Skip to main content

ARTBA highlights transport's importance to US

New data available from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) highlights the importance of transportation spending to US economic growth. This information can be sourced through a new Internet resource set up by ARTBA. The data has been revealed at a time when the multi-year highway/transit authorisation bill is still being discussed in the US Congress. The US secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, said at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011 that he hopes a six year authorisation bill will
May 16, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
New data available from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) highlights the importance of transportation spending to US economic growth. This information can be sourced through a new Internet resource set up by ARTBA.

The data has been revealed at a time when the multi-year highway/transit authorisation bill is still being discussed in the US Congress. The US secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, said at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011 that he hopes a six year authorisation bill will be signed in August of this year, but there is still concern that more delays will appear.

ARTBA’s interactive website provides information about the job creation impacts of federal transportation investment on the national and state economies. The data, found at www.transportationcreatesjobs.org, shows the number of American jobs that could be at risk if the House and Senate fail to take action on a long-term bill. It also provides statistics about the size and scope of each state’s transportation network, the current road and bridge investment needs, commuting patterns, and the impacts on other industries that depend on the nation’s transportation network.

The research was conducted by ARTBA vice president of policy & senior economist Alison Premo Black, an economics doctoral candidate at The George Washington University. Utilising US Census Bureau “County Business Patterns” data and the US Commerce Department’s Regional Input‐Output Modeling System (RIMS II), Black found that the transportation construction industry’s largest economic impact is in the state of California, where it generates or sustains more than 354,000 jobs. California’s followed by New York (286,449), Texas (276,276), Florida (196,087), Pennsylvania (148,669), Illinois (129,014), Georgia (106,658), Ohio (104,310), Washington (100,384) and New Jersey (97,036). Black said that money invested in transportation construction industry employment and purchases generates over US$380 billion in US economic activity, nearly 3% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Related Content

  • E-tolling is the new normal
    April 29, 2020
    Electronic tolling has become a cornerstone for the next wave of innovation, says IBTTA’s Bill Cramer. So is this the end of the road for toll plazas?
  • Illinois transportation safety analysis contract for Iteris
    July 1, 2024
    Blackhawk Hills Regional Council will prioritise needs of local disadvantaged communities
  • Four states sign pact to create I-10 Corridor Coalition
    June 16, 2016
    In a move to make travel on Interstate 10 safer and more efficient, the transportation leaders of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California have created a coalition supporting innovation along the corridor. The I-10 Corridor Coalition is modelled after a coalition involving 15 states that govern Interstate 95 between Florida and Maine. For Arizona, the partnership is designed to remove what transportation officials refer to as ‘friction’, such as the variety of commercial vehicle permitting and inspectio
  • ACRS calls for Australian Government to commit to eliminating road trauma
    March 28, 2017
    The Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) has released its 2017 ACRS Submission to Federal Parliamentarians - The way forward to reduce road trauma, outlining what it says is Australia’s stalled progress against National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020 targets for death and injury reduction. According to ACRS, road trauma is one of the highest ranking public health issues Australia faces , with 1,300 deaths and 37,000 injuries per year, and rising. The causes and consequences of road trauma contin