Provided by George S. May International Company 

 TRANSPORTATION GUIDELINES AND RESOURCES

TRANSPORTATION OVERVIEW

The Transportation Industry includes four major sections: Air, Rail, Trucking and Water.

The U.S. airlines, buffeted by major financial losses that began in 1990, continue struggle to regain profitability and to develop long-range stability. Although economic deregulation and costly safety and other government regulations and taxes were blamed for many of the industry's financial problems, some airlines manage to prosper. For example, while some major carriers found themselves in dire financial straits, a few smaller newcomers, influenced by the continued profitability of Southwest Airlines, successfully carved out niche markets. The regional segment of the airline industry comprises airlines that generally operate aircraft with fewer than 60 seats in scheduled passenger service over short distances.

The air cargo industry is composed of airlines that specialize in providing air express or general air freight service, or both. It is also made up of airlines, including passenger airlines, that provide contract, charter, or scheduled cargo services to the shipping public, and to other cargo airlines.

The railroad freight industry generated nearly $32 billion in operating revenues in 1993. The 12 major freight railroads accounted for almost $29 billion of that total. Amtrak, the quasi- government rail passenger corporation serving 45 states, had estimated revenues of $1.4 billion in 1993, up from $1.3 billion in 1993.

The U.S. trucking industry generated an estimated $313 billion in 1993, about 78 percent of the total U.S. freight market. The trucking figure includes actual for-hire carrier revenue, as well as imputed revenue from private carriage, i.e., estimated costs paid by manufacturers, builders, retailers, and others to haul their own goods. While the trucking "industry" generally implies for-hire Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) regulated carriers, the entire trucking sector also encompasses various non-ICC markets, both for-hire and private.

Trucking comprises several broad service markets: truckload (TL), less-than-truckload (LTL), and small package. Trucking firms compete in these markets to some extent with barges and ocean carriers, but primarily among themselves, and with railroads and airlines.

Small package service encompasses the 2-to-3 day ground delivery market long dominated by United Parcel Service (UPS), as well as the next-day delivery market dominated by air express carriers such as Federal Express. Distinctions between ground carrier and air carrier markets, however, continue to disappear as operations grow more similar and carriers diversify markets.

Two important changes continue to affect the for-hire trucking subsector: declining lengths of haul and increasing use of information technology.

The U.S. water transportation industry consists of deep sea transportation of both U.S. foreign trade and domestic cargoes (including passengers), as well as shipments of cargo in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the inland waterways, and local waters. During 1990, the last full year for which data are available, the industry employed approximately 177,700 people and contributed nearly $ 1 0 billion to the gross domestic product. More than 1,100 companies operated 39,233 tankers, barges, dry cargo ships, passenger vessels, and towboats in the industry.

Transportation Associations
Truckinfo.net | National School Transportation Association |
American Ambulance Association | American Bus Association

Transportation Books
Truckinfo.net

Transportation Magazines
AGG's Driving Force | Bus Ride | Commercial Carrier Journal | The Dispatch |
Heavy Duty Trucking | HighwaySTAR | Land Line | More Transportation Magazines

Transportation Colleges/Universities
Truckinfo.net

Transportation Helpful Links
J.J. Keller & Associates | U.S. Department of Transportation |
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

This information is compiled and provided by May International.