Freight Facts and Figures 2013
Table 1-2. Population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Region: 1990, 2000, and 2010-2012
Although freight moves throughout the United States, the demand for freight transportation is driven primarily by the geographic distribution of population and economic activity. Both population and economic activity have grown faster in the West and South than in the Northeast and Midwest, but the Northeast has the highest economic activity per capita.
Table in Excel format | Historical data
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1990 | 2000 | (R) 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Percent change, 1990 to 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Population (thousands) | 248,789 | 282,172 | 309,326 | 311,588 | 313,914 | 26.2 |
| Northeast | 50,828 | 53,668 | 55,377 | 55,598 | 55,761 | 9.7 |
| Midwest | 59,670 | 64,494 | 66,972 | 67,145 | 67,316 | 12.8 |
| South | 85,454 | 100,560 | 114,854 | 116,022 | 117,257 | 37.2 |
| West | 52,837 | 63,451 | 72,123 | 72,823 | 73,579 | 39.3 |
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| GDP (millions of chained 2005 $)1 | 7,883,332 | 11,223,130 | 12,897,088 | 13,108,318 | 13,430,576 | 70.4 |
| Northeast | 1,808,010 | 2,344,250 | 2,643,262 | 2,627,595 | 2,709,385 | 49.9 |
| Midwest | 1,766,102 | 2,490,900 | 2,617,099 | 2,676,825 | 2,739,673 | 55.1 |
| South | 2,503,020 | 3,763,080 | 4,524,803 | 4,601,219 | 4,728,538 | 88.9 |
| West | 1,806,199 | 2,622,605 | 3,109,710 | 3,156,139 | 3,252,097 | 80.1 |
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| GDP per capita (chained 2005 $)1 | 31,687 | 39,774 | 41,694 | 42,069 | 42,784 | 35.0 |
| Northeast | 35,571 | 43,681 | 47,732 | 48,070 | 48,598 | 36.6 |
| Midwest | 29,598 | 38,622 | 39,077 | 39,866 | 40,699 | 37.5 |
| South | 29,291 | 37,421 | 39,396 | 39,658 | 40,326 | 37.7 |
| West | 34,184 | 41,333 | 43,117 | 43,340 | 44,198 | 29.3 |
1As of October 26, 2006, the Bureau of Economic Analysis renamed the gross state product (GSP) series to gross domestic product (GDP) by state.
Notes: Chained dollars are not additive, especially for periods farther away from the base year of 2005. Thus, GDP for all regions is not equal to total GDP. Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.
Sources:
Population: 1990: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004-2005 (Washington, DC: 2005). 2000-2012: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Population Division, Annual Population Estimates, table 8, available at www.census.gov/popest/data/index.html as of October 18, 2013.
Gross Domestic Product: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, available at www.bea.gov/regional/ as of October 18, 2013.
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