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evenues also grew, but more slowly. Highway
account revenues remained unchanged. Taken
together, the trust fund balances (unspent money
in these accounts at the end of the year) grew substantially
from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s,
but have since declined from the 1992 high point.
The transportation sector’s labor productivity
(measured by value-added per worker) has been
well above that of the economy as a whole since
1978. For example, transportation’s productivity
was 9 percent higher than the national economy
in 1978 and 19 percent higher in 1992. Deregulation
and technological change in the for-hire
transportation industries were partially responsible
for their higher than average levels and
growth rates. In particular, the air transport industry
has experienced a rapid rise in labor productivity,
arising in part from the use of larger and
faster aircraft, the computerization of passenger
reservations, the hub-and-spoke flight network,
and changes in flight personnel requirements.
The railroad, trucking, and airline industries
are of vital importance to the U.S. economy.
Railroad’s share of intercity ton-miles has been
fairly steady since the 1970s, following decades
In thousands of 1987 dollars
50
45
40
35
VALUE-ADDED PER EMPLOYEE
Transportation sector
Overall economy
30
1978 1983 1992
SOURCE: See chapter 2, figure 2-2.
of decline. In addition to moving bulk commodities,
railroads also move time-sensitive
cargo, such as mail, and international containers.
After years of financial difficulty, the rail
industry is recovering. The airline industry has
been very responsive to changes in demand for
innovative services, such as just-in-time delivery
and intermodal cargo shipments. Its financial
performance has been mixed, but remains fairly
strong. Appendix A of this report provides an
economic overview of the commercial aviation
industry, with special emphasis given to the
post-deregulation era.
Transportation and Safety
The number of motor vehicle traffic fatalities
has declined significantly from its historically
highest level in 1972, when 54,589 people lost
their lives in crashes. The decline occurred despite
a doubling in vehicle-miles traveled (vmt)
in the last two decades. The rate of motor vehicle
fatalities per mile of travel reached its lowest
point ever in 1994—1.7 fatalities per 100 million
vmt—and stayed at this level in 1995. (In
the 1960s, there were more than 5 fatalities per
100 million vmt.)
Other statistics allow little room for complacency.
While rates of fatalities and injuries have
slowly dropped, 1995 is the third year in a row in
which there were absolute increases in motor
vehicle fatalities—an estimated 41,700 fatalities
or about 115 per day. Moreover, motor vehicle
crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans
ages 15 to 24.
The total costs of transportation accidents extend
well beyond the pain and suffering experienced
by the crash victims, including economic
and social costs such as direct costs sustained by
the injured individuals and their insurers, lost
productivity and a lower standard of living for
the injured, losses of public revenue, and increases
in publicly funded health care costs and public
assistance expenses. Such economic costs to
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