Transportation Economic Trends
Transportation Productivity:
Revenue per Unit of Output
The impact of productivity can be seen through the price charged per unit of output. This page discusses two units of output: (1) freight revenue per ton-mile and (2) passenger revenue per passenger-mile. For modes where users do not typically pay per use, like driving a personal vehicle, data are difficult to obtain and not presented here.
2019 Year-in-Review
- Air, truck, oil pipeline, and class I rail revenue per ton-mile grew faster in 2018 than the producer price index suggesting an increase in freight transportation costs above inflation.
- Intercity rail/Amtrak passenger revenue per passenger-mile grew faster in 2019 than the consumer price index (CPI) while air and commuter rail grew less than the CPI. The greater growth in intercity rail/Amtrak passenger revenue per passenger-mile suggests an increase in passenger transportation costs above inflation.
Revenue Per Unit Of Output
Increases in productivity
often reduce businesses costs, which allow transportation companies to offer
lower prices, which, assuming no change in the amount of transportation services
purchased by users, translates into lower average revenue per passenger and
ton-mile.
Freight Revenue Per Ton-Mile
For for-hire freight
transportation, the unit of output is ton-miles, and the measure of what
freight shippers pay is the average
freight revenue per ton-mile. Comparing average freight revenue per ton-mile to the producer price index (PPI) shows whether it rose more or less than expected due to inflation. The PPI measures overall changes in the
selling prices received by transportation service providers for their services
and is a measure of inflation but from the producer perspective.
If revenue per mile trends similarly to the PPI, an increase in revenue per ton-mile can be attributed to rising prices. An increase greater than the increase in the PPI suggests an increase in freight
transportation costs passed on to purchasers in the form of higher prices. Conversely, an increase less than the PPI suggests a decline in costs passed on to purchasers in the form of lower prices.
Passenger Revenue Per Passenger-Mile
For for-hire passenger
transportation, the unit of output is passenger-miles, and the measure of what
travelers pay is the average revenue per
passenger-mile. Comparing average freight revenue per ton-mile to the consumer price index (CPI) shows whether it rose more or less than expected due to inflation. The CPI measures overall changes in
prices paid by households.
If revenue per mile trends
similarly to the CPI, an increase in revenue per passenger-mile can be
attributed to rising prices. An increase greater than the CPI suggests an increase in passenger transportation costs passed onto consumers in the form of higher passenger transportation fares. Conversely, when revenue per passenger-mile increases less
than the CPI, this suggests greater efficiency allowed transportation companies
to offer lower fares.
Recommended citation
U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Economic Trends, available at www.bts.gov/product/transportation-economic-trends.
