This paper will discuss in-depth six indicators of the transportation industry, and its affects on the U.S. economy. The indicators are real gross domestic product, transportation services index, consumer price indicator, unemployment rate, producer price index and money supply.
Gross Domestic ProductThe purpose of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is to "measure the total production of goods and services produced in the economy each year. This number is important because it gives an indication of how successfully society is addressing the scarcity problem." (Gross Domestic Product, n.d., para. 1). GDP can be measured by cumulating all spending and all income earned in the economy. Both measures approximately equates to the same total (John, 1999). Real GDP (RGDP) is the total GDP minus the effects of inflation. RGPD allow the comparison of GDP figures and changes from one country to another with the goal of being able to evaluate a country's actually worth (John, 1999).
English: GDP growth (at annualized rates) in the U...
English: A graph of the recession in the United St...
English: A graph of the Early 1980s recession in t...The below chart from the US Department of Transportation that over the last two decades trucking industry has doubled. From 1992 to 1996, the trucking industry had been able to keep inline with the real GDP. The trucking industry continued a steady growth but was not able to keep pace the read GDP (US Department of Transportation, 2003).
Transportation Service IndexTransportation services index (TSI) is the main seasonally adjusted economic measure of transportation measured on a monthly basis. Some indicators used to determine the TSI are employment, sales, business inventories, consumer confidence, among other things. The TSI is short is a month-to-month indicator of changes in the output services provided by the transportation industry (Transportation Services Index, n.d.). The TSI from 1990 to 2000 has almost doubled from 65 to 98. The TSI finished at 110.5 in 2007 as per the below chart (Transportation Services Index,