BTS 49-15 Thursday, October 29, 2015 Contact: Dave Smallen Tel: 202-366-5568
BTS Releases August 2015 North American Freight Numbers
The value of U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $92.4 billion in August 2015 as all modes of transportation carried less value of freight than a year earlier, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by theU.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-NAFTA freight flows by all modes decreased by 8.1 percent. Large decreases in the value of commodities moved by pipeline and vessel in August were due to the reduced unit price of mineral fuel.
Freight by Mode In August 2015 compared to August 2014, the value of commodities moving by truck decreased by 1.8 percent, while rail decreased by 8.4 percent and air by 10.3 percent. Vessel freight values decreased 33.5 percent and pipeline freight decreased 33.6 percent mainly due to the lower unit price of mineral fuel.
Average monthly fuel prices are available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A decline in the value of freight shipments does not necessarily mean there was a lower volume of freight transported.
Trucks carried 63.6 percent of U.S.-NAFTA freight and are the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. Trucks accounted for $29.7 billion of the $49.8 billion of imports (59.6 percent) and $29.1 billion of the $42.7 billion of exports (68.3 percent).
Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.5 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, 6.6 percent; pipeline, 5.4 percent; and air, 3.6 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 84.5 percent of the total U.S.-NAFTA freight flows.
U.S.-Canada Freight The value of U.S.-Canada freight totaled $48.0 billion in August 2015, down 13.6 percent from August 2014, as all modes of transportation carried less value of U.S.-Canada freight than a year earlier.
Lower mineral fuel prices contributed to a year-over-year decrease in the value of freight moved between the U.S. and Canada. Mineral fuels are a large share of freight carried by pipeline and vessel, which were down 35.1 percent and 40.2 percent respectively year-over-year.
Trucks carried 58.1 percent of the $48.0 billion of freight to and from Canada, followed by rail, 15.8 percent; pipeline, 9.6 percent; vessel, 4.9 percent; and air, 4.3 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.5 percent of the total U.S.-Canada freight flows.
U.S.-Mexico Freight The value of U.S.-Mexico freight totaled $44.5 billion in August 2015, down 1.4 percent from August 2014, as two out of five transportation modes – rail and truck – carried more U.S.-Mexico freight than in August 2014. Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Mexico rail freight rose 3.2 percent, the largest percentage increase of any mode. Freight carried by truck increased by 1.5 percent. Air freight was down 3.0 percent and pipeline freight declined 4.0 percent. Vessel freight decreased by 28.6 percent mainly due to lower mineral fuel prices.
Trucks carried 69.6 percent of the $44.5 billion of freight to and from Mexico, followed by rail, 15.1 percent; vessel, 8.5 percent; air, 2.8 percent; and pipeline, 0.8 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 85.5 percent of the total U.S.-Mexico freight flows.
See BTS Transborder Data Release for summary tables and additional data. See North American Transborder Freight Data on the BTS website for additional data for surface modes since 1995 and all modes since 2004.
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BTS Releases August 2015 North American Freight Numbers
U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $500 Million in TIGER Grants Awarded to 39 Projects
DOT 104-15
The Department received 627 eligible applications from 50 states and several U.S. territories, including Tribal governments, requesting 20 times the $500 million available for the program, or $10.1 billion for needed transportation projects. “Transportation is always about the future. If we're just fixing today's problems, we'll fall further and further behind. We already know that a growing population and increasing freight traffic will require our system to do more," said Secretary Foxx. “In this round of TIGER, we selected projects that focus on where the country’s transportation infrastructure needs to be in the future; ever safer, ever more innovative, and ever more targeted to open the floodgates of opportunity across America.” Projects funded through this round of TIGER support several key transportation goals: Connecting Our Communities to Opportunities: In selecting projects, Secretary Foxx prioritized the extent to which the proposed project strengthens access to opportunities through transportation improvements. The Department seeks to enhance long-term employment opportunities for all Americans by investing in transportation projects that better connect communities to centers of employment, education, and services, especially in economically distressed areas. Examples include: • A $10 million grant to develop complete streets and a linear park trail in Kalispell, Montana that will catalyze redevelopment in the heart of the community by relocating rail serving the neighboring industrial park and removing rail from the downtown area. • A $2.9 million grant to assist in the construction of critical roads and sidewalks in the Native Village of Point Hope, Alaska, and the purchase of ADA-compliant transit buses to provide accessible transportation throughout the community. • A $20 million grant to develop a new 15-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) line in Birmingham, Alabama, connecting Birmingham’s residents, especially low-income citizens, to employment centers, educational opportunities, and community services. • A $15 million grant to more than double the existing streetcar system in Tacoma, Washington, better connecting the downtown to major employment, medical, education, and other institutions. • A $20.8 million grant to construct transit facilities in growing rural areas of Texas, and to buy replacement transit vehicles that will provide service to rural areas, and that will have improved safety and accessibility features for persons with disabilities. Improving Safety: To make the U.S. transportation system the safest in the world, DOT strives to improve public health and safety by reducing transportation-related fatalities and injuries. TIGER grantees include projects that improve bicycle and pedestrian safety and rail-highway grade crossings, and upgrade deteroriating infrastruture. Examples include: • A $15 million grant to construct a grade separated highway overpass at the intersection of State Route 347 and a double track rail line in Maricopa, Arizona, fostering a safe, connected, accessible transportation system for the multimodal movement of people, goods, and services. • A $1 million grant to help complete a bike and pedestrian network in the Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico, creating safe bicycle and pedestrian access linking economic centers to residential areas, and serving as the catalyst to the revitalization of the traditional village areas of the Pueblo of Laguna. • A $16 million grant for improvements to support the accelerated replacement of the century-old Portal Bridge that crosses the Hackensack River in New Jersey, which will improve aging infrastructure and ultimately facilitate faster, safer, and more reliable rail traffic on one of the most congested segements of the Northeast Corridor. • A $16.9 million grant to convert Dixie Highway in Louisville, Kentucky to a BRT corridor to better connect the southwest part of the city to jobs, social services, education, and medical care along the corridor, including safer options for bicyclists and pedestrians. Supporting Innovation: The Department of Transportation is bullish about supporting innovation in our transportation solutions. Meeting the challenges of tomorrow will require not only higher levels of investment in maintaining and expanding our infrastructure, but supporting the integration of technology that can maximize transportation assets and potentially deliver game-changing safety and efficiency enhancements. In this round of TIGER, DOT invested in efforts to advance innovation. Examples include: • A $25 million grant to implement a regional truck parking information management system along interstates in Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, providing truck drivers with reliable, real-time information to make smarter, more efficient truck parking decisions. • A $9 million grant to assist in the construction of a multimodal travel plaza on I-95 in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, that will include electric vehicle charging stations, a secured bicycle parking area and a newly constructed welcome center with incorporated solar panels. • A $6.8 million grant to assist in the development and deployment of technology for fixed and demand-response transit operators in rural transit service areas across rural Ohio. This is the seventh TIGER round since 2009, bringing the total grant amount to $4.6 billion provided to 381 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, including 134 projects to support rural and tribal communities. Demand for the program has been overwhelming, to date the Department of Transportation has received more than 6,700 applications requesting more than $134 billion for transportation projects across the country. The GROW AMERICA Act, the Administration’s surface transportation legislative proposal, would keep TIGER roaring with $7.5 billion over six years for TIGER grants. Click here for additional information on individual TIGER grants. ### You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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BTS Releases August 2015 Passenger Airline Employment Data
BTS 48-15 Monday, October 19, 2015 Contact: Dave Smallen Tel: 202-366-5568 BTS Releases August 2015 Passenger Airline Employment Data
U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 3.3 percent more workers in August 2015 than in August 2014, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. August was the 21st consecutive month that full-time equivalent (FTE) employment for U.S. scheduled passenger airlines exceeded the same month of the previous year and the highest monthly total since September 2008.
Month-to-month, the number of FTEs rose 0.1 percent from July to August, rising after one monthly decline. Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines.
The four network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 3.7 percent more FTEs in August 2015 than in August 2014. Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines increased FTEs from August 2014 while United Airlines reduced FTEs. American Airlines reported 6.1 percent more FTEs in August than American and US Airways reported separately in August 2014. July 2015 was the first month for which the two merged airlines submitted a combined report. Month-to-month, the number of network airline FTEs was unchanged from July to August for the second consecutive month. Network airlines operate a significant portion of their flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights to down-line destinations or spoke cities.
The six low-cost carriers reported 5.8 percent more FTEs in August 2015 than in August 2014. Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Virgin America and Southwest Airlines reported increases while Frontier Airlines reduced FTEs. Month-to-month, the number of low-cost airline FTEs rose 0.7 percent from July to August, rising for the fifth consecutive month. Low-cost airlines operate under a low-cost business model, with infrastructure and aircraft operating costs below the overall industry average.
The 12 regional carriers reported 2.7 percent fewer FTEs in August 2015 than in August 2014. Seven regional airlines – PSA Airlines, Compass Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Horizon Air, GoJet Airlines, Republic Airlines and SkyWest Airlines – reported increased employment levels. The others reported decreases. Month-to-month, the number of regional airline FTEs declined 0.2 percent from July to August, the third consecutive monthly decrease. Regional carriers typically provide service from small cities, using primarily regional jets to support the network carriers’ hub and spoke systems.
See Passenger Airline Employment press release for summary tables and additional data. Historical employment data can be found on the BTS web site. ###
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BTS Releases July 2015 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
BTS 47-15 Advisory Friday, October 16, 2015 Contact: Dave Smallen Tel: 202-366-5568 BTS Releases July 2015 U.S. Airline Traffic Data
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines’ systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service load factor – a measure of the use of airline capacity – rose to 84.2 percent in July, seasonally adjusted, rising for the third consecutive month. Seasonal adjustment allows the comparing of monthly load factors to all other months.
For July, U.S. airlines reported seasonally-adjusted all-time monthly highs in passenger enplanements, Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPMs) and Available Seat-Miles (ASMs). Systemwide passenger enplanements in July (66.7 million) exceeded the previous record in June 2015 by 0.8 percent. Systemwide RPMs in July (76.4 billion) exceeded the previous record in June 2015 by 1.8 percent. Systemwide ASMs in July (90.8 billion) exceeded the previous record in June 2015 by 0.8 percent.
The July load factor of 84.2 was the second highest of all-time, below the all-time seasonally-adjusted high of 84.5 in January 2014. Load factor is a measure of the use of aircraft capacity that compares the system use, measured in Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPMs) as a proportion of system capacity, measured in Available Seat-Miles (ASMs).
The seasonally-adjusted load factor rose in July following two consecutive months of growth. The load factor rose from June to July because passenger travel grew faster (1.8 percent increase in RPMs) than system capacity (0.8 percent increase in ASMs).
Trends: Seasonally-adjusted July was the fifth consecutive month in which RPMs, ASMs and passenger enplanements reached seasonally-adjusted all-time highs. The growth in RPMs from June to July (1.8 percent) outpaced the growth in capacity (0.8 percent). As a result, the July load factor (84.2) was the second highest all-time, below only January 2014 (84.5).
Unadjusted Systemwide: July load factor (87.4) was the highest all-time monthly load factor and was up from the all-time July high set in 2011 (86.9). The number of passengers, RPMs and ASMs all reached record highs for any month.
Domestic: July load factor (88.1) was the highest all-time monthly domestic load factor and was up from the all-time July high set in 2014 (87.8). The number of passengers, RPMs and ASMs all reached record highs for any month.
International: July load factor (85.8) was down from the all-time July high set in 2013 (86.9). The number of passengers, RPMs and ASMs all reached record highs for any month.
For the first seven months of 2014, January through July, systemwide load factor (83.6) was down from the all-time high set in 2014 (83.8). The number of systemwide passengers, RPMs and ASMs all reached record highs for the first seven months of any year.
See Air Traffic Release for summary tables and additional data. Additional traffic data can be found on the BTS Airlines and Airports page. Click on a link in the Quick Links box on the right. See Load factor, RPMs, ASMs and Passengers. For more historical data, see Traffic on the BTS website. See Seasonal Adjustment for methodology and additional explanation. See data for airline data since 2000 as well as seasonally-adjusted data for rail, transit, pipelines, trucking and waterways. You are subscribed to DOT News for Department of Transportation. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
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BTS Releases August 2015 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI)
BTS 46-15 Thursday, October 15, 2015 Contact: Dave Smallen Tel: 202-366-5568 Embargoed until Thursday, October 15, 2015 11:30 a.m. EDT
BTS Releases August 2015 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI)
The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI), which is based on the amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry, rose 0.2 percent in August from July, rising for the second consecutive month, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS). The August 2015 index level (123.5) was 30.4 percent above the April 2009 low during the most recent recession.
The level of freight shipments in August measured by the Freight TSI (123.5) was at an all-time high, exceeding the previous high of 123.4 in November 2014. BTS’ TSI records begin in 2000.
The July index was revised to 123.2 from 122.8 in last month’s release. Monthly numbers for May and June were revised up.
The Freight TSI measures the month-to-month changes in freight shipments by mode of transportation in tons and ton-miles, which are combined into one index. The index measures the output of the for-hire freight transportation industry and consists of data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.
Trend: The August increase of 0.2 percent in the Freight TSI was the second consecutive monthly increase, breaking a trend that began after the index peaked in November 2014. The index had alternated months of increases and decreases with the monthly indexes ranging from 0.2 percent below the November level to 2.0 percent lower. Following the increase in August, the index was 0.1 percent higher than in November, hitting a new all-time high. After dipping to 94.7 in April 2009, the index rose 30.4 percent in the succeeding 76 months.
Analysis: The Freight TSI increase was narrower in terms of modes than it often has been - trucking and rail intermodal showed significant gains, while rail carload, aviation freight, and pipeline decreased, and waterborne was stable. Similarly the increase occurred against a background of mixed indicators for the general economy – employment, personal income, and housing starts all increased, while the Federal Reserve Board Industrial Production index fell.
Index highs and lows: Freight shipments in August 2015 (123.5) were an all-time high and were 30.4 percent higher than the recent low in April 2009 during the recession (94.7).
Year to date: Freight shipments measured by the index were up 0.8 percent in August compared to the end of 2014.
See Freight TSI Press Release for summary tables and additional data. See Transportation Services Index for historical data and methodology.
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