Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
Printable Version
Transportation Indicators - Highlights - October 2002

Transportation Indicators
Highlights - October 2002

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 These reports are provided as a historical reference.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.

Highlights File Formats
Introduction
Safety
Highway-rail fatalities rose 29 percent in July 2002 compared to July 2001. There were 11 more deaths tallied in July 2002 (49) than recorded in July 2001 (38). In July 2002, one less rail fatality was recorded than in the previous July as rail fatalities dropped from 53 to 52.
Security
Individuals who sought entry into the United States decreased almost 10 percent in August 2002 compared to August of last year as land admissions dropped 11 percent and air admissions declined 6 percent.
Mobility
There was a 13 percent decline in the number of scheduled operations for major airlines in August 2002 compared to August of last year. This was the ninth largest decline for any month in the 15 years of available data. All of the larger declines have occurred since October 2001.
U.S. transit ridership declined 3 percent in June 2002 compared to June 2001. The largest percentage declines were in heavy rail, commuter rail, and light rail.
U.S. rail intermodal traffic dropped nearly 19 percent in the week ending October 12, 2002 (from the same week one year ago), while Canadian rail intermodal traffic grew almost 27 percent compared to the same week last year. (The West Coast port lockout ended October 9.)
Food and farm products shipped on our nation's inland waterways dropped 20 percent in September 2002 compared to September 2001. This was the third lowest monthly tonnage since September 1996.
Combined upbound and downbound tonnage shipped through the Welland Canal on the St. Lawrence Seaway dropped 7 percent in September 2002 compared to the same month last year- the largest September drop in the 10 years tracked by this report.
Economy
Personal spending on gasoline and oil increased 13 percent in the second quarter of 2002 compared to the previous quarter.
The monthly increase for September 2002 in consumer prices for new cars and trucks of 0.5 percent was the second highest in the 10 years tracked by this report. The impact on consumers of the price increase for new vehicles was mitigated by a decline of 0.8 percent in prices for used cars and trucks and flat prices for motor vehicle maintenance and repair.
Producer prices of crude petroleum increased 4 percent in September 2002 compared to the same month last year. Producer prices for petroleum products dropped 7 percent. The 2 percent decline in producer prices for transportation equipment in the twelve months ending in September 2002 was the largest decline in the 10 years tracked by this report.
The producer price of scheduled air freight transportation increased nearly 9 percent in September 2002 compared to September 2001 - reaching the second highest level in the 10 years tracked by this report.
September 2002 producer prices for passenger railroad transportation were up 6 percent over September 2001.
Producer prices of highway and street construction dropped 3 percent in September 2002 compared to September 2001.
Private expenditures on construction of general commercial warehousing and transportation equipment manufacturing were both at lows not seen since late 1995 and early 1996, respectively.
Business inventory to sales ratio decreased almost one percent in August 2002 compared to the previous month-reaching the lowest level in the 10 years tracked by this report.
Business investment in transportation equipment dropped 11 percent in the second quarter of 2002 compared to the second quarter of 2001-the lowest level in five years.
The value of transportation-related imports increased 5 percent (seasonally adjusted terms) in the second quarter of 2002 compared to the previous quarter. The value of transportation-related exports increased almost 4 percent during the same time period.
Human and Natural Environment
Transportation energy use per dollar of GDP declined nearly 3 percent in the second quarter of 2002, compared to the same quarter last year.
New Indicators
St. Lawrence Seaway Commercial Traffic
St. Lawrence Seaway System Availability
A Time Series Analysis of Domestic Air Seat and Passenger Miles

Sampling, as well as non-sampling, errors may exist in the reported data.



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