U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Introduction
High performing infrastructure is the foundation for U.S. economic competitiveness in a global age. After all, America’s infrastructure—transportation, telecommunications, energy, and water systems—forms the physical platform of our $14 trillion free enterprise economy.
By all accounts, the nation’s transportation networks continue to languish. Numerous recent reports have called attention to the dire condition of transportation infrastructure in the United States. These reports have all called for additional investment citing potentially disastrous effects on the economy, from manufacturing to real estate and ultimately, to the nation’s global competitiveness. None of these reports focused on the performance of transportation infrastructure and the relationship between performance and economic growth.
In 2010, through its Let’s Rebuild America initiative, the U.S. Chamber created something unprecedented —the Transportation Performance Index (TPI)— to quantify how well transportation systems are meeting the demands of the nation.
The TPI includes measures of the performance of infrastructure as it meets the needs of productive businesses working toward economic prosperity. Overarching criteria include availability and accessibility; quality of service—reliability, predictability, and safety; and the capacity to accommodate growth in demand. The specific indicators that combine to form the TPI reflect the needs of businesses large and small in the context of international and domestic trade, and the TPI includes measures for both passenger and freight transportation.
Download the full version (PDF): Transportation Performance Index 2011 Update
About the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
www.uschamber.com
“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. More than 96% of U.S. Chamber members are small businesses with 100 employees or fewer.”
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