The U.S. transportation system (surface, air, waterways) carries over 4 trillion passenger miles of travel and 3 trillion ton miles of domestic freight generated by more than 258 million people, 6 million business establishments, and 86 thousand units of government. The system includes approximately 4 million miles (6.3 million km) of public roads and 503 public transit operators in 314 urbanized areas. Sustained growth in personal transportation activity in the last half century shows signs of leveling off as population growth and growth of the labor force decline, the U.S. approaches saturation of vehicle ownership and driver's licenses, and the amount of migration among regions of the country declines. However, the growth in personal transportation activity may receive new impetus from immigration, continued development of travel patterns by women, and increased travel by the younger and older populations and by low income groups. Long-term trends in freight transportation activity are characterized by continued growth, partly due to the initial impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trade among the three NAFTA partners (U.S., Canada and Mexico) has increased, generally following the geographic patterns and commodity composition that existed in the years just prior to the Agreement. Land transportation modes have increased their dominance of trans-border freight movements, carrying nearly 90 percent of commodities in terms of value moving across the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico.
Samenvatting