Figure 4-2: Productivity in Selected Transportation Industries: 1987-2002 (Output per Employee,¹ Index, 1987 = 100)

In general, moving goods is cheaper now than in the past. Productivity has improved in both long distance railroading and long distance trucking over the past decade, but much more quickly in rail than road transportation. Between 1987 and 2002, output per hour worked more than doubled in line-haul railroading but grew only 40 percent in long distance, general freight trucking. Line-haul railroads primarily engage in operating railroads for the transport of passengers and/or cargo over a long distance within a rail network. These establishments do not include switching and terminal operations nor short distance (or local) railroads. Long distance, general freight trucking establishments are operations other than those primarily engaged in local trucking and specialized trucking. Specialized trucking establishments are primarily engaged in the transportation of freight which, because of size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics, requires specialized equipment, such as flatbeds, tankers, or refrigerated trailers.

Data represented in the figure
Table in Excel format

Output per hour worked	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Air transportation	100	101	98	96	96	100	104	112	118	122	123	120	121	121	113	127
Line-haul railroads	100	108	115	119	128	140	146	150	156	167	170	173	179	194	207	224
General freight trucking, long-distance	100	106	106	111	116	123	120	124	120	121	126	125	128	133	131	138
Postal Service	100	100	100	104	104	104	107	107	106	105	108	110	111	114	115	116

¹Based on the number of paid hours. Real gross domestic product in the business and nonfarm business sectors is the basis of the output components of the productivity measures. These output components are based on and are consistent with the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA), including the gross domestic product (GDP) measure, prepared by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Industry Productivity, available at http://www.bls.gov/ as of March 2004.