Another Interesting Indicator

ATeam · May 12, 2009

TA reported quarterly losses for Q1, 2009. The losses are no surprise and, on the good news side, the losses are less than they were a year ago. More interesting is what they said about fuel volume; down 16.4% from a year ago.

"The company said it believes that its fuel volume declines are consistent with declines in trucking activity and diesel fuel consumption generally." Source: Transport Topics

It raises another question not related to the economy. With fuel consumption down that much for an extended period of time, should we not be seeing an improvement in air quality in places like Los Angeles? Maybe we are. I don't know. Does anyone?

Tennesseahawk · May 13, 2009

I don't know about air quality in LA; but the traffic in Detroit is definitely better. Memphis during rush hour wasn't bad either.

Humble2drive · May 13, 2009

Yes, we should and traditionally we do.

Improvements in air quality are one of the positive outcomes that result from an economic recession and this one will be no different.

One contributing factor is the decrease in transportation related air particulate matter; however, a larger component is due to the decrease in industrial pollutants. It follows that a decrease in consumer demand leads to a decrease in manufacturing which leads to a decrease in industrial activity which results in improved air quality.

It would be interesting to see a reliable study that evaluates the chemical constituents of the air before and after the recessionary effect to determine how much of a role gas and diesel emissions play as opposed to the industrial component.

One could assume by reading your post that you may be suggesting the following. If transportation emissions have decreased due to the decrease in trucking activity and air quality has not improved then the transportation industry can not be the blame.

That probably will not be the case because of the traditional improvement in air quality during past recessions; however, it would be very interesting to know the breakdown of what that improvement actually is. Transportation vs. Industrial.

As a side note: Another ‘benefit” of the decrease in traffic is a decrease in traffic related deaths. The number of people killed in traffic accidents is at the lowest level in 5 decades.

The highways are safer and less congested right now so enjoy it while it lasts.

greg334 · May 13, 2009

NO!! LA smog has to do with the area and has been a problem since 1893. In the 30's, when there were no trucks in mass, and Mass Transit was in place, there were signs of Photochemical smog that was confirmed in the early 50's as a source of illness and deaths. Since that time, it looks like the there were a lot of gains but the lifestyle of the residences is the major contributing factor in the LA basin, their independence and need to have individual transportation on demand, especially on Saturday - the day with the highest pollution.

By the way, NYC has had more smog and pollution related illnesses/deaths than most of California. The biggest contributor, outside of the cars are the buses, not the trucks. More buses are more polluting in NYC and LA for that matter than most trucks. WHY? Because their start-stop cycles are higher in frequency than trucks (you know all them picking up and dropping off people).

Why are we talking about Fuel Usage declines anyway?

Humble2drive · May 13, 2009

A study of the 1980s recession showed that the improved air quality may have improved infant mortality during the recession.

"While the economic hardships imposed by recessions are well documented, Greenstone and Chay said their research appears to indicate a silver lining."

Infant mortality rates improve as air quality improves, study shows

greg334 · May 13, 2009

The study states the obvious.

The problem with the 80's recession and today's near depression is that in the 80's we were still strong in manufacturing and other industries where pollution was not in check, where today we have had significant reductions in manufacturing and other industries tied with a significant reduction in pollution through pollution controls and increases in efficiency.

Understanding that the Infant Mortality rate in the US is still high, really has to do with other factors. Many are thinking that the pollution, inner city pollution that is has less than an effect today as it did 20 years ago and that there is more to how we count an infant's death and care that is given to the infant during and after pregency that all ties it together to answer why we have the higher rate.