Figure 4-2. Productivity in Selected Transportation Industries: 1987-2005 (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 2005, output-per-hour worked more than doubled in line-haul railroading but grew only 37 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 or 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 engaged in the transportation of freight that, because of size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics, requires specialized equipment, such as flatbeds, tankers, or refrigerated trailers.

Chart in PDF format [3.3MB]

Data represented in the figure
Table in Excel format | Historical data

	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Output per hour worked
Air transportation	100	101	98	96	96	100	104	112	118	122	123	120	121	121	113	126	139	155	167
Line-haul railroads	100	108	115	119	128	140	145	150	156	167	170	173	179	194	207	224	241	248	235
General freight trucking, long-distance	100	101	100	104	108	114	112	115	112	111	117	116	116	119	120	125	129	(R) 129	131
Postal Service	100	99	99	104	103	105	108	108	108	106	110	112	113	116	117	117	119	121	122

Key: R = revised.

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 June 12, 2007

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