Editing Economy of the United States (section)

==Energy, transportation, and telecommunications==
{{Main|Energy in the United States|Transportation in the United States|Internet in the United States}}
[[File:Map of current Interstates.svg|thumb|The [[Interstate Highway System]] extends {{convert|46876|mi|km}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interstate FAQ (Question #3) |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |year=2006 |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.cfm |access-date=March 4, 2009}}</ref>]]
[[File:Port_of_Long_Beach_(49531439316).jpg|thumb|The [[Port of Long Beach]], The largest ports in the United States]]

===Transportation===
====Road====
The U.S. economy is heavily dependent on road transport for moving people and goods. Personal transportation is dominated by automobiles, which operate on a network of four million miles (6.4 million km) of public roads,<ref>{{cite web|title=Public Road and Street Mileage in the United States by Type of Surface|url=http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html|website=United States Department of Transportation|access-date=January 13, 2015|archive-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102141414/http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_04.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> including one of the world's [[National Highway System (United States)|longest highway systems]] at 57,000 miles (91,700{{spaces}}km).<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.newgeography.com/content/002003-china-expressway-system-exceed-us-interstates |title=China Expressway System to Exceed US Interstates |work=New Geography |location =Grand Forks, ND |date=January 22, 2011 |access-date=September 16, 2011}}</ref> The world's second-largest automobile market,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jan/08/china-us-car-sales-overtakes |title=China overtakes US in car sales |newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 8, 2010 |access-date=July 10, 2011 |location=London}}</ref> the United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 765 vehicles per 1,000 Americans.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tra_mot_veh-transportation-motor-vehicles |title=Motor vehicles statistics – countries compared worldwide |publisher=NationMaster |access-date=July 10, 2011}}</ref> About 40% of [[Passenger vehicles in the United States|personal vehicles]] are vans, [[Sport utility vehicle|SUVs]], or light trucks.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_01.html|title= Household, Individual, and Vehicle Characteristics|publisher= U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics|work= 2001 National Household Travel Survey|access-date= August 15, 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070929125403/http://www.bts.gov/publications/highlights_of_the_2001_national_household_travel_survey/html/section_01.html |archive-date=September 29, 2007|url-status= dead|df= mdy-all}}</ref>

====Rail====
[[Mass transit in the United States|Mass transit accounts for 9% of total U.S. work trips]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/documents/TOD.Euro-Style_Planning-Renne-Wells.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924071956/http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/vtc/documents/TOD.Euro-Style_Planning-Renne-Wells.pdf |author1=Renne, John L. |author2=Wells, Jan S. |title= Emerging European-Style Planning in the United States: Transit-Oriented Development |page=2 |year=2003 |publisher = Rutgers University |access-date=June 11, 2007|archive-date=September 24, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/natgeo_surveys_countries_trans.html|title=NatGeo surveys countries' transit use: guess who comes in last|last=Benfield|first=Kaid|publisher=Natural Resources Defense Council|date=May 18, 2009|access-date=January 6, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120234533/http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/natgeo_surveys_countries_trans.html|archive-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref> [[Rail transportation in the United States|Transport of goods by rail]] is extensive, though relatively low numbers of passengers (approximately 31 million annually) use intercity rail to travel, partially due to the low population density throughout much of the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-15 |title= Intercity Passenger Rail: National Policy and Strategies Needed to Maximize Public Benefits from Federal Expenditures |date=November 13, 2006 |publisher=U.S. Government Accountability Office |access-date=June 20, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/08/economist-explains-18 |title=The Economist Explains: Why Americans Don't Ride Trains |date=August 29, 2013 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |access-date=May 12, 2015}}</ref> However, ridership on [[Amtrak]], the national intercity passenger rail system, grew by almost 37% between 2000 and 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amtrak Ridership Records |url= http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1249227805921&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobhead |publisher=Amtrak |date=June 8, 2011|access-date=February 29, 2012}}</ref> Also, [[Light rail in the United States|light rail development]] has increased in recent years.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.metaefficient.com/trains/master-2.html |title=3 Reasons Light Rail Is an Efficient Transportation Option for U.S. Cities |author=McGill, Tracy |work= MetaEfficient |date=January 1, 2011 |access-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref> The state of [[California]] is currently constructing the nation's first [[California High-Speed Rail|high-speed rail system]].

====Airline====
The [[List of airlines of the United States|civil airline industry]] is entirely privately owned and has been largely [[Airline Deregulation Act|deregulated since 1978]], while [[List of airports in the United States|most major airports]] are publicly owned.<ref>{{cite web|title=Privatization|url=http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/privatization|website=downsizinggovernment.org|publisher=Cato Institute|access-date=December 27, 2014}}</ref> The three largest airlines in the world by passengers carried are U.S.-based; [[American Airlines]] is number one after its 2013 acquisition by U.S. [[US Airways|Airways]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|title= Scheduled Passengers Carried|publisher= International Air Transport Association (IATA)|year= 2011|access-date= February 17, 2012|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131113175503/http://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|archive-date= November 13, 2013 }}</ref> Of the world's thirty busiest passenger airports, twelve are in the United States, including the busiest, [[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]].<ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |title =Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013 – High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport – March 31, 2014 |publisher=Airports Council International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401052319/http://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |archive-date=April 1, 2014 |date=March 31, 2014 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status= live}}</ref>

===Energy===
[[File:Countries by Natural Gas Proven Reserves (2014).svg|thumb|Countries by [[List of countries by natural gas proven reserves|natural gas proven reserves]] (2014). The U.S. holds the world's fourth largest [[natural gas]] reserves.]]
The US is the second-largest [[energy development|energy]] consumer in total use.<ref>{{cite web|last=Barr |first=Robert |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/43327793 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215010044/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43327793 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |title=China surpasses US as top energy consumer – Business – Oil & energy – NBC News |work=NBC News |date=June 8, 2011 |access-date=April 21, 2012}}</ref> The U.S. ranks seventh in energy consumption per capita after Canada and a number of other countries.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061013182222/http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tablee1c.xls World Per Capita Total Primary Energy Consumption,1980–2005] (MS Excel format)</ref><ref>World Resources Institute "[https://web.archive.org/web/20041212020102/http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/energy-resources/variable-351.html Energy Consumption: Consumption per capita]" (2001). Nations with higher per-capita consumption are: Qatar, Iceland, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Luxembourg and Canada. Except for Canada, these are small countries with a prominent energy-intensive industry such as oil refining or [[steelmaking]].</ref> The majority of this energy is derived from [[fossil fuel]]s: in 2005, it was estimated that 40% of the nation's energy came from petroleum, 23% [[Coal power in the United States|from coal]], and 23% from natural gas. [[Nuclear power]] supplied 8.4% and [[renewable energy]] supplied 6.8%, which was mainly from hydroelectric dams although other renewables are included.<ref>US Dept. of Energy, "[http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec1_3.pdf Annual Energy Report]" (July 2006), Energy Flow diagram</ref>

American dependence on [[List of countries by oil imports|oil imports]] grew from 24% in 1970 to 65% by the end of 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/home/energyspecial/2005/11/15/energy-oil-exxonmobil-cx_pt_1116energy_tertzakian.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214225748/http://www.forbes.com/home/energyspecial/2005/11/15/energy-oil-exxonmobil-cx_pt_1116energy_tertzakian.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 14, 2006 |title=The U.S. Senate's Oil Spill |work=Forbes |date=November 15, 2005 |access-date=April 21, 2012 |first=Peter |last=Tertzakian}}</ref> [[Transportation in the United States|Transportation]] has the highest [[Oil consumption|consumption rates]], accounting for approximately 69% of the oil used in the United States in 2006,<ref name="btstable4-3">{{cite web |url=http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_04_03.html |title=Domestic Demand for Refined Petroleum Products by Sector |publisher=U.S. [[Bureau of Transportation Statistics]] |access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref> and 55% of oil use worldwide as documented in the [[Hirsch report]].

In 2013, the United States imported 2.808 billion barrels of [[crude oil]], compared to 3.377 billion barrels in 2010.<ref>"[https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/historical/petr.txt U.S. Imports of Crude Oil]". U.S. Census Bureau.</ref> While the U.S. is the largest importer of fuel, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported in 2011 that the country was about to become a net fuel exporter for the first time in 62 years. The paper reported expectations that this would continue until 2020.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pleven |first=Liam |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203441704577068670488306242 |title=The Wall Street Journal |date=November 30, 2011 |access-date=April 21, 2012}}</ref> In fact, petroleum was the major export from the country in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news | first=Chris | last=Kahn | title=In a first, gas and other fuels top U.S. exports | url=http://www.floridatoday.com/usatoday/article/52298812?odyssey=mod_sectionstories | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311011059/http://www.floridatoday.com/usatoday/article/52298812?odyssey=mod_sectionstories | archive-date=March 11, 2012| newspaper=[[Florida Today]] | location=Melbourne, FL | page= 4A | date=December 31, 2011}}</ref>

===Telecommunications===

The [[Internet]] was developed in the U.S. and the country hosts many of the world's largest hubs.<ref>[http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_ipto.htm "IPTO – Information Processing Techniques Office"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702210822/http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_ipto.htm |date=July 2, 2014}}, ''The Living Internet'', Bill Stewart (ed), January 2000.</ref>