FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 30, 2000
Contact: Catrina Pavlik
Tel: (202) 366-1500
BTS 19-00

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced a report by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) showing that available seat miles for air passengers continued an upward trend this past summer to reach its highest level in four years.

The report, the third in the Transportation Indicators series, shows that the domestic air passenger available seat miles—a measure of the airlines’ capacity for carrying passengers—were 12.6 percent higher in August 2000 than in August 1996, reaching 61.29 billion. This information is part of the monthly update of critical transportation information that details the impact of transportation on the nation’s economy and society. Available seat miles are a measure of the aircraft miles flown in each leg between airports multiplied by the number of seats available on that leg for revenue passenger use.

"Our aviation system is working to keep pace with the unprecedented economic growth we have enjoyed under the leadership of President Clinton and Vice President Gore," Secretary Slater said. "The issues we face today are growth and capacity and the aviation industry stands poised to be an unprecedented growth engine connecting people and markets."

Dr. Ashish Sen, BTS Director, added, "Tracking trends in transportation and related economic sectors improves our ability to make better decisions."

Transportation Indicators provides information on more than 60 trends in the areas of safety, mobility, economic growth, the human and natural environment, and national security. The monthly report, which is available at www.bts.gov, provides information to address specific transportation issues and to assist in the effort led by BTS to make transportation information more accurate, reliable, and timely.

Other trends highlighted in this month’s Transportation Indicators include:

• hazardous materials incidents were lower by more than 25 percent in June 2000 than in June 1999
• domestic air freight tons-miles in August 2000 were nearly 15 percent lower than in August 1999
• air revenue passenger load was 76 percent in August 2000, off from June and July, but at the highest level for August in at least five years
• international waterborne traffic grew by almost 6 percent from July 1999 to July 2000
• profits for for-hire transportation industries rose nearly 25 percent in the second quarter, after declining more than 9 percent in the first quarter of the year
• sales of medium/heavy trucks in October 2000 were nearly 25 percent lower than this time a year ago
• jet fuel prices were up more than 54 percent for non-scheduled services and 61 percent for scheduled services in September 2000 compared to September 1999
• transportation energy use rose less than 1 percent from July 1999 to July 2000
• transportation carbon dioxide emissions in 1999 were up nearly 3 percent from 1998

Continual updating of information on trends will help in developing forecasts for the future, both within the department and outside. The monthly report will also help transportation decision-makers spot changes that might need rapid action. Updated reports will be available the fourth week of every month.

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Briefing Room