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REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE NORMAN Y. MINETA
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES INDEX ROLLOUT
NEW YORK CITY
JANUARY 29, 2004
10 AM
Good morning. What a thrill it is to ring
the opening bell at the prestigious New York Stock Exchange, home to some of the
biggest American companies in the world.
Today, I am here to announce an exciting, new way to track the transportation
industry’s huge impact on America’s growing economy.
The first-ever Transportation Services Index will give us a reading on freight
and passenger traffic. You might say that it’s the “Dow Jones” of the
transportation sector.
We already know that the transportation industry represents 11 percent of Gross
Domestic Product and accounts for over 11.6 million jobs in this country.
In New York alone, over 224,000 men and women work in the transportation sector
with an annual payroll of $7.5 billion.
And at the New York Stock Exchange, there are 39 listed companies that are
involved in transportation. Together, they have a current market value of more
than 181 billion dollars.
Up until now, there has been no easy way to capture countless sources of
transportation data into a single, useful number.
On Wall Street, you know how important numbers are when it comes to gauging a
company’s financial health.
But the Transportation Services Index means more – much more -- than stock
prices or “earnings per share.”
The Index focuses on two very important transportation components -- the
movement of freight by land, water, and air, and the movement of people on the
ground and in the skies.
Month by month, the Index will measure changes in the amount of freight being
moved by a range of “for hire” industries representing rail, truck, air, and
inland waterway transportation sectors.
It also tracks monthly changes in rail, bus, and air passenger traffic.
This is important because the “for-hire” transportation industries, like other
service industries, have not traditionally been well represented in economic
indicators.
The Index fills that huge void and gives us a solid reading on where the economy
is headed.
In March, we will release the first ever report on the impact of transportation
on the economy as measured by the Transportation Services Index.
And we hope that the Index will grow to be as valuable an economic tool as the
Gross Domestic Product or the Producer Price Index are in helping gauge our
progress.
But you might be asking why should anyone care about the Index? The answer is
that a transportation system that keeps the business of America moving is vital
to the strength of our Nation’s economy.
If products can’t get delivered quickly, we risk putting the brakes on the
economy. If we discourage growth by making transportation more expensive, we
risk bringing our economy to a dead stop.
That is why the Bush Administration has proposed record spending over the next
six years on surface transportation projects as part of the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA).
This critical piece of legislation will address our infrastructure needs without
raising taxes.
The Transportation Services Index represents this critical relationship between
the economy and a good transportation network, and will show just how much
keeping the economy moving is about keeping America moving.
Last week, we saw what happens if the economy moves faster than our
transportation infrastructure. Flight delays at one of the nation’s busiest
airports threatened the very economic recovery we now enjoy.
Last December, we saw air travel numbers as good as or better than they were
before September 11th, 2001, for the first time at many of our nation’s
airports.
This is welcome news.
But at Chicago’s O’Hare International, this also meant a return to the delays
that were so common in 1999 and 2000.
Imagine the impression it leaves on a traveler who is flying for the first time
in two years, only to be delayed for hours.
That is why this Department took the necessary short-term steps to make sure
travelers are not delayed at O’Hare, and that the economy would not be
short-circuited by troublesome flight delays.
I fully expect the TSI to join a long list of indicators that show the overall
strength of our economy. TSI fills a crucial void, and will help all of us to
better understand how we will benefit by investing in the future of this
Nation’s transportation infrastructure.
Before I close, I would be remiss if I did not thank the Department’s Bureau of
Transportation Statistics, the State University of New York at Albany, and The
George Washington University for all their hard work over the last two years in
putting the Transportation Services Index together.
Now, before we take questions, I would like to ask Victor Zarnowitz, senior
fellow and economic counselor for The Conference Board, to share his comments on
the TSI.
Victor Zarnowitz has, quite literally, written the book on economic indicators.
He has reviewed the TSI and is in a good position to provide some background on
the Index. Victor, thank you for being here today.
Now, we would be happy to take a few questions.
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