Management

Please discuss how supply and demand drive the transportation industry? In your opinion, how does the transportation industry affect the environment?

ANSWER

How Supply and Demand Drive the Transportation Industry

Within the transport industry, the transportation modes share a common goal which is fulfilling the transport demand thus achieving the purpose of supporting mobility. Demand and supply drive the transportation industry by enabling the companies within the sector to offer the services at appropriate prices.

The transportation market comprises suppliers and users of these services who drive the transportation industry. The transport systems behave concerning the relationship between the demand and supply which are affected by the cost variations. Transportation is a service that is utilized immediately since the users are consuming the service to access other services (Rodrigue, 2016). Businesses, local citizens, and international entities utilize different modes of transport to transport their resources and commodities from one point to another. Ideally, the demand for particular transportation service is influenced by demand drivers such as price, goods, income, budget, and reliability. Therefore, any changes in these factors influence the user’s willingness to pay for different modes of transport. Transport supply entails the capacity of transportation modes and infrastructure to meet the transport need (Rodrigue, 2016). For instance, within the United States, there are thousands of unfinished and finished products to be delivered daily through different modes of transport rail, air, and water. Therefore, the supply and availability of transport services have enabled more users to get services at the same cost driving the functions of the transport service.

Environmental Effect of the Transportation Industry

Transportation systems have environmental impacts that range from emissions, noise to climate change. The transport industry greatly affects the environment due to the fact different modes of transport rely on energy and burns most of the petroleum. The utilization of petroleum energy has led to air pollution which has emitted nitrous oxides and carbon dioxide which have greatly contributed to global warming (Rodrigue, 2016). Other environmental effects have been oil spills in oceans. Ideally, oil spills may influence the environment through smothering of the organism which has affected vital functions such as feeding, respiration, and thermoregulation.

References

Rodrigue, J. P. (2016). The geography of transport systems. Taylor & Francis.