The Business of Weddings

October 5, 2011 — The Editors

Today’s market size is an estimate of the size of the entire wedding industry in the United States—we take some license in using the word “industry” here. The things included in measuring the size of the wedding industry are many, from planning, apparel and jewelry through the ceremony, flowers, food, reception and honeymoon.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: $47.2 billion
Source: Toon Van Beeck and George Van Horn, “Wedding Bells are Ringing,” The RMA Journal, December 2010-January 2011, page 22-27, available online here.
Original source: IBISWorld
Posted on October 5, 2011

Posted in Apparel, Clothes, Entertainment, Food Service, Metals, Personal Services, Shoes, Travel. No Comments »

U.S. Airlines

September 30, 2011 — The Editors

miles and operating revenue

The graphic to the right presents both passenger miles of travel provided by U.S. airlines between 1990 and 2008 and operating revenues in those years. The picture this graph presents is a pleasant one with both measures rising pretty steadily over the period shown, with the notable exception of 2001 and the 2002, the years for which the terroroist attacks of 2001 had the greatest impact on air travel. However, the airline business is a complicated business. As it turns out, over this same 19 year period, the industry as a whole suffered cumulative losses of $45.3 billion.

Today’s market size is the operating revenue earned by Airlines in 2008, a year in which the industry had losses of $23 billion. Running an airline is a complicated business to be sure.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2008
Market size: $186.12 billion
Source: “Table 1073. U.S. Scheduled Ariline Industry — Summary: 1995 to 2009,” page 677, Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, and earlier editions. A PDF of page 677 of the work is available here. “Table 1-37: U.S. Passenger-Miles (Millions),” from the national transportation statistics available here.
Original source: U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Census Bureau
Posted on September 30, 2011

Posted in Aircraft, All Transport Vehicles, Travel. No Comments »

Air Travel Globally

September 16, 2011 — The Editors

Despite the dramatic declines in air travel that following the terrorist attacks in 2001 for several years, over the last decades humans have been flying more and more. Worldwide, approximately 513 million passangers traveled by air in 1991 and by 2007 that figure had quadrupled, reaching 2,076 million.

Today’s market size is the value of the global airline business in 2007 and a forecast of the value in the year 2012. What is not evident from these revenue based figures is the fact that airlines, despite their growth, have not added up to a profitable business sector. In fact, since degregulation in the United States in 1978, airlines as a whole have lost money.

Geographic reference: World
Year: forecast for 2007 and forecast for 2012
Market size: $430 billion and $711 billion respectively
Source: “The Global Airline Industry will reach a value of $711 billion in 2012, forecasts New Report,” a press release dated March 14, 2009 announcing the publication of a market report being offered through a web service called “Report Buyer.” The press release is available here. The original report is titled Airlines: Global Industry Guide.
Original source: Datamonitor
Posted on September 16, 2011

Posted in All Transport Vehicles, International Trade, Transportation, Travel. No Comments »

Visitors to Midtown Detroit

July 28, 2011 — The Editors

In recent years, Midtown Detroit has seen an economic revival. The area is a major destination for visitors to Detroit. The number one destination is the main branch of the Detroit Public Library, followed by The Detroit Institute of Arts across the street. Data show the annual number of visitors.

Geographic ref.: Midtown Detroit, Michigan
Year: 2010
Market Size: Nearly 1.9 million people
Source: Doug McInnis, “Talk of the Town: Midtown Detroit Undergoes an Economic Revival,” Wayne State, July 2011, pages 10-19
Original Source: University Cultural Center Association.
Posted on July 28, 2011

Posted in Entertainment, Population, Travel. No Comments »

“Green” Commuting

July 8, 2011 — The Editors

Ways to commute to work

Whenever we hear about the rising price of oil, most of us immediately worry about the increased cost for the gasoline we put in our vehicles to get us to and from work each day. But for some of us, this is not a worry. Although still a small percentage of the working population as a whole, increasing numbers of workers are choosing to bicycle or walk to work. And, some of us who are able are choosing to work from home, thereby not commuting at all. The data show the number of workers 16 years old and over who bicycle or walk to work and those that work from home. Numbers in parentheses represent the percentage of the working population as a whole.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2000 and 2009
Market size: Bicycle to worK — 566,384 (0.4%) and 831,551 (0.6%) respectively
Market size: Walk to work — 3,417,080 (2.7%) and 4,019,162 (2.9%) respectively
Market size: Work from home — 4,009,006 (3.2%) and 5,959,448 (4.3%) respectively
Source: American Community Survey, various dates, available online here.
Original Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Posted in All Transport Vehicles, Bikes, Travel. No Comments »

Airline Industry Worldwide

June 21, 2011 — The Editors

At the Show in 2009

Today’s market size is the estimated net profits of the worldwide airline industry. The Paris Air Show is being celebrated this week and the press coverage of this important aerospace industry show is providing many interesting glimpses of the industry. The most recent recession combined with high energy costs hit the airline industry hard, causing two years of losses. Financial returns in 2010 represent a return to profitability for the industry as a whole. The mood is good at this year’s Paris Air Show as aircraft manufacturers are hopeful that orders will be healthy this year.

Geographic reference: World
Year: 2010
Market size: $18 billion (Global airline industry net profits)
Source: Nicole Clark, “At the Paris Air Show, Anticipating a Surge in Sales,” The New York Times, page B1, June 18, 2011. The image used above is from the Paris Air Show web site, here.

Posted in Aircraft, All Transport Vehicles, Transportation, Travel. No Comments »

Truck Border Crossings into the U.S. from Mexico

December 16, 2010 — The Editors

Four U.S. states share a land border with Mexico over which a great deal of commerce enters the United States by truck. The measurement presented here is the number of truck loads entering the United States from Mexico in 2009. Texas is the state through which the largest number of trucks cross the U.S.—Mexican border.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: 4,291,000 Crossings
Source: State Transportation Statistics 2009, “Table 3-18: Incoming Truck Crossings, U.S. — Mexican Border: 2002—2009,” Page C-14.
Original Source: Research and Innovation Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation

Posted in National Infrastructure, Travel. No Comments »

Truck Border Crossings into the U.S. from Canada

December 15, 2010 — The Editors

Ten U.S. states share a land border with Canada over which a great deal of commerce enters the United States by truck. The measurement presented here is the number of truck loads entering the United States from Canada in 2009. Michigan is the state through which the largest number of trucks cross the border.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: 5,021,000 Crossings
Source: State Transportation Statistics 2009, “Table 3-12: Incoming Truck Crossings, U.S. — Canadian Border: 2002—2009,” Page C-12.
Original Source: Research and Innovation Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation

Posted in National Infrastructure, Travel. No Comments »

Bridges

December 7, 2010 — The Editors

The total number of road bridges presented in this market size post can be broken down by whether these are rural bridges or urban area bridges. Rural bridges make up 74% of the total and urban bridges 26%. According to the source, nearly a quarter of these bridges are in poor shape, defined as either structurally deficient or, more ominously, functionally obsolete.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: 601,078 Bridges
Source: State Transportation Statistics 2009, “Table 1-5: Number of Road Bridges by Functional System: 2009,” Page A-5.
Original Source:Research and Innovation Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation

Posted in Highway System, National Infrastructure, Travel. No Comments »

Roads in Texas

December 3, 2010 — The Editors

As a nation of heavy drivers, it is not surprising that we have an awful lot of paved roads. And in this nation of drivers, the largest state in terms of number of miles of paved roads is Texas. While Alaska is the state with the larger geographical area, it is sparcely populated compared to Texas, the state with the second largest number of square miles.

Geographic reference: Texas
Year: 2008
Market size: 306,404 Miles
Source: State Transportation Statistics 2009, “Table 1-1: Public Road Length, Miles by Functional Systems: 2008,” Page A-1.
Original Source: Research and Innovation Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation

Posted in Highway System, Market Size, Travel. No Comments »
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