Transportation Energy Efficiency

Passenger travel was 5 percent more energy efficient in 2000 than in 1990 (figure 117), mainly due to gains by domestic commercial aviation. Improved aircraft fuel economy and increased passenger loads resulted in a 32 percent increase in commercial air...

Travel by Mode

Personal vehicles1 are the predominant means by which people travel in the United States on a daily basis. In 2001, 87 percent of person trips and 88 percent of person-miles were made in personal vehicles (figure 29 and figure 30). Walking and riding a bicycle accounted for...

Figure 56 - New or Rebuilt Locomotives and Freight Cars: 1990-2001

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NOTE: Locomotive data are for Class I railroads only. Freight car data cover Class I railroads, other railroads, and private car owners.

Figure 30 - Modal Share of Person-Miles: 2001

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NOTE: The 2001 National Household Travel Survey “travel period” data were not available when this report was prepared. Without these data, vacation trips and...

U.S. International Trade in Transportation-Related Goods

The United States traded $299.6 billion worth (in current dollars1) of transportation-related goods (e.g., cars, trains, boats, and airplanes and their related parts) in 2002 with its partners (figure 96). Although motor vehicles and...

Transportation Energy Prices

Transportation fuel prices (in chained 1996 dollars1) experienced short-term fluctuations between 1992 and 2002 (figure 114). The average price of motor fuel (all types of gasoline) decreased 15 percent in 1998, to $1.08 per gallon from $1.27 per gallon in 1997....

Age of Amtrak, Aircraft, and Maritime Vessel Fleets

The average age of Amtrak locomotives and passenger train cars fluctuated in a narrow range for most of the 1990s (figure 92). The average age of locomotives was 11 years in 2000, down 7 percent from 12 years in 1990. Meanwhile, Amtrak...

Vehicle Loadings on the Interstate Highway System

Large combination trucks1 represent a small portion of traffic on the U.S. Interstate Highway System [1]. However, because they are heavier and have more axles than other vehicles, they may cause more pavement damage, a measurement that is...

Figure 96 - U.S. Trade in Transportation-Related Goods: 1990-2002

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NOTES: Transportation-related goods are motor vehicles and parts, aircraft and spacecraft and parts, railway vehicles and parts, and ships and boats.

Figure 19 - Share of Loadings on Urban Interstate Highways by Vehicle Type: 2001

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NOTES: Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.

Loadings are based on equivalent single-axle loads (ESALs), a...