H - Information on Data Sources
Airline freight and passenger data
The U.S.
Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS) collects and compiles data on the volume of revenue passengers, freight,
and mail traffic handled and reported by the nation’s large certificated air
carriers. These carriers hold Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity
(CPN) issued by the USDOT authorizing the performance of air transportation.
Large certificated air carriers operate aircraft with seating capacity of more than
60 seats or a maximum payload capacity of more than 18,000 pounds or conduct
international operations. Data for commuters, intrastate, nonscheduled air taxi
operators, and foreign flag air carriers are not included in this BTS data.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information
Print source:
USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information. Airport Activity Statistics. Washington,
DC: Annual issues.
Internet: http://www.bts.gov
Commodity Flow Survey
The Commodity
Flow Survey (CFS) provides data on the movement of freight by type of commodity
shipped and by mode of transport. In 1997, 100,000 domestic establishments were
randomly selected from a universe of approximately 800,000 engaged in mining,
manufacturing, wholesale, warehouses of multi-establishment companies, and some
selected activities in retail and service. The survey excluded establishments
classified as farms, forestry, fisheries, governments, construction, transportation,
foreign establishments, services, and most establishments in retail. For the 1997 CFS, each selected establishment
reported a sample of about 25 outbound shipments for a one-week period in each
of four calendar quarters in 1997. This produced a total sample of over 5
million shipments. Due to industry-wide
reporting problems, shipments by oil and gas extraction establishments were
excluded from data tabulations.
For each
sampled 1997 CFS shipment, zip code of origin and destination, 5-digit Standard
Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) code, weight, value, and modes of
transport were provided. Information on whether the shipment was containerized,
a hazardous material, or an export was also obtained. Route-distance for each
mode, for each shipment, is imputed from a Mode-Distance Table developed by Oak
Ridge National Laboratory. Distance was used to compute ton-mileage by mode of
transport. The CFS provides nationwide geographic coverage in 89 National
Transportation Analysis Regions, stratified by state and, for the 1997 CFS,
metropolitan area.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Statistical Programs
Print source:
USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census, [state]: 1997 Commodity Flow Survey. EC97TCF-[state], Washington,
DC: 1999.
Internet: http://www.bts.gov/ntda/cfs/
Commuting data
Commuting data
are derived from the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey (C2SS). The C2SS used the
questionnaire and methods developed for the American Community Survey to
collect demographic, social, economic, and housing data from a national sample
of 700,000 households. Group quarters were not included in the sample. The C2SS
was conducted in 1,203 counties with monthly samples of about 58,000 housing
units. Economic, demographic, and housing characteristics from the Census 2000
Supplementary Survey are reported for the United
States as a whole, the 50 states, and the District
of Columbia.
The Census
2000 Supplementary Survey is not directly comparable with the 1990 Census for
several reasons, one being that the former did not include group quarters. This may understate some categories such as
walking.
Additional information:
Contact: USDOC,
U.S. Census Bureau, Demographic Surveys Division
Internet: http://www.census.gov
Gas and hazardous liquid pipeline data
U.S. fatality
and injury data for natural gas pipelines and hazardous liquid pipelines are
based on reports filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of
Pipeline Safety (OPS) under 49 CFR 191. Accidents must be reported as soon as
possible, but no later than 30 days after discovery. Undetected releases are a
possible source of error; even if subsequently detected and reported, it may
not be possible to accurately reconstruct the accident. Property damage figures
are estimates.
Gas pipeline
incidents involve: 1) releases of gas from a pipeline or liquefied natural gas
(LNG) or gas from an LNG facility that results in a) death or personal injury
necessitating in-patient hospitalization, or b) estimated property damage,
including cost of gas lost, of the operator or others, or both, of $50,000 or
more; 2) an event that results in an emergency shutdown of an LNG facility; or
3) an event that is significant, in the judgment of the operator, even though
it did not meet the criteria of 1) or 2).
For hazardous
liquids pipelines, an accident report is required for each failure in a
pipeline system in which there is a release of the hazardous liquid or carbon
dioxide transported resulting in any of the following: 1) explosion or fire not
intentionally set by the operator; 2) loss of 50 or more barrels (8 or more
cubic meters) of hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide; 3) escape to the
atmosphere of more than 5 barrels (0.8 cubic meters) a day of highly volatile
liquids; 4) death of any person; 5) bodily harm to any person resulting in one
or more of the following: a) loss of consciousness, b) an individual being carried
from the scene, c) medical treatment, or d) disability which prevents the
discharge of normal duties or the pursuit of normal activities beyond the day
of the accident; or 6) estimated property damage, including cost of clean-up
and recovery, value of lost product, and damage to the property of the operator
or others, or both, exceeding $50,000.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Research and Special Programs Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety
Internet: http://ops.dot.gov
Government transportation revenue and expenditure data
The U.S.
Department of Commerce (USDOC), U.S. Census Bureau conducts an Annual Survey of
Government Finances. Alternatively, every five years, in years ending in a ‘2’
or ‘7’, a Census of Governments, including a finance portion, is conducted. The
survey coverage includes all state and local governments in the United
States. For both the Census and annual
survey, the finance detail data is equivalent, encompassing the entire range of
government finance activities—revenue, expenditure, debt, and assets.
The data
collection for the annual survey uses two methods: mail canvas and central
collection from state sources. Data for local governments includes county,
municipal, township, special district, and school district data. Data for state
governments are compiled from state government audits, budgets, and other
financial reports into the classification categories used for reporting by the
Census Bureau.
Reporting of
government finances by the Census Bureau involves presentation of data in terms
of uniform categories. While often similar to, or identical to, the
classification used by the state or local government, there could be instances
in which a significant difference exists between the name of a state or local
financial item and the final category to which it is assigned by the Census
Bureau.
Like financial
transactions are combined. The financial categories for revenue involve
grouping of items by source. Revenue items of the same kind are merged.
Financial transactions for expenditures are classified both by function and by
object category. Debt items are classified by term (short- and long-term), as
well as by type of debt and, to a limited extent, by purpose. Assets also are
put into uniform categories, grouped by type of holding, with holdings for
insurance trust systems grouped separately from general government.
The share of
government sector financial totals contributed by a state government or by
local governments differs materially from one state to another. Users can
review the Government Finance and Employment Classification
Manual for additional information regarding the financial
categories. The financial amounts in the tables and files are statistical in
nature and do not represent accounting statements or conditions.
The local
government statistics are developed from a sample survey. Therefore, the local
totals, as well as state and local aggregates, are considered estimated amounts
subject to sampling error. State government finance data are not subject to
sampling. Consequently, state-local aggregates for individual states are more
reliable (on a relative standard error basis) than the local government
estimates they include.
Additional information:
Contact: USDOC,
U.S. Census Bureau,
Finance Branch
Print Sources:
USDOC, U.S.
Census Bureau, Federal Aid to States: 2000
Internet: http://www.census.gov
Hazardous materials incidents data
Incidents
resulting in certain unintentional releases of hazardous materials must be
reported under 49 CFR 171.16. Each carrier must submit a report to the USDOT,
Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) within 30 days of the
incident, including information on the mode of transportation involved, results
of the incident, and a narrative description of the accident. These reports are
generally made available on RSPA’s incident database within 90 days of receipt.
Fatalities and
injuries are counted only if directly caused by a hazardous material. For
example, a truck operator killed by impact forces during a motor vehicle crash
would not be counted as a hazardous-material fatality. RSPA contacts the
submitting carrier by telephone to verify all reported fatalities.
Although RSPA
acknowledges that there is some level of underreporting, it believes that the
underreporting is mostly limited to small, nonserious incidents. The reporting
requirements were extended to intrastate highway carriers on October 1, 1998, and the response
rate from this new group is expected to increase over time. Property damage
figures are estimates determined by the carrier prior to the 30-day reporting
deadline, and are generally not subsequently updated. Property damage figures,
therefore, may underestimate actual damages.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Research and Special Programs Administration, Office of Hazardous
Materials Planning and Analysis
Print source:
USDOT, Research and Special Programs Administration, Office of Hazardous
Materials Safety, Hazmat Summary by State for Calendar Year
2000. Washington,
DC: 2001
Internet: http://hazmat.dot.gov
Highway mileage, condition, and use, driver licenses, and highway
vehicle registrations data
Data on
roadway mileage, condition, and use are extracted from the Highway Performance
Monitoring System (HPMS), which uses a stratified simple random sample of
highway links (small sections of roadway) selected from state inventory files.
The HPMS sample was designed as a fixed sample to minimize data collection
costs, but adjustments to maintain representativeness are carried out
periodically. The HPMS also consists of universe reporting (a complete census)
for the Interstate and the National Highway System, and tabular summary
reporting of limited information.
Data are
collected independently by the 50 states, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs),
and lower jurisdictions. Many of the geometric data items rarely change, such
as number of lanes; others change frequently, such as traffic. The U.S.
Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides
guidelines for data collection in the HPMS Field Manual, which the states
follow to varying extents depending on matters such as staff, resources, state
perspective, uses of the data, and state/MPO/local needs for the data. State
Departments of Transportation (DOTs) report HPMS data annually to the FHWA.
HPMS data are
subject to sampling and nonsampling error. Nonsampling error is the major
concern with these data. For some of the most variable and important data
items, such as traffic, guidelines for measurement and data collection have
been produced. States have the option of using the guidelines or using their
own procedures. Many data items are difficult and costly to collect and are
reported as estimates not based on direct measurement. The data are collected
and reported by many entities and individuals within the responsible
organizations. Most do a reasonably good job, but staff turnover, cost,
equipment issues, etc., can create difficulties.
States provide
vehicle registration data to the FHWA. Vehicle registration data are shown on a
calendar-year basis. Efforts are made to
exclude transfers, re-registrations, and any other factors that could result in
duplication in the vehicle counts. Registration practices for commercial
vehicles differ greatly among the states. Some states register a
tractor-semitrailer combination as a single unit; others register the tractor
and the semitrailer separately. Some states register buses with trucks or
automobiles, while many states do not report house and light utility trailers
separately from commercial trailers or semitrailers. Some states do not require registration of
car or light utility trailers. In some instances, FHWA has supplemented the
data supplied by the states with information obtained from other sources.
States also
provide driver licensing data to the FHWA. Although efforts are made to
minimize license duplication, drivers who move from one state to another are
sometimes counted in both states until the license from the previous state of
residence expires. Problems with the data also arise from the fact that: 1)
some individuals obtain their drivers licenses in states other than those of
legal residence; 2) some individuals fraudulently obtain multiple licenses; 3)
not all individuals who drive are licensed; and 4) the purging of expired
licenses or licenses from deceased individuals is not performed on a continual
basis.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Federal Highway
Administration, Office of Highway Policy Information
Print source:
USDOT, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics.
Washington, DC:
Annual issues.
Internet: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/
index.html
Highway safety data
Fatalities:
Highway fatality data are extracted from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System
(FARS), which is compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT),
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Data are gathered from
a census of police accident reports (PARs), state vehicle registration files,
state drivers licensing files, state highway department data, vital statistics,
death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, hospital medical reports,
and emergency medical service reports. A separate form is completed for each
fatal crash. Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is estimated when not known.
Statistical procedures used for unknown data in FARS can be found in the NHTSA
report, A Method
for Estimating Posterior BAC Distributions for Persons Involved in Fatal
Traffic Accidents, DOT HS 807 094 (Washington, DC: July 1986).
Data are
collected from relevant state agencies and electronically submitted for
inclusion in the FARs database on a
continuous basis. Cross-verification of PARs with death certificates helps
prevent undercounting. Moreover, when data are entered, they are checked
automatically for acceptable range values and consistency, enabling quick
corrections when necessary. Several programs continually monitor the data for
completeness and accuracy. Periodically, sample cases are analyzed for accuracy
and consistency.
FARS
data do not include motor vehicle fatalities on nonpublic roads. These are
thought to account for about 2 percent or fewer of the total motor vehicle
fatalities per year.
Injuries
and crashes: NHTSA’s General Estimates System (GES)
data are a nationally representative sample of police-reported crashes that
contributed to an injury or fatality or resulted in property damage and
involved at least one motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway. GES data
collectors randomly sample PARs and forward copies to a central contractor for
coding into a standard GES system format. Documents such as police diagrams or
supporting text provided by the officers might be further reviewed to complete
a data entry. A NHTSA study of injuries from motor vehicle crashes estimated
the total count of nonfatal injuries at over 5 million compared with the GES’s
estimate of 3.2 million in 1998.
Additional information:
Contact: USDOT, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis
Print source:
USDOT, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic
Safety Facts. Washington,
DC: Annual issues.
Internet: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov
International visitors data
Data on
international visitors to the United
States are based on international arrivals
by air to the United States
(excluding those from Canada
and Mexico).
Information is derived from the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s (INS)
Visitor Arrivals Program (I-94) and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Tourism
Industries Office’s Survey of International Air Travelers. The survey obtains
data on overseas travel patterns, characteristics, and spending patterns of
international travelers to and from the United
States. Between 69,000 and 95,000 travelers
are surveyed each year. The survey results are weighted so they represent the
international travel populations of U.S.
residents and non-residents based upon Immigration and Naturalization Service
data.
Additional information:
Contact: U.S.
Department of Commerce (USDOC), International Trade Administration, Tourism
Industries Office
Print source:
USDOC, International Trade Administration, Tourism Industries Office, Overseas Visitors to Select U.S. States and
Territories. Washington, DC:
Annual issues; and USDOC, International Trade
Administration, Tourism Industries Office, Overseas Visitors to
Select U.S. Cities/Hawaiian Islands.
Washington, DC:
Annual issues.
Internet: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/
Passenger border crossing data
U.S. Custom
Service personnel collect passenger border-crossing entry data for all U.S.
land, air, and maritime ports. These numbers reflect all entries, and it is not
possible to divide these data into separate entries for same-day and overnight
travel or by country of residence for the traveler. Additionally, for
border-crossing figures, the total number of people is not the number of unique
individuals, but rather indicates the number of border crossings. Multiple
crossings by the same individual count as multiple border crossings.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Transportation Analysis
Internet: http://www.bts.gov
Railroad industry and shipments data
The
Association of American Railroads (AAR) database aggregates data from several
sources concerning the freight railroad industry and movement of freight, both
nationally and statewide. The state-specific data include commerce, employment,
and financial contributions.
The primary
source of data for Class I railroads is Schedule 700 of the R-1 Annual Report
to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) by individual carriers (100 percent
reporting) and the 2000 Carload Waybill Sample. The primary source of data for
non-Class I railroads is AAR’s
Profiles of U.S. Railroads from statistics supplied annually by nearly all
operating U.S.
freight railroads. Some of the data are estimated based on more aggregated,
national figures.
The STB
defines Class I railroads as having operating revenues at or above a threshold
indexed to a base of $250 million (1991) and adjusted annually in concert with
changes in the Railroad Freight Rate Index published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Declassification from Class I status occurs when a railroad falls
below the applicable threshold for three consecutive years. Although few in
number, Class I railroads account for over 90 percent of the industry’s
revenue.
The AAR
determines the number of non-Class I railroads through an annual survey sent to
each U.S.
freight railroad.
Historical reliability may vary due to changes in the railroad industry, including
bankruptcies, mergers, and declassification by the STB. Small data errors may
also have occurred because of independent rounding in this series by the AAR.
Additional information:
Contact:
Association of American Railroads, Policy and Economics Department
Internet: http://www.aar.org
Railroad safety data
Railroads are
required to file a report for each accident or incident to the Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA). These include: 1) train accidents, reported on Form F
6180.54, comprised of collisions, derailments, and other events involving the
operation of on-track equipment and causing reportable damage above an
established threshold ($6,600 in 1998); 2) highway-rail grade crossing
incidents, reported on Form F 6180.57, involving impact between railroad
on-track equipment and highway users at crossings; and 3) other incidents,
reported on Form F 6180.55a, involving all other reportable incidents or
exposures that cause a fatality or injury to any person or an occupational
illness to a railroad employee.
Railroads are
required by FRA regulations to use the current FRA Guide
for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports when preparing reports.
The Systems
Support Division of FRA maintains the Railroad Accident/Incident Reporting
System (RAIRS), consisting of four databases: rail equipment, injury/illness,
grade-crossing accidents, and railroad summary (freight and passenger). These
databases include information on all railroad accidents, grade-crossing
accidents, railroad employee casualties, and any other injuries on railroad
property, and provide the basis for accident analyses and assessment as well as
annual reports. The databases are updated monthly from information submitted by
the railroads.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Federal Railroad Administration, Office of Safety
Print
publication: USDOT, Federal Railroad Administration, Railroad
Safety Statistics. Washington,
DC: Annual issues.
Internet: http://www.fra.dot.gov
Recreational boating safety and vehicles data
The U.S. Coast
Guard, of the U.S. Department of Transportation, collects data on recreational
boating accidents from two sources: 1) Boating Accident Report (BAR) data
forwarded to the Coast Guard by jurisdictions with an approved boat numbering
and casualty reporting system, and 2) reports of Coast Guard investigations of
fatal boating accidents that occurred on waters under federal jurisdiction.
Recreational Boating Accident Investigation data are used if submitted to the
Coast Guard and are relied on as much as possible to provide accident
statistics. In the absence of investigations, information is collected from
reports filed by boat operators.
Boat operators
are required to file a BAR if an accident results in 1) loss of life, 2)
personal injury that requires medical treatment beyond first aid, 3) damage to
the vessel and other property exceeding $500, or 4) complete loss of the
vessel.
Boat operators
are required to report their accidents to authorities in the state where the
accident occurred. States with approved boat numbering systems furnish the
Coast Guard with BAR data. The minimum reporting requirements are set by
federal regulation, but states are allowed to have stricter requirements. The
Coast Guard reports recreational boating safety data in the report Boating Statistics, which only covers accidents meeting the
federal minimum reporting requirements.
The statistics
in Boating Statistics cover boating
accidents reported on waters of joint federal and state jurisdiction, and
exclusive state jurisdiction.
The Coast
Guard believes over 90 percent of fatal accidents are included in Boating Statistics. A smaller percentage of nonfatal
accidents are reported because of reporting thresholds, ignorance of the law,
and difficulties enforcing the law. Federal law does not require the reporting
of accidents on private waters where states have no jurisdiction. Reports of
accidents on such waters are included when received by the Coast Guard if they
satisfy the other requirements of inclusion. Accidents excluded are those in
which the boat was used as a platform for other activities (e.g., swimming),
and those in which a person dies of natural causes aboard a boat. However, the
data do include accidents involving people in the water who are struck by their
boat or another boat.
Additional information:
Contact: USDOT,
U.S. Coast Guard, Office
of Boating Safety
Print source:
USDOT, U.S. Coast Guard, Office of Boating Safety, Boating
Statistics, Washington, DC: Annual issues.
Internet: http://www.uscgboating.org
Transborder surface freight data
The
Transborder Surface Freight Dataset is extracted from the Census Foreign Trade
Statistics Program and made available by the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics. Import and export data are extracted from administrative records
required by the Departments of Commerce and Treasury. This dataset incorporates
all shipments entering or exiting the United
States by surface modes of transport (that
is, other than air or maritime vessel) to and from Canada
or Mexico.
Prior to January 1997, this dataset also included transhipments in its detailed
tables, that is, shipments entering or exiting the United
States by way of U.S. Customs ports on the
northern or southern borders, even when the actual origin or final destination
of the goods was other than Canada
or Mexico.
Shipments that neither originate nor terminate in the United
States (i.e., intransit shipments) are
beyond the scope of this dataset because they are not considered U.S.
international trade shipments.
Users should
be aware that the trade data fields (such as value and commodity
classification) are typically more rigorously reviewed than transportation data
fields (i.e., mode of transportation and port of entry/exit). Users should also
be aware that the use of foreign trade data to describe physical transportation
flows might not be direct. For example, this dataset provides surface
transportation information for individual Customs districts and ports on the
northern and southern borders. However, because of filing procedures for trade
documents, these ports may or may not reflect where goods physically crossed
the border. This is because the filer of information may choose to file trade
documents at one port, while shipments actually enter or exit at another port.
Import data
are generally more accurate than export data. This is primarily due to the fact
that Customs uses import documents for enforcement purposes, while it performs
no similar function for exports.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Transportation Analysis
Internet: http://www.bts.gov
Transit operating, financial, and safety data
Transit data
are from the National Transit Database (NTD) produced by the USDOT, Federal
Transit Administration (FTA). Data are collected from transit agencies that
receive Urbanized Area Formula Program funds. Transit operators that do not
report to FTA are those that do not receive federal funding, typically private,
small, and rural operators. FTA reviews and validates information submitted by
individual transit agencies. Reliability may vary because some transit agencies
cannot obtain accurate information or may interpret certain data definitions
differently than intended.
In 2000, 592
agencies reported to the NTD. Of that total, 67 transit agencies received exemptions
from detailed reporting because they operated 9 or fewer vehicles, and 7 were
excluded because their data were incomplete. Thus, 518 individual reporters
were included in the NTD accounting for 90 to 95 percent of transit
passenger-miles.
Data are
collected on a range of variables including capital and operating funding,
transit service supplied and consumed, and transit safety and security. Transit
operators must report fatalities, injuries, accidents, incidents, and property
damage in excess of $1,000.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Federal Transit Administration
Print source:
USDOT, Federal Transit Administration, Data Tables. Washington,
DC: Annual issues; and USDOT, Federal
Transit Administration, National Transit Database
Reporting Manual. Washington,
DC: Annual issues.
Internet: http://www.fta.dot.gov
Transportation establishment, employees, and payroll data
Data on
employees, establishments, and payroll are taken from County Business Patterns,
a database of employment in the United
States using the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS). Data are collected annually. Data are extracted
from the Business Register, the Census Bureau’s file of all known single and
multi-establishment companies. The Annual Company Organization Survey and
quinquennial Economic Censuses provide individual establishment data for
multi-location firms. Data for single-location firms are obtained from various
programs conducted by the Census Bureau, such as the Economic Censuses, the
Annual Survey of Manufactures, and Current Business Surveys. They are also obtained from administrative
records of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security
Administration (SSA), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Additional information:
Contact: USDOC,
U.S. Census Bureau,
Economic Planning and Coordination Division
Print source: USDOC,
U.S. Census Bureau, [State]: County Business Patterns
1999.
CBP/99-6. Washington, DC:
2001.
Internet: http://www.census.gov/epcd/
cbp/view/cbpview.html
Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey
The Vehicle
Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) collects data on the physical and operational
characteristics of private and commercial trucks in the United
States. The 1997 VIUS sampled about 131,000
trucks from an estimated universe of over 75 million trucks. The sample
excludes vehicles owned by federal, state, and local government including
ambulances, buses, motor homes, farm tractors, unpowered trailer units, and
trucks reported to have been sold, junked, or wrecked prior to July 1, 1996.
Light trucks registered as cars, as is the practice in many states, were
included. Unregistered trucks used off-road are not included. Census delivered
a mail-out/mail-back survey to the owner identified in the vehicle registration
records. Data collection is staggered as state records become available. Owners
report data only for the vehicles selected. The response rate for the 1997 VIUS
was about 85 percent.
Additional information:
Contact: USDOC,
U.S. Census Bureau,
Service Sector Statistics Division
Print source:
USDOC, U.S. Census Bureau, [state]: 1997 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey. EC97TV-[state]. Washington,
DC: 1999.
Internet: http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/
tiusview.html
Waterborne imports and vessel data
The U.S.
Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) classifies
merchant-based vessels by size and type and reports this information in its
annual publication, Merchant Fleets of the
World. MARAD compiles these figures from a data service provided by
Lloyd’s Maritime Information Service. The parent company, Lloyd’s Register
(LR), collects data from several sources, including its offices around the
world, data transfers and agreements with other classification societies,
questionnaires to ship owners and shipbuilders, feedback from government
agencies, and input from port agents.
MARAD’s Office
of Statistical and Economic Analysis maintains the waterborne databank used to
compile the annual import and export statistics from monthly and quarterly data
provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. MARAD publishes the data in
reports of vessel movements, trade and cargo by type of service, U.S.
and foreign port, country of origin/destination, commodity, value, weight, and
containerized cargo.
MARAD
distributes the reports and performs special tabulations and customized
maritime data reports created for other government agencies and the private
sector on a reimbursable basis. MARAD also provides these services for historic
data and maintains the Schedule K Classification of Foreign Ports by Geographic
Trade Area and Country.
Additional information:
Contact:
USDOT, Maritime Administration, Office of Statistical and Economic Analysis
Print source:
USDOT, Maritime Administration, Merchant Fleets of the
World.
Internet: http://www.marad.dot.gov
Waterborne shipments data
The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Navigation Data Center (NDC) collects data on
waterborne commodity and vessel movements, domestic commercial vessel
characteristics, port and waterway facilities, and navigation dredging
projects.
The NDC’s
databases contain information on physical characteristics, infrastructure, and
commodities for principal facilities on the U.S.
coast, Great Lakes, and inland ports. The data consists
of listings of port area’s waterfront facilities, including information on
berthing, cranes, transit sheds, grain elevators, marine repair plants,
fleeting areas, and docking and storage facilities.
All vessel
operators of record report their domestic waterborne traffic movements to the
Corps via ENG Forms 3925 and 3925b. Cargo movements are reported according to
points of loading and unloading. Excluded cargo movements are: 1) cargo carried
on general ferries, 2) coal and petroleum products loaded from shore facilities
directly into vessels for fuel use, 3) military cargo moved in U.S. Department
of Defense vessels, and 4) cargo weighing less than 100 tons moved on
government equipment. The Corps calculates ton-miles by multiplying the cargo’s
tonnage by the distance between points of loading and unloading.
An annual
survey of companies that operate inland waterway vessels is the principal
source of data for inland non self-propelled vessels, self-propelled vessels,
and flag passenger and cargo vessels. More than 3,000 surveys are sent to these
companies, and response rates are typically above 90 percent.
Additional information:
Contact: U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce
Statistics Center
Print source: U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce of the
United States. New Orleans, LA:
Annual issues.
Internet: http://www.wrsc.usace.army.mil
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