Freight transport in the United States
Considerations regarding freight transport in the United States of America should be preceded by the statement that the vast majority of cargo is transported there in containers, which significantly simplifies the loading and transshipment process and allows for the use of modern transport technologies.
Over the last 25 years, the share of road, rail, and air transport in the USA has increased dynamically – in the first case, almost threefold (Table 1 and Table 2). Road transport increased faster than rail, however, in terms of transport volume, rail still significantly outperforms road transport. A characteristic feature is also the growth in the share of air transport, one of the most dynamic among the world’s largest countries.
The opposite trend characterizes maritime and inland waterway transport. Both branches have decreased their share in transport, and not only in relation to other modes of transport, but in both cases, the volume of transport has decreased by one-third.
However, there is a chance to change this situation, as new locks are to be built on the Panama Canal by 2015, which will significantly facilitate navigation. It is predicted that more ships from Asia – which previously arrived at West Coast ports – will call at Baltimore, Hampton Road, and Wilmington. The dynamics of transport work performed by individual modes of transport in the United States are presented in Figure 1.
The new American administration, led by President Barack Obama, declares interest in transport problems and ecology. This is expressed by the creation of a special coalition established to promote pro-ecological transport policy. It includes: The American Public Transportation Association, The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, Amtrak, Association of American Railroads, Building America’s Future, National Association of Railroad Passengers, The Natural Resources Defense Council, The Railway Supply Institute, The States for Passenger Rail Coalition, and The Surface Transportation Policy Partnership. According to its founders, rail is capable of solving many transport problems, both ecological and economic. The total volume of cargo transported in the USA in the last decade (in tkm) is presented as a polynomial curve chart in Figure 2.
The polynomial curve provides a fairly accurate reflection of the shaping of economic processes. In the first stage of the analyzed period (1990 – 1997), the increase in production caused an increase in transport, and the economic slowdown in the years 1998 – 2001 had an impact on the reduction of its volume. The downward trend in transport lasted until 2001. In the years 2002 – 2006, along with economic growth, there was again an increase in transport measured by the volume of transport work performed. In the years 2006 – 2010, the polynomial curve (illustrating transport in billion tkm) – with slight deviations in minus and plus – remained at a steady level. The results of the comparative analysis of GDP and transport work in the United States constitute a classic example of the links between transport and the economy.
The article comes from the “Logistyka” magazine 6/2011.