The transportation sector is electrifying at unprecedented rates with more passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, and even bikes and scooters hitting the road every day. All told, transportation electrification is a multi-trillion-dollar industry, but the United States has been slow to capitalize on this market growth until recently. The United States represented just 4.8 percent of the global EV market in 2021 and the transportation equipment sector saw the international trade deficit balloon from $15 billion in 2009 to a $141 billion that same year. As other countries ramped up their EV manufacturing and deployment, the United States conceded jobs, trade revenue, and other economic benefits, not to mention global recognition as a sector leader, to Europe, China, and other parts of the world.
This briefing paper covers why U.S. policymakers should prioritize transportation electrification and was originally published in the July 2023 issue of the ITE Journal, a monthly publication by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
