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TABLE 8-2 Change in Labor Productivity of the For-Hire Transportation Industries: 1992–2002

Index: 1992 = 100.0

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KEY: U = data are unavailable.

NOTES: No data are available for water transportation or natural gas pipeline. Data for local trucking, bus carriers, and petroleum pipeline are not available beyond 2000.

These productivity measures capture railroad, long-distance trucking, and air transportation as defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), whereas those for local trucking, bus, and petroleum pipeline are defined by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. At the time this report was prepared, the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not have plans to continue estimating productivity measures for petroleum pipeline, local trucking, and bus carriers because of a lack of reliable data.

Labor productivity measures quality-adjusted ton- and passenger-miles per hour. Quality adjustment corrects for differences in services and handling, e.g., the difference between flying first class and coach or differences in the handling requirements and revenue generation of high- and low-value commodities. Petroleum pipeline labor productivity is measured by output per employee. Railroad includes line-haul railroads primarily engaged in transportation of passengers and cargo over a long distance within a rail network. Trucking comprises establishments engaged in providing long-distance general freight trucking, usually between metropolitan areas that may cross North American country borders. Air includes establishments that provide scheduled and nonscheduled air transportation of passengers and cargo using aircraft, e.g., airplanes and helicopters. Local trucking includes establishments that generally provide trucking services within a single municipality, contiguous municipalities, or a municipality and its suburban areas.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, reindexing calculations based on data from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Productivity and Technology, "Industry Productivity Database," available at http://www.bls.gov/, as of November 2004.