Transportation Economic Trends
Contribution of Transportation to the Economy:
Contribution of Transportation Services to the Economy and the Transportation Satellite Accounts
This page discusses transportation's direct contribution to the economy; specifically, the contribution of transportation services to gross domestic product (GDP)—a measure of economic activity. GDP attributed to the demand for transportation relative to other goods and services is an alternative measure of transportation's direct contribution to the economy.
2022 Year-in-Review
- In 2022, transportation (for-hire, in-house, and household) contributed $1.7 trillion (6.7%) to an enhanced U.S. GDP of $26.2 trillion—as measured by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Transportation Satellite Accounts (TSAs).
- Household transportation, measured by the depreciation cost associated with households owning motor vehicles, contributed the largest amount, at $471.1 billion.
- Trucking (for-hire and in-house) contributed $588.3 billion—the second largest contribution to GDP.
Contribution of All Transportation Services | For-Hire Transportation | In-house and Household Transportation
Contribution of Transportation Services to the Economy and Transportation Satellite Accounts
GDP attributed to the demand for transportation offers one way to measure the contribution of transportation to the economy. The contribution of transportation services to GDP (shown here) offers another way to measure transportation's contribution to the economy. This metric captures less than expenditures on transportation goods and services because it excludes the contribution of goods used for transportation, such as vehicles and fuels.
The following shows the contribution of transportation to GDP including the for-hire, in-house, and household contribution compared to other industries and sectors. By accounting for the in-house and household contribution, the overall transportation contribution nearly doubles in value.
While transportation contributes less to GDP than many other industries and sectors, all rely on transportation to acquire the raw materials needed to produce and deliver their products to businesses and households.
The TSAs by BTS show the following information:
- the contribution of transportation to the economy, and
- the use of transportation by industries or sectors.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provides this information for for-hire transportation. The TSAs re-organize BEA's data to include in-house and household transportation.
(1) For-hire transportation services: air, rail, truck, passenger and ground transportation, pipeline, and other support services that transportation firms provide to industries and the public on a fee basis.
(2) In-house transportation services: air, rail, truck, and water transportation services produced by nontransportation industries for their own use (e.g., grocery stores owning and operating their own trucks to move goods from distribution centers to retail locations).
(3) Household transportation services: ownership and operation of motor vehicles by households. Here, BTS calculates the contribution of household transportation as the depreciation associated with households owning a motor vehicle.
Households contribute the largest amount to GDP followed by truck transportation, with in-house truck transportation contributing more than half of total truck transportation dollar value. Other for-hire transportation contributes the third largest to GDP.
Other for-hire transportation includes: pipeline; transit and ground passenger transportation; sightseeing transportation and transportation support; courier and messenger services; and warehousing and storage.
Contribution of All Transportation Services | For-Hire Transportation | In-house and Household Transportation
For-hire Transportation
Not adjusted for inflation, the dollar contribution of for-hire air, rail, truck, and water transportation increased from 2012 to 2019, declined in 2020, and then rose from 2021 through 2022. For-hire truck transportation's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) rose above its 2019 level in 2022, while for-hire air transportation returned to its 2019 level in 2022. For-hire rail and water transportation contributed the same share to GDP in all years since 2017.
For-hire air transportation declined the most in 2020 likely due COVID-19, which significantly reduced passenger travel and to a lesser extent, air freight volumes due to the adoption of stay-at-home orders in many states and changes in passenger travel behavior and spending. For more information about the effects of COVID-19 on passenger and freight volumes, see: seasonally-adjusted transportation data.
Contribution of For-Hire Transportation to State GDP
The contribution of for-hire transportation to national and state GDP varies by state. States with larger total GDPs, such as California, for-hire transportation contributes more to national GDP even though for-hire transportation may account for a small portion of state GDP. States with major transportation hubs, such as Nebraska, for-hire transportation contributes to a large portion of the state’s GDP.
The contribution of in-house and household transportation to state GDP is not available.
Contribution of All Transportation Services | For-Hire Transportation | In-house and Household Transportation
In-house Transportation and Household Transportation
Not adjusted for inflation, the dollar
contribution of in-house air, rail, truck, and water transportation increased from 2012 to 2019 and declined in 2020, with the exception of in-house rail transportation which increased slightly in 2020. Among the in-house modes that contributed less in 2020, each fell by less than the same for-hire mode. In nominal dollars, in-house trucking's contribution rose above the 2019 level in 2021, and water achieved the same in 2022. In-house air and rail transportation contributed less, in nominal dollars in 2022 than in 2019.
The contribution of household transportation has risen continuously from 2012 to 2022.
Recommended citation
U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Economic Trends, available at www.bts.gov/product/transportation-economic-trends.
Related Measures
- Gross domestic product attributed to the demand for transportation (alternative measure of transportation's contribution to the economy)
- Use of transportation services by industries (transportation's indirect contribution to the economy)
