transportation economics

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Shipping docks and shore-based cranes at Barcelona’s port.

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transportation economics, the study of the allocation of transportation resources in order to meet the needs of a society.

In a macroeconomic sense, transportation activities form a portion of a nation’s total economic product and play a role in building or strengthening a national or regional economy and as an influence in the development of land and other resources. In a microeconomic sense, transportation involves relations between firms and individual consumers. The demand for and supply of transportation for both passengers and freight, transportation pricing, and the reasons why the transportation system is both regulated and deregulated are among its concerns. Finally, the government’s involvement in each mode of transportation differs. In some instances private enterprise is used; in others, government provides the facilities and equipment, especially if the rationale for government involvement is that a strong transportation system is necessary for developing the nation’s economy or for its defense. Government’s involvement in transportation has both a macro- and a microeconomic significance.

Gross national product (GNP) expresses a nation’s total economic activities, of which transportation forms a part. In the late 20th century in the United States, between 17 and 18 percent, or about one-sixth, is associated with transportation. The figure can be broken down into passenger and freight transportation. About 11 percent of GNP is accounted for by movement of people and about 6 percent by movement of freight. More than four-fifths of expenditures for movement of people in the United States are associated with the private automobile—its purchase, operation, and maintenance. About one-tenth of the expenditure on intercity travel is for travel by air; the remaining tenth is spent for rail, taxi, transit bus, and school bus. The vast majority (four-fifths) of money spent for intercity movement of freight goes to highway carriers; rails receive only about one-tenth, and the remainder is divided between air, water, and pipeline. It should be noted that more than four-fifths of the expenditures for both personal and freight intercity transportation goes to highway users. In economic terms, this represents by far the most important segment of transportation in the United States. At one time, railroads were the most important, but their role has steadily declined since World War I.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1989 the typical household spent $27,810. Housing accounted for $8,609; transportation (mainly automobiles) accounted for $5,187; and food accounted for $4,152. Looking at the age of consumers, those under 25 spent the highest proportion of their income, after housing, on transportation; presumably much of this went for automobiles and for automobile insurance premiums. By almost any measure, the great significance of transportation to individuals and, aggregated together, to society is apparent.

Figures for the United States are not representative of the world. Automobile ownership rates are not as high in other countries.

Transportation facilitates communication and commerce. Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the Treasury in the 1790s, believed that internal improvements were necessary for the nation’s economic growth. The word “infrastructure” is used to describe all the facilities that an economy has in place, including its transportation network of roadways, railroad tracks, and ports, as well as the vehicles and vessels to use them. An adequate infrastructure is a prerequisite to economic development. Transportation and communications are important in developing and strengthening social, political, and commercial ties. These ties must be developed before trade can be handled on a regular basis. Transportation also is necessary for goods to reach markets where they can be sold or exchanged for other merchandise or services. Transportation undertakings have proved to be a fertile ground for inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, and their supporting investors. Much of the dynamic growth in the United States and other countries in the 20th century can be attributed to transportation.

Many episodes in the history of the United States illustrate the dependence of the developing lands upon a transportation system. During the Whiskey Rebellion (1794) farmers in Pennsylvania converted their corn to whiskey because they had no other way of transporting their bulky corn crops to market. Construction of the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo, in New York, opened up the Great Lakes. Settlers went west, and, in a few years, their farm products started moving east. There followed a canal-building frenzy that lasted until the Civil War and a railroad-building frenzy that lasted until near the end of the 19th century. Settlers wanted to be near a canal or rail station so that they could sell their crops. In the 20th century the focus shifted to building roads and airports. Paved roads were needed by farmers to reach markets and to allow trucks and automobiles to travel between cities. Airports also became important as cities wanted to be served by airlines.

Transportation allows each geographic area to produce whatever it does best and then to trade its product with others. In addition to direct, or back-and-forth trades, it is also possible to use transportation to link together a number of different steps in the production process, each occurring at a different geographic site. Speedy modes of transportation (such as air) allow perishable foods to be distributed to wider market areas. Transportation also allows workers to reach their job sites. Lastly, because of transportation, it is possible for a producer to reach a large number of markets. This means that the quantity of output can be large enough that significant production economies of scale will result.

A transportation network makes markets more competitive. Economists often study resource allocation—that is, how specific goods and services are used. A transportation system improves the allocation process because it widens the number of opportunities for suppliers and buyers.

A transportation network also adds to a nation’s military strength. One reason is that, by strengthening the economy, transportation places the nation in a better position to weather adversity and to produce materials necessary to sustain its economy and military strength. If the nation actually embarks upon war, its transportation system is useful in moving troops. During the War of 1812, the British invaders could travel on ocean ships and attack wherever they chose. The U.S. Army could not move as quickly on land and had trouble keeping up with the British invaders. After the War of 1812, the U.S. government drew up plans for an extensive network of canals along the East Coast that could be used for defensive troop movements. Some of these canals were constructed, although canal construction was eventually halted for other reasons. In the early days of World War I, German strategy involved eliminating Russia from the war in the first few weeks, then shifting the massive German army west, by rail, in an attempt to defeat France. In the mid-20th century, the United States began construction of its interstate highway system, the proper title of which is “The National System of Interstate and Defense Highways.” Clearances above the roadway on this interstate system were high enough to allow passage of trailer-drawn military missiles used in the 1950s. (Experience in World War II showed that it was more difficult to permanently damage highway systems than it was to damage railroads.)