and thus are not included here.

f Includes master meter and mobile home park natural gas distribution operators. A master meter system is a pipeline system for distributing gas within, but not limited to, a definable area, such as a mobile home park, housing project, or apartment complex, where the operator purchases metered gas from an outside source for resale through a gas distribution pipeline system. The gas distribution pipeline system supplies the ultimate consumer who either purchases the gas directly through a meter or by other means, such as by rents.

g This value is for 1986. The number of hazardous liquid pipeline operators is not available for prior years.

SOURCES

Air carriers:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Air Carrier Financial Statistics Quarterly (Washington, DC: Fourth quarter issues), "Alphabetical List of Air Carriers by Carrier Group ...".

Railroads:

1960-85: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Ten-Year Trends, Vol. 2 (Washington, DC), table I-2.

1989-98: Ibid., Vol. 16 (Washington, DC: 1999), p. 10.

1999-2002: Ibid., Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: Annual issues), p. 3.

Interstate motor carriers:

1990-2001: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) data, personal communication, Nov. 6, 2001.

2002: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Analysis and Information Online, Internet site http://ai.volpe.dot.gov/mcspa.asp as of June 4, 2004.

Marine vessel operators:

1995-2001: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Transportation Lines of the United States, Volume 1, National Summaries (New Orleans, LA: Annual issues), table 13.

Pipeline Operators:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Pipeline Safety, personal communication, Dec. 15, 2003.



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