Express Delivery Market

October 24, 2011 — The Editors

The Internet has not done away entirely with the need to ship documents across the globe and quickly. Today we look at the express delivery industry which providing expedited delivery of documents and parcels almost anywhere on earth. Major players in this industry include familiar names like DHL, FedEx, and UPS, although national postal services also have a role in this business.

The market size presented below is the estimated total sales revenue generated by the express delivery industry in 2008.

Geographic reference: World
Year: 2008
Market size: $175 billion
Source: “Facts & Figures on Express Industry,” a report made availalble online, here, by The European Express Association.
Original source: Oxford Economics
Posted on October 24, 2011

Posted in Business Services, Cargo, Mail & Postage. No Comments »

Trucking, General Freight

September 15, 2011 — The Editors

General freight trucking

Today we look at the revenues generated by general freight trucking firms and specifically, those with employees. Today’s market size does not include the revenues generated by independent truckers who are categorized as nonemployers. The graph charts estimated revenues from 2001 through 2009 and presents them for local freight movements as well as long-distance.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2001 amd 2009
Market size: $107.32 billion and $117.58 billion respectively
Source: Yearbook 2010, “Table 2.1 Transporation and Warehousing (NAICS 48, 49) – Estimated Reveunue for Employer Firms: 2001 through 2009,” page 9, Service Annual Survey 2009, issued in February 2011 and available online here.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau
Posted on September 15, 2011

Posted in Business Services, Cargo, Transportation. No Comments »

Freight by Rail

August 9, 2011 — The Editors

Moving large volumes of freight over long distances is an energy intensive proposal and something we do very regularly these days. In fact, with the rise of globalization humanity is now moving more over greater distances than ever before. Moving cargo by rail is the second most efficient means of transporting it—the first being transport over water. Coal is the commodity whose movement on railroads accounts for the largest percentage of tonnage moved by Class I Railroad operators in the United States (44%) and the largest percentage of gross revenue, when divided out by commodity type, for these operators (24%).

Today’s market size is the tonnage carried by U.S. Class I Railroads in 2010 and the value of the corresponding gross revenue earned for their transportation. The revenue number does not adjust for such things as incentive rebates offered by the railroad operators. U.S. Class I Railroads in 2010 were the following: BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Grand Trunk Corporation, Kansas City Southern Railway, Norfolk Southern Combined Railroad Subsidiaries, Soo Line Corporation, and Union Pacific Railroad.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: 1.85 billion tons and $57.44 billion in gross revenues
Source: “Class I Railroad Statistics,” June 17, 2011, a report produced by the Policy and Economics Department of the Association of American Railroads. Here is a link to the report.
Original source Association of American Railroads

Posted in All Transport Vehicles, Cargo, Coal, National Infrastructure, Trains, Transportation. No Comments »

Space Shuttle Services

May 17, 2011 — The Editors

Photo from NASA

Today’s market size is a bit of an exercise in guessing the low-end, ball park size of a market for space shuttle services for the coming few years. We base this estimate on three things, (1) NASA’s labor commitments to the International Space Station (ISS) between 2011 and 2017; (2) the per astronaut cost to NASA of a ride to and from the ISS on the Russian Soyus Spacecraft, and (3) a contract signed by NASA to contract with SpaceX, a private company, to provide cargo delivery services to the ISS. Clearly, this simple estimate is only an approximation of the potential of this market. Defined more broadly—to include, for example, what is often called space tourism—the market size in coming years is much larger.

What we present here is the minimum market size for shuttle services to the ISS based on NASA demand that grows out of the United State’s closing down of its own Shuttle Program.

Happy final journey, Shuttle Endeavor!

Geographic reference: World
Year: 2012—2017
Market size: $3.18 Billion
Source: “NASA’s cost to hitch a ride on Russian rocket rises,” CFNews13.com March 15, 2011, available online here. “How Many Astronauts Does NASA Need?” Universe Today, December 7, 2010, available online here. “The Shuttle Program Is Winding Down—What Next?” PCWorld, May 16, 2011, available online here. Finally, the photo used above is from NASA’s site here.

Posted in All Transport Vehicles, Cargo, NASA, Transportation. No Comments »

Barges

May 9, 2011 — The Editors

Our thoughts turn to those living along the nation’s riverways as news of rising waters and extensive flooding are coming in from all over the Midwest and East Coast. The inland and intercoastal waterway as an important transportation highway then comes to mind, a highway on which hundreds of millions of tons of cargo move annually valued at over $75 billion. Much of this cargo is moved in barges—non self-propelled vessels—much like rail cars for the waterway system. Barges are tied together and moved through the system by tow boats. Barges are the most energy efficient way to move things. On a ton-mile per gallon basis, (miles per gallon carrying one ton of cargo) trucks get 155 miles, rail transport gets 413 miles and inland towing gets 576 miles per gallon.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2008
Market size: 32,052 barges
Source: “TABLE 2: Summary of the United States Flag Passenger and Cargo Vessels Operating or Availalble for Operation by Year,” Watreborne Transporation of the Untied States, November 16, 2009, available online here. Energy costs per mode of transportation data comes from a report put out by the Kentucky Association of Riverports, available online here. Another Army Corp of Enginners report, titled Inland Waterway Navigation, Value to the Nation, highlights many interesting facts about the inland waterway, including how water transportation compares with other modes in terms of efficiency. It is available online here.
Original Source: U.S. Army Corp of Engineers

Posted in All Transport Vehicles, Cargo, National Infrastructure, Transportation. 4 Comments »
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