Freight Facts and Figures 2011
Table 1-2. Population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Region: 1980-2009
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 growth in economic activity per capita has been highest in the Northeast.
Table in Excel format | Historical data
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1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2008 | 2009 | Percent change, 1980 to 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Population (thousands) | 226,549 | 248,789 | 282,172 | 304,375 | 307,007 | 35.5 |
| Northeast | 49,136 | 50,828 | 53,668 | 55,060 | 55,284 | 12.5 |
| Midwest | 58,868 | 59,670 | 64,494 | 66,596 | 66,837 | 13.5 |
| South | 75,372 | 85,454 | 100,560 | 112,021 | 113,318 | 50.3 |
| West | 43,173 | 52,837 | 63,451 | 70,698 | 71,568 | 65.8 |
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| GDP (millions of 2005 $)1 | 5,696,999 | 7,883,332 | 11,223,130 | 13,100,045 | 12,773,853 | 124.2 |
| Northeast | 1,248,023 | 1,808,010 | 2,344,250 | 2,675,477 | 2,601,053 | 108.4 |
| Midwest | 1,423,439 | 1,766,102 | 2,490,900 | 2,688,533 | 2,601,907 | 82.8 |
| South | 1,812,981 | 2,503,020 | 3,763,080 | 4,509,795 | 4,442,409 | 145.0 |
| West | 1,212,557 | 1,806,199 | 2,622,605 | 3,226,165 | 3,126,002 | 157.8 |
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| GDP per capita (millions of 2005 $)1 | 25,147 | 31,687 | 39,774 | 43,039 | 41,608 | 65.5 |
| Northeast | 25,399 | 35,571 | 43,681 | 48,592 | 47,049 | 85.2 |
| Midwest | 24,180 | 29,598 | 38,622 | 40,371 | 38,929 | 61.0 |
| South | 24,054 | 29,291 | 37,421 | 40,258 | 39,203 | 63.0 |
| West | 28,086 | 34,184 | 41,333 | 45,633 | 43,679 | 55.5 |
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: 1980-1990: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004-2005 (Washington, DC: 2005). 2000-2009: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Population Division, Annual Population Estimates, table 8, available at www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html as of August 8, 2011.
Gross Domestic Product: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, available at www.bea.gov/regional/ as of August 8, 2011.
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