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[Doug] Chia 1991-1992 [OA 8487] [2]
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[Doug] Chia 1991-1992 [OA 8487] [2]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Alphabetical Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Backup Files
Subseries:
Alpha File, 1987-1991
OA/ID Number:
13843
Folder ID Number:
13843-005
Folder Title:
[Doug] Chia, 1991-1992 [2]
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Section:
Shelf:
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G
26
23
2
7
01/24/1992 10:55 FROM B00 RP&C, and CALI.
TO
12024566218 22 P.01
BIS Strategic Decisions
Worldwide Advisors on Information Technology
BIS
a - Company
FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION
FAX: (617)878-6650
Transmit to:
Doug Chia
Date: 1/24
Company:
cc:
Copy to
Fax Number:
202-456-6218
From:
Janet FUGAZZOHO
Service/Dept.: ICS
Number of pages (including cover sheet):
1
Message:
installed base U.S. fax machines
1985
1991
500,000
5,900,000
Just
Transmitted:
Date:
Time:
Please reply to:
BIS Strategic Decisions
One Longwater Circle
Norwell, MA 02061
Tel: (617) 982-9500 Fax: 878-6650
(Smith/Grossman)
January 21, 1992
Draft Two
RELIGION
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS
SHERATON WASHINGTON HOTEL
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1992
10:00 A.M.
President Rose and Director Cook -- and let me salute your
leadership of the NRB. Ladies and gentlemen. Fellow
communicators. // This marks the fifth time I have had the honor
of addressing the annual convéntion of the National Religious
Broadcasters. ((It's always a pleasure driving over here from
the White House. I think if Moses were around today, he'd be
called upon to part the traffic.) //
( (First, I'm glad to see my friend Jerry Fallwell. I
invited Jerry to go jogging with me this morning, but he had his
own exercise plans. / He walked across the Potomac. )) //
((Then, there's my other friend, Pat Robertson. Pat was
telling me you have the lowest catering bill of any convention
that comes to this hotel. // It's amazing how you can feed this
entire multitude on seven loaves and fishes. )) 11
A year ago we met in the first week of a crusade to protect
what is right, and true. I came before you to talk of what was
not a Christian or Jewish war -- not a Moslem war. It was a just
war. // In the Persian Gulf we fought for good versus evil /
right versus wrong / dignity against oppression. America stood
fast -- so that liberty could stand tall. //
Today, I want to thank you for helping America, as Christ
ordained, be a light unto the world." Your support honored the
2
finest sailors / soldiers / Marines / Air Force / and Coast
Guardsmen any Nation has ever known. // What they did in war,
let us now do in peace. // Just as our forces fought to defend
all that is best in America, we need you to help instill the
Gallup,
traditional values that make life and liberty worth defending. //
Let me begin with some good news for modern man. According
Director
to Gallup surveys, no society is more religious than the United
Princeton
States of America. // Seven X in ten Americans believe in life
Relision
after deáth -- eight in ten that God works miracles. Nine in ten
Research Center.
Americans pray. And more than nine in ten believe in God. // To
(609) 924-
which I say: Thank God. //
Is there a Galloup
Now, I know this is an election year. ((I don
company
9600
Damascus -- but this Primary Season, we're hearing I
YES!
conversions on the road to New Hampshire. )) // We I
candidates promising this, and that -- espousing pol
George
suddenly in fashion. // Today, I want to speak of 1
Gally
sustain America -- values that are always in fashior
The first value is not simply American -- but 1
refer to the sanctity of life. You know my position
restate it now. We need policies that encourage adoption, not
abortion. //
Next comes a value which gives each life meaning: The self-
reliance central to the dignity of work. // Go to the barrios of
San Antonio, or the suburbs of St. Paul. There you will find
people who ask only what our forefathers had: The same
opportunity which helped us brave independence / push back the
3
wilderness / win two World Wars / and create the highest standard
of living in the history of man. //
The Bible reminds us: "By thy sweat shall Ye know them. "
What we must do is give working Americans the level playing field
to keep us rich in goods, and spirit. //
Tomorrow, my State of the Union Address will detail how we
David
Garrett
can nurture the creativity as old as 1776 -- harness it to the
X
needs of a new American Century. // Remember: To this day, the
453-8400 NASA "Chiefs
only footprints on the moon are American footprints. / The only
flag on the moon is the stars and stripes. 11 The knowledge that
put it there is stamped: "Made in USA." // The world looks to
us to lead -- and lead we will. // Tune in tomorrow, and see if =
you don't agree: I will announce a program to help Americans
outwork / outproduce / and outcompete any Nation in the world. //
The next value I speak of must be forever cast in stone. //
I speak of decency -- the moral courage to say what is right, and
condemn what's wrong. // We need a nation closer to The Waltons
than the Bundys or the Simpsons -- an America which rejects the
rising tide of incivility and intolerance. //
We see this tide in the naked epithet -- and in the code
words -- that play to our worst prejudices. / We see it when
groups like Public Enemy soil the memory of Martin Luther King,
Jr. with vengeance and violence. // There is no place in America
for such apostles of hate. // If you agree with me, write --
call -- picket -- petition: Demand an end to the trash which
poisons our kids's minds and debases their souls. //
4
This brings me to a fourth value crucial to America: Belief
in family -- the foundation of our strength. ((I admit it: I've
been lucky -- a wonderful wife and five great kids. // Having
helped put them through college, I remember receiving letters
from them, and there would always be a P.S. at the bottom. It
was those three words that say so much about the bond between
parents at home and kids at school. "Please send money. ")) //
Phillippians reminds us, "Whatsoever things are pure
think on these things." To me, this is what family is: A pure
and priceless bequest. // Too often today, the family is under
siege. I say to you: Each one of us -- parents, preachers,
politicians, and teachers -- must lift it from the valley of
indifference to the high plateau of Canaan. //
That is why I demanded that the child-care bill I signed in
1990 allow parents -- not bureaucrats -- to decide how to care
for their children. I refused to see the option of religious-
based child care restricted or eliminated. // The family is also
why our education program -- America 2000 -- insists that choice
include both private and public schools. // Last week, I
announced another policy to strengthen the family: Expanding the
pre-school program to serve all those who are eligible -- the
largest funding increase in the history of Project Head Start. //
Finally, families will stay together only if drugs do not drive
them apart. As Elijah drove the false prophet Baal [BALE] out of
Israel, we must erase drugs from every corner of America. //
5
I will be honest: We have not erased them yet. But in the
spirit of the occasion, let me add: Our progress has been
miraculous. // Over the past four years, marijuana, crack, and
cocáine use has declined, What's more today kids aged 9 to 12
are the most anti-drug group in America. The highest at-risk is
ages 13 to 17 -- but last year / for the first time / 13-year-
olds mirrored the behavior of pré-teenagers. //
Drugs effect a multitude of issues. They contribute to AIDS
and homelessness --- shattering families and futures / hopes and
dreams. / That's why -- literally -- we should thank God for the
drug use decline. The drop in use doesn't just prove we were
right in our assault on substance use: It shows how we can
achieve drugs' unconditional surrender. //
We will triumph through tough enforcement -- and through
education: Increasing awareness of the damage drugs do. // Over
the last four years, more kids talked about drugs with their
parents and teachers. Another force has been America's print and
electronic media -- the major source of drug information and the
primary "influencer" on drug use, especially among the young. //
Together, they have helped reawaken America's conscience --
which, in turn, inspires America's greatness. / Later today, I
will unveil our fourth National Drug Control Strategy to build on
these beginnings. It will say no to drugs. It will also say yes
to life. //
To stop drug use will require caring, and community --
above all, abundant love. / Let me tell you a story. Once, a
6
great First Lady -- Pat Nixon -- toured a medical center and
stopped to embrace a little girl blinded by rubella. For a few
See
minutes, she talked to the girl and held her close. Later,
Sept 18,
Speech
someone told her that the child was deaf as well as blind. A H
Pat answered that she had known thát. // "But she knows what
1991
salt lake
love is, " Mrs. Nixon said. "She can feel love. " //
city, UT.I
America's love i
ays. In what we oppose:
Injustice and tyranny
9 trug Nysis
Utam
it: The inalienable
rights that include t
yes, vote as we pleas
Sept
SLC
dream, worship, and,
our liberty, America once
deposed a king / fouc
92 MX 17c
= / five times this
Century sent American
ours alone -- so we 1
POTUS speech
.
Yet freedom is not
in Utah
our ideal. Today, we
must also export it €
Hosp visit
ove all, spiritually. //
If you doubt freedom
the Persian Gulf. / Look
to the former Soviet Union, where those once enslaved crowd
churches and synagogues. / Look to Eastern Europe, where
Christmas carols warm the bright winter chill. // It is written:
"In the beginning was the Word." Here is the word for 1992:
Today, the times are on the side of peace -- because the world,
increasingly, is on the side of God. //
This brings me to the ultimate value that sustains America,
and the values I have already cited: A belief in prayer --and
through prayer, in the One through whom all things are possible.
// No country can claim a special place in God's heart. Yet we
are better as a people because He has a special place in ours. //
7
I once asked one of my grandkids how he felt about prayer.
He said: "Just try getting through a math test without it." 11
In Sunday school, children learn that God is everywhere -- but in
public school they find that He's absent from class. It's time
to end this mockery. // I continue to believe -- as do the
overwhelming majority of Americans -- in the right to voluntary
school prayer. / I call on the Congress to pass a Constitutional
Amendment putting the Faith of our Fathers back in our schools. /
The values I have spoken of reminds us of the truth that
comes on one's knees. // I believe with all my heart that one
cannot be America's President without a belief in God and in
prayer. I also believe America will be a better place if the
Golden Rule becomes our daily guide. //
The poet Walt Whitman was once asked to name America's true
grandeur. He replied, simply: "Its religion. Without that,
America is not America." // Let that be our essence as a people
-- and our message as a Nation. Thank you for this occasion.
God bless this most wondrous land on earth -- the United States
of America.
#
#
#
#
FROM: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
T0:912024566218
JAN 22, 1992 8:29AM #250 P.01
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
Business Office: 2001 Evans Road
Cary, North Carolina 27513
FACSIMILE MESSAGE
TO:
FROM:
Doug Chia
Be Hy loup/ /cs
Date:
1-22-92
RE: Info- OED
NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER SHEET
3
Telephone: (919) 677-0977 (800) 451-7556
Telex: (919) 677-9654
Customer Service Fax: (919) 677-1303
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FROM: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
TO:912024566218
JAN 22, 1992 8:31AM #251 P.01
"The greatest wor
20 Vol.
Oxford
The Oxford
The Oxford
The Oxford
The Oxford
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The Oxt
glish
English
English
English
English
English
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Englis
honary
Dictionary
Dictionary
Dictionary
Dictionary
Dictionary
Dictionary
Dictionary
Dictiona
SECOND
SECOND
SECOND
SECOND
SECOND
SECOND
SECOND
EDITION
EDITION
trinos
minos
SECONI
IDITION
IDITION
IDITION
EDITION
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
Haith
Hake-Ingnel
Ingo Lemyne
Lanard-Mdr
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Pew-Prolusory
Promachos-
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Prvetade
Reutter
Scoyer
OXFORD
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instrates the defi-
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the size of any other
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world has meant the
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was produced to bring the
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the OED have been signifi-
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design and typesetting. The
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Second Edition puts this
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FROM: OXFORD UNIV PRESS
TO: 912024566218
JAN 22, 1992 8:33AM #251 P.02
1991 FALL
September
The Compact
At last-the
OXFORD
Compact Edition
of the OED II
Captures the complete
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Edited by EDMUND WEINER and JOHN SIMPSON
DOMI MINA
NUS
TID
W
hen the twenty-volume Oxford
English Dictionary, Second Edition,
577,000 cross-references, and over
appeared two years ago, the public response
2,412,000 illustrative quotations. But as
was extraordinary. The AP and UPI an-
large as it is, perhaps its most important
nounced publication over their newswires.
feature is its historical focus. The OED
Time and Newsweek ran full-page articles.
records not only words and meanings
The New Yorker published an extensive
currently in use but also those that have
essay. Virtually every major paper in
long been considered obsolete. Moreover,
America and in Great Britain covered the
under each definition of a word is a chrono-
event. And from every corner, the praise was
logically arranged group of quotations that
lavish. Time called it "a scholarly Everest."
illustrate the word's usage down through
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the years, beginning with its carliest known
Herbert Mitgang, in The New York Times,
appearance. The result is a dictionary that
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ment to the OED and compiled the Oxford
words, 290,000 main entries, 137,000
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worked on the Supplement and prepared the
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs.
$295.00t, 861258.3, 2416 pp.,
10.1/4 14-1/4
-Charity
XV-1-
Manufactures
No. 1347. Factory Sales of Electronic Components and Consumer Electronic Products:
1980 to 1989
[In millions of dollars]
PRODUCT
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
Electronic components
25,571
28,784
29,561
33,856
43,306
39,459
38,829
45,335
50,735
54,626
Solid state products
9,089
10,309
10,729
12,570
17,032
14,650
14,408
16,819
19,685
21,650
Parts
7,080
7,647
7,403
8,318
10,155
9,329
9,169
10,664
11,292
11,678
Electron tubes
1,744
1,959
1,885
i
2,049
2,137
2,055
2,125
2,176
2,263
2,578
Other components
7,658
8,869
9,544
10,919
13,982
13,423
13,121
15,676
17,495
18,720
Consumer electronic products.
10,891
12,438
12,499
14,560
17,594
18,907
21,472
21,828
22,132
(NA)
Color TV receivers
4,210
4,349
4,253
5,002
5,538
5,565
6,040
6,303
6,277
6,530
Car audio
1,368
2,000
2,100
1,900
2,500
2,761
3,135
3,523
3,937
4,125
Video cassette recorders
621
1,127
1,303
2,162
3,585
4,173
3,978
3,442
2,848
2,625
Camcorders
621
1,127
1,303
2,162
3,585
4,738
1,280
1,651
1,972
2,007
Separate audio components.
1,424
1,363
1,181
1,268
913
1,132
1,358
1,715
1,854
1,871
Portable audio tape equipment
1,403
1,157
971
1,102
1,191
1,140
1,389
1,469
1,547
1,595
Audio systems
809
720
573
630
976
1,372
1,370
1,048
1,225
1,217
Blank video cassettes
(NA)
(NA)
357
580
770
1,055
1,235
1,006
936
923
Projection TV.
(NA)
287
236
268
385
488
529
527
529
478
Home radios
468
501
530
565
661
379
408
409
377
379
Blank audio cassettes
(NA)
227
202
234
256
263
292
364
354
367
Monochrome TV receivers
588
505
507
465
419
328
373
341
236
156
Video disc players
(NA)
55
54
81
45
23
26
30
40
59
Color cameras
(NA)
147
232
303
355
228
59
(NA)
(NA)
(NA)
NA Not available. 1 Includes sockets, delay lines, 2 loudspeakers, magnetic components, transducers, printed circuit boards,
microwave components, assemblies, and parts.
1980 includes console phonographs.
Source: Electronic Industries Association, Washington, DC, Electronic Market Data Book, annual. (Copyright.)
No. 1348. Selected Electric Home Appliances and Consumer Electronic Products-
Shipments and Retail Value: 1985 to 1989
[Compiled from report of associations and manufacturers. Retail value represents median price of product times the number
of units shipped. Except as indicated, covers electric appliances only]
MANUFACTURES SHIPMENTS
RETAIL VALUE
PRODUCT
(1,000 units)
(mil. dol.)
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
Major appliances:
Air conditioners
2,900
2,765
3,659
4,379
4,909
1,286
1,130
1,502
1,774
2,012
Refrigerators
1
5,874
6,284
6,724
6,973
6,799
4,121
4,299
4,557
4,860
4,881
Microwave ovens
10,633
12,658
12,741
11,189
10,848
3,468
3,600
3,541
2,726
2,541
Ranges, electric
3,218
3,532
3,362
3,186
3,068
1,517
1,589
1,643
1,545
1,524
Freezers
2
1,140
1,154
1,180
1,250
1,189
546
517
526
555
544
Ranges, gas
1,807
1,895
2,132
2,132
2,068
821
880
992
989
960
Dryers
3,701
4,114
4,421
4,363
4,404
1,326
1,451
1,544
1,536
1,422
Washers
4,925
5,430
5,610
5,708
5,765
2,231
2,379
2,470
2,514
2,341
Video:
TV, color
16,894
18,855
18,473
19,173
20,955
7,250
7,632
8,221
8,434
8,749
Videocassette recorders
11,912
12,685
11,700
10,998
9,843
(NA)
5,067
4,553
4,348
3,767
Camcorders
(NA)
1,090
1,600
2,108
2,348
(NA)
1,213
1,674
2,082
2,170
Video cameras
402
181
110
90
81
266
118
77
62
51
Video cassette players.
(NA)
150
182
213
234
(NA)
28
28
32
35
Audio/HiFi:
Components 3
8,800
10,914
12,085
12,858
14,050
1,653
2,041
2,232
2,571
3,060
Compact disc players
850
1,384
2,490
2,237
2,338
264
356
514
512
511
Tape decks
908
1,508
1,458
1,457
1,542
176
284
282
283
289
Portable tape equipment
27,626
30,635
30,753
29,556
31,085
1,333
1,449
1,442
1,372
1,452
Radios
27,528
29,896
30,678
27,252
28,371
808
845
818
761
815
Headphones
3,167
3,425
3,534
3,477
3,755
134
140
149
146
160
Cartridges
3,047
2,795
2,539
1,803
1,533
94
86
78
58
42
Mobile electronics:
ID 4 cassette/radio combo
4,030
3,989
4,053
4,256
4,098
789
814
848
905
865
Radios only
867
757
687
664
551
81
65
59
58
49
Car speakers (in pairs)
15,162
15,010
16,241
17,540
18,294
979
942
993
1,070
1,104
Radar detectors
1,227
1,688
1,834
1,953
2,051
187
263
277
295
341
Cellular telephones
(NA)
265
331
700
1,081
(NA)
423
509
578
667
Auto security systems
(NA)
1,028
1,371
1,759
2,023
(NA)
257
308
358
360
Home office:
Electronic typewriters
850
2,038
2,186
2,481
2,580
185
458
533
672
740
Personal computers
4,025
3,075
3,598
4,192
4,737
(NA)
2,983
3,313
3,810
4,694
Facsimile machines
(NA)
181
525
900
1,400
(NA)
584
1,335
1,335
1,540
Blank floppy disks.
205,063
425,000
545,403
651,757
706,505
(NA)
680
764
878
883
Satellite earth stations
630
255
252
277
294
1,386
513
508
624
657
Telephone equipment:
Corded telephones
22,403
23,768
21,900
20,805
20,493
983
1,006
840
808
798
Cordless telephones
4,076
4,279
5,450
8,000
9,200
380
410
455
680
796
Telephone answering equip-
ment
3,306
4,856
7,332
10,100
12,160
371
535
654
873
986
NA Not available.
1
6.5 cu. ft. and over.
2
10 cu. ft. and over.
3 Includes others not shown separately.
4
ID=in dash.
Source: Dealerscope Merchandising, Philadelphia, PA, 68th Annual Statistical and Marketing Report.
630
Transportation-Air and Water
No. 1078. On-Time Flight Arrivals and Departures at Major U.S. Airports: 1989 and 1990
No. 1080
[Calendar year data.
[In DOT percent. reporting rule effective September 1987. All U.S. airlines with one percent or more of total U.S. domestic 15 minutes after airline
Quarterly, based on gate arrival and departure times for domestic scheduled operations of major scheduled U.S. airlines, per
pounds of payload cap
U.S. Regional Carriers
passenger scheduled time shown in the carrier's computerized reservation system. Cancelled and diverted flights are considered of the Excludes
revenues are required to report on-time data. A flight is considered on time if it operated less than late. the
ITEM
flight operations delayed/cancelled due to aircraft mechanical problems reported on FAA maintenance records (4-5% report-
ing airlines' scheduled operations). See source for data on individual airlines]
Passenger carriers of
Passengers enplaned
ON-TIME ARRIVALS
ON-TIME DEPARTURES
Average passengers
Revenue passenger
1989
1990
1989
1990
Average RPMs per C.
AIRPORT
1st
2d
3d
4th
1st
2d
1st
2d
3d
4th
1st
2d
Airports served
Average trip length
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
qtr.
Passenger aircraft op
73.9
78.3
77.0
75.9
75.9
81.0
80.6
84.9
83.7
81.8
81.9
88.2
Average seating capa
Sept
Total, all airports
Fleet flying hours
Total, 30 major airports
72.8
77.4
75.7
74.9
74.8
80.0
79.0
83.4
81.5
80.1
80.2
87.0
Average annual utiliz
78.8
69.8
85.2
85.9
76.5
1 Adjusted to ex
83.3
85.2
83.2
88.6
Atlanta, Hartsfield International
79.9
80.7
79.2
Source: Regiona
Baltimore/Washington International
72.4
71.4
69.6
71.9
77.5
83.4
74.6
74.3
73.6
76.1
82.9
89.2
79.4
75.6
70.2
72.5
68.1
78.2
83.0
81.7
77.2
77.9
75.8
87.1
Boston, Logan International
Charlotte, Douglas
67.5
70.4
66.0
71.4
78.7
87.9
68.0
69.8
65.9
71.5
80.2
90.6
73.2
76.2
74.2
82.1
Chicago, O'Hare
60.8
70.4
67.1
72.0
69.2
74.7
68.7
77.4
Dallas/Ft.Worth International
72.5
80.3
86.0
84.4
74.8
78.1
76.4
84.5
89.8
87.1
78.3
85.1
[As of Dec. 31
Denver, Stapleton International
69.0
79.3
81.2
77.8
72.1
76.8
76.1
85.8
84.5
83.0
77.5
85.0
81.4
73.8
76.2
75.6
84.4
84.9
86.0
82.5
81.9
80.1
89.7
Detroit, Metro Wayne
79.8
76.5
80.4
76.8
82.2
83.0
85.4
81.2
84.0
82.4
84.7
85.5
89.4
ITE
Dulles International
77.8
81.6
86.1
77.8
73.5
79.9
83.2
86.9
89.2
84.1
82.7
87.4
Houston Intercontinental
Kansas City International
73.6
79.4
76.3
75.3
76.6
79.8
82.4
87.2
85.6
82.1
83.6
88.5
90.1
85.6
85.6
91.3
Airports in operation
Las Vegas, McCarran International
78.1
85.3
84.6
79.6
80.9
85.5
84.5
91.4
Los Angeles International
73.1
77.7
76.1
75.1
78.4
78.1
82.3
85.6
80.9
80.5
84.1
88.0
Heliports
80.6
84.6
79.8
80.4
84.8
89.1
85.9
88.7
86.8
86.0
86.1
91.0
Public
Memphis International
76.8
84.3
80.7
81.2
80.8
82.6
82.9
88.9
Private
Miami International
75.3
73.0
72.2
73.9
Minneapolis/St. Paul International
77.9
83.8
79.5
77.4
81.4
79.7
81.6
88.0
85.6
82.4
83.1
85.4
Airports with runway
73.1
71.3
67.5
71.6
71.8
74.3
78.1
79.3
76.8
78.5
80.0
85.0
Airports with paved
Newark International
New York, Kennedy International
72.1
71.3
68.9
72.1
73.3
75.3
76.4
74.2
70.6
73.8
79.3
81.2
Miles (nautical) of F
Airport Improvemen
73.5
69.3
64.6
67.0
68.4
76.7
82.3
80.9
77.2
75.5
77.8
85.3
New York, LaGuardia
Orlando International
75.0
76.8
74.4
72.9
73.2
81.3
83.2
85.6
85.3
84.6
83.5
90.7
Total civil aircraft
Active aircraft
Philadelphia International
72.9
76.3
70.5
67.6
70.0
75.9
80.1
82.6
77.1
71.4
75.7
84.3
Air carriers, tot
87.3
88.0
78.0
79.9
88.4
Phoenix, Sky Harbor International
74.2
84.4
84.2
72.5
77.7
84.5
77.6
General aviatic
Pittsburgh, Greater International
76.8
78.2
72.4
67.9
76.7
83.0
79.2
80.2
70.8
66.4
76.7
85.9
Fixed-wing a
70.0
81.5
82.8
81.2
80.7
81.3
74.8
85.9
86.7
82.4
83.5
85.6
St. Louis, Lambert.
Multi-engir
80.5
80.4
84.5
79.6
90.7
89.6
85.4
84.7
91.6
Salt Lake City International
72.6
83.9
84.8
Single-engin
San Diego International, Lindbergh
71.9
79.7
77.2
74.4
75.7
79.0
80.1
85.4
81.2
80.2
82.9
87.5
4-place ar
61.6
70.3
66.2
65.4
73.8
69.6
75.9
82.3
77.8
78.0
82.5
84.0
San Francisco International
3-place ar
Seattle-Tacoma International
70.4
77.2
75.4
67.6
69.9
74.3
81.1
87.4
82.0
79.6
82.0
86.9
Rotorcraft
91.0
75.0
77.0
74.6
72.7
74.6
82.3
83.3
84.4
84.8
83.7
84.4
Balloons, bli
Tampa International
Washington National
76.6
75.3
74.6
75.4
79.4
83.5
85.8
84.2
83.6
80.2
84.2
89.1
Airman certificates
Pilot
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Consumer Affairs, Air Travel Consumer Report, monthly.
Held by wome
Airline transpo
Commercial
No. 1079. Consumer Complaints Against U.S. Airlines: 1987 to 1990
Private
Student
8
[Calendar year data, except as indicated. See source for data on individual airlines]
Nonpilot
Ground techn
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
RANK
FAA employees: T
COMPLAINTS
Air traffic contro
1990,
1990,
Full performa
COMPLAINT CATEGORY
1990,
1987
1988
1989
Jan.-
1987
1988
1989
Jan.-
1987
1988
1989
Jan.-
Development
June
June
Assistants
June
Traffic mana
40,985
21,493
10,553
4,353
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
(X)
(X)
(X)
(X)
Electronic tech
Total
18,019
8,831
1,787
44.0
41.1
39.0
41.1
1
1
1
1
Aviation safety
Flight problems
4,111
1,702
767
18.1
18.3
16.1
17.6
2
2
2
2
Engineers
Baggage
7,438
3,938
2
2,120
1,002
376
9.5
9.9
9.5
8.6
3
3
4
4
Other
Customer service
3,888
3,313
1,667
1,023
445
8.1
7.8
9.7
10.2
4
4
3
3
General aviation:
Refunds
6
6
Hours flown
3
2,122
1,353
607
235
5.2
6.3
5.8
5.4
6
6
Oversales
Fuel consumed
Reservations/ticketing/
boarding
821
297
6.0
6.7
7.8
6.8
5
5
5
5
Gasoline
1,445
14
2,458
888
546
232
47
2.2
2.5
2.2
1.1
8
7
8
9
Jet fuel
Smoking
7
8
7
7
5
937
455
341
157
2.3
2.1
3.2
3.6
Fares
Advertising
344
141
89
50
0.8
0.7
0.8
1.1
9
9
9
8
NA Not ava
101
35
19
2
0.2
0.2
0.2
10
11
11
11
military airports W
Credit
9
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
11
10
10
10
under control of
Tours
90
37
22
2
1,387
925
584
181
3.4
4.3
5.5
4.2
(X)
(X)
(X)
(X)
Fiscal year data
Other
funds for the Air
meals or cabin service, treatment of delayed passengers. 3 All bumping problems, whether or not airline complied 5 Incorrect or
Represents zero. X Not applicable. 1 Cancellations, delays etc. from schedule. 2 Unhelpful employees, inadequate with DOT
Improvement Ac
section 22.
certificate and a
regulations. 4 Errors in reservations and ticketing; problems in making reservations and obtaining tickets.
shown separate
incomplete information about fares, discount fare conditions and availability, etc.
riggers, and grou
Source: U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Office of Consumer Affairs, Air Travel Consumer Report, monthly.
include retired
supervisors, and
in-flight service
U.S. Bureau of
naphtha-type je
Source: Exc
data. Includes C
P01
NOVEMBER 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 1A. OVERALL AND CARRIER PERCENTAGE OF REPORTED FLIGHT OPERATIONS ARRIVING ON TIME
RANK, BY KONTH, QUARTER, AND DATA BASE TO DATE
CARRIER
4TH QUARTER 1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER
OCT-DEC so
JAN-MAR 91
APR-JUN 91
JUL-SEP It
SEP 91
OCT 91
% RANK
NOV 91
% RANK
DEC00-NOV91 12 MONTHS DATA BASE TO DATI
%
RANK
%
RANK
SEP 87-NDV 91
% RANK
%
RANK
% RANK
%
RANK
%
RANK
ALASKA
75.2 (10)
60.1
(9)
89.5
(1)
87.8
(4)
91.1
AMERICA WEST
(2)
86.9
79.2
(5)
(5)
78.8
78.4 (10)
(8)
83.8
87.7
(3)
(4)
80.4
87.1
(5)
(S)
50.8
AMERICAN
(4)
88.0
77.0
(3)
(9)
90.0
82.1
(1)
(4)
83.5
87.2
(4)
(5)
84.4
$4.9
(8)
(1)
CONTINENTAL
05.8 (11)
79.7 (12)
DELTA
77.2 78.4 (B) (7) 77.2 78.8 (7) (8) 81.7 80.9 (10) (11) 83.8 (8) 87.2 (to) 83.1 (7) 81.0 82.0 (8) (6) 80.4 82.5 (9) (8) 78.7 81.4 (10) (4)
83.0 (11)
EASTERN #
85.7 (12)
82.8
81.0
(9)
(4)
91.8
(7)
--
79.8 (10)
79.0
:
(8)
--
:
MEDWAY **
--
--
----
--
72.5
(8)
88.3
71.0 (13)
(2)
79.5
83.1
(3)
(7)
90.4
NORTHWEST
(5)
87.0
(4)*
----
82.5
--
(3)
82.9
(2)
87.8
82.8 (7)
(3)
90.0
02 5
(2)
(3)
$1.1
PAM AMERICAN
(3)
38.3
(2)
85.6
(1)
79.9
82.8
(9)
(3)
85,5
85.1
(7)
(1)
82.2
80.2
(12)
(6)
88.3
SOUTHNEST
(7)
$4.4
(6)
74.9 (11)
83.1
72.1 (11)
(4)
83.2
84.1
(8)
(5)
78.8
91.2
(1)
(9)
93.5
TWA
(1)
88.9
73.7
(1)
(12)
89.5
70.1 (12)
(2)
52.9
$2.1
(9)
(6)
83.3
92.9
(9)
(2)
80.4
UNITED
(8)
90.8 (11)
78.7
(8)
83.0
72.3
(5)
(10)
77.6
77.9
(12)
(12)
77.2
83.1 (10)
(12)
87.2
USAIR
(9)
81.1 (10)
83.3
(2)
83.5
78.1 (11)
(1)
77.8
83.0
(8)
(ff)
75.9
84.3
(7)
(13)
87.3
(8)
83.0
(8)
01-21-92 04:58 PM FROM DOT GOV'T T AFFAIRS
85.5
(3)
$4.0
(2)
78.5
TOTAL
(11)
79.1
78.5
84.1
85.2
87.9
$3.4
82.7
81.5
79.2
*
EASTERN INCLUDE AIR EASTERN'S LINES DATA CEASED THROUGH OPERATIONS DECEMBER ON JANUARY 31, 1990. 19, 1991; THE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE STATISTICS
** ON MIDWAY NOVEMBER AIRLINES 14, BEGAN 1991. REPORTING ITS FLIGHT DATA ON JANUARY 1, 1991; CARRIER CEASED OPERATIONS
Post-it™ brand fax transmittal memo 7671
# of pages /
The Doug Chia
From CARMEN RIVERA
Co.
Co.
DOT
Dept.
Phone 202.366.5946
Fax #
202-456-6218
Fax 202-366-7907
130C-11
Air Travel
US Department
of Transpor lation
Consumer Report
Jr- dream
H
I
Issued: September 1991
Includes data for the following
FLIGHT DELAYS
including year - long
recent issue
Need more
MISHANDLED BAGG
OVERSALES
CONSUMER COMPL
Office of Consumer Aflairs S
INTRODUCTION
The Air Travel Consumer Report is a monthly product of the Department of Transportation's
Office of Consumer Affairs. The report is designed to assist consumers with information on the
quality of services provided by the airlines.
The report is divided into four sections. These sections deal with flight delays, mishandled
baggage, oversales and consumer complaints. Each section of the report is preceded by a brief
explanation of how to read and understand the information provided.
The report normally is released by the end of the first week of each month. If you are
interested in obtaining a single copy, write to the Office of Consumer Affairs, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 7th Street, S.W., Room 10405, Washington, DC 20590.
FLIGHT DELAYS
This section provides information about airline on-time performance
and flight delays. It is based on data filed by airlines each month
Tables 3 and 4 provide information by airport and time of day.
with the Department of Transportation as required by 14 CFR Part
Table 5 is a list of the most frequently delayed flights, showing the
percentage of each flight's operations that were late that month and
234 of DOT's regulations. It covers nonstop scheduled-service flights
between points within the United States (including territories) by the
the average and median number of minutes the flight was late. The
flights with the highest percentage of large operations are listed first
12 largest U.S. air carriers, i.e., those with at least one percent of total
domestic scheduled-service passenger revenues. These airlines
in Table 5; where percentages are identical, flights are listed
alphabetically by carrier code. Table 6, like Tables 1, IA, and 2
account for more than 90 percent of domestic operating revenues.
presents data by carrier, but lists the carriers in rank order from
worst to best based on the number of flights which were late 70% of
The rule requires carriers to report on operations to and from the 31
the time or more.
largest U.S. airports (those with at least one percent of the nation's
total domestic scheduled-service passenger enplanements).
However, all 12 airlines have voluntarily provided data for their
Tables 3, 4. and 5 contain information on the time of day that a flight
operated. All times are local. A 10:50 a.m. departure from Atlanta is
entire domestic systems, and that Information is included in this
10:50 a.m. Atlanta time; if that-flight arrived in Dallas at 11:45 a.m.,
report.
that is 11:45 a.m. Dallas time. If a flight's scheduled operating time
changed during the month, Table 5 shows the time that was in effect
A flight is counted as "on time" if it operated less than 15 minutes
for the last flight operation performed that month.
after the scheduled time shown in the carriers' Computerized
Reservations Systems. All tables in this report except Table 4 are
based on gate arrival times; Table 4 is based on gate departure times.
This report provides summary information; except for the few flights
listed in Table 5, it does not show the on-time record of individual
Cancelled and diverted operations are counted as late. Because of
our concern that the rule not penalize carriers for conscientious
flights. A printout showing the performance of each specific flight
safety practices, a delay is not reported to DOT if it results from a
reported to DOT is available for inspection in the Reports Reference
Room (room 4201) of the Office of Airline Statistics at DOTs
mechanical problem that is required to be reported to the Federal
Aviation Administration.
headquarters in Washington, D.C. Copies of this printout and
computer tapes containing data for all reported flight operations are
As indicated above, a carrier may voluntarily file data for its entire
available for purchase from the Transportation Systems Center in
domestic system. Tables 2. 3. and 4 are limited to the 31 required or
Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Department cannot respond to
"reportable" airports; Tables 5 and 6 contain data on flights to/from
inquiries about the performance of individual flights.
all airports that were reported. Table I has one column for the 31
"reportable" airports and another for all of the airports reported; see
However, information on the performance of specific flights is
footnote C for additional explanation.
displayed on the Computerized Reservations Systems used by most
airlines and travel agencies. Each of the reporting carriers' flights
Tables I through 4 display percentages of flight operations that
has a one-digit code between 0 and 9 representing that flight's
were on time, while Tables 5 and 6 show service that was late.
percentage of on-time operations for the latest reported month. For
Tables 1. 1A, and 2 present data by carrier; airlines are ranked by
example, "8" means that flight arrived on time (within 15 minutes)
performance in Table I and are listed in alphabetical order by
between 80% and 89.9% of the time during the latest reported
carrier code in Table 2 (see Appendix for codes). Beginning with the
month. As with the data reported to DOT, the figures do not include
February 1988 report, Table 1A shows carrier rankings by month
delays caused by mechanical problems reported to the FAA.
and time-series data on the percentage of flight operations that
arrived on time.
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 1. OVERALL PERCENTAGE OF REPORTED FLIGHT OPERATIONS ARRIVING ON TIME
BY CARRIER
AT 31 REPORTABLE AIRPORTS B/
AT ALL REPORTED AIRPORTS C/
NUMBER OF
PERCENT OF
NUMBER OF
PERCENT OF
AIRPORTS
ARRIVALS
AIRPORTS
ARRIVALS
CARRIER A/
REPORTED
ON TIME D/
REPORTED
ON TIME D/
SOUTHWEST S/
9
90.0
34
91.2
MIDWAY AIRLINES S/
17
88.2
28
90.8
NORTHWEST S/
29
89.7
102
90.0
ALASKA S/
5
88.6
31
88.8
AMERICA WEST S/
20
86.6
52
87.7
AMERICAN S/
31
84.1
116
85.1
USAIR S/
30
82.3
118
83.0
UNITED S/
31
82.1
118
82.6
DELTA S/
31
81.2
133
82.0
CONTINENTAL S/
27
79.9
93
81.7
TWA S/
29
80.1
71
80.2
PAN AMERICAN S/
21
80.4
31
80.0
TOTAL
83.4
84.5
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 1A. OVERALL PERCENTAGE OF REPORTED FLIGHT OPERATIONS ARRIVING ON TIME
AND CARRIER RANK, BY MONTH, QUARTER, AND DATA BASE TO DATE
3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER 1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER
12
MONTHS
DATA BASE TO DATE
CARRIER
JUL-SEP no
OCT-DEC 90
JAN-MAR 91
APR-JUN 91
MAY 91
JUN 91
JUL 91
AUG90-JUL91
SEP 87-JUL 91
% RANK
% RANK
% RANK
% RANK
% RANK
% RANK
%
RANK
% RANK
%
RANK
ALASKA
80.2
(9)
75.2 (10)
80.1
(5)
89.5
(1)
90.6
(1)
89.0
(4)
88.8
(4)
81.8
(7)
80.0
(5)
AMERICA WEST
87.1
(1)
79.2
(5)
76.6
(8)
87.7
(4)
87.7
(3)
89.7
(3)
87.7
(5)
82.5
(5)
84.1
(1)
AMERICAN
83.6
(3)
77.0
(9)
82.1
(4)
87.2
(5)
86.4
(6)
88.1
(5)
85.1
(6)
82.6
(4)
81.3
(3)
CONTINENTAL
79.2 (10)
78.4
(7)
78.8
(6)
80.9 (11)
81.8 (10)
81.4 (12)
81.7 (10)
79.9
(9)
78.3
(10)
DELTA
78.1 (12)
77.2
(8)
77.2
(7)
81.7 (10)
81.9
(9)
82.3
(9)
82.0
(9)
79.0
(11)
78.6
(8)
EASTERN *
82.7
(4)
81.0
(4)
----
--
----
--
--
--
----
--
81.8
(6)
79.5
(7)
MIDWAY **
----
--
----
--
72.5
(9)
88.3
(2)
87.7
(2)
92.6
(1)
90.8
(2)
81.2
(8)
81.2
(4)
NORTHWEST
82.5
(6)
82.5
(3)
82.9
(2)
87.8
(3)
86.9
(5)
90.1
(2)
90.0
(3)
84.6
(1)
79.5
(6)
PAN AMERICAN
82.5
(5)
85.6
(1)
82.8
(3)
85.1
(7)
87.5
(4)
83.6
(8)
BO.O
( 12 )
84.1
(2)
78.5
(9)
SOUTHWEST
84.4
(2)
74.9 (11)
72.1 (11)
84.1
(8)
84.1
(8)
88.0
(6)
91.2
(1)
79.5 (10)
82.1
(2)
TWA
78.9
(11)
73.7
(12)
70.1 (12)
82.1
(9)
80.0 (11)
81.6 (11)
80.2 (11)
76.5 (13)
76.7
(12)
UNITED
20.4
(8)
78.7
(6)
72.3 (10)
77.9
(12)
77.0
(12)
81.9 (10)
82.6
(8)
77.6
(12)
75.4
(13)
USAIR
81.2
(7)
83.3
(2)
83.5
(1)
86.0
(6)
84.3
(7)
85.3
(7)
83.0
(7)
83.6
(3)
77.9 (11)
TOTAL
81.3
79.1
78.5
84.1
83.5
85.3
84.5
81.0
78.7
* EASTERN AIR LINES CEASED OPERATIONS ON JANUARY 19, 1991; THE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE STATISTICS
INCLUDE EASTERN'S DATA THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1990.
** MIDWAY AIRLINES BEGAN REPORTING ITS FLIGHT DATA ON JANUARY 1, 1991.
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 2. NUMBER OF REPORTED FLIGHT ARRIVALS AND PERCENTAGE ARRIVING ON TIME D/
BY CARRIER AND AIRPORT (REPORTABLE AIRPORTS ONLY)
ARRIVAL AIRPORT
ATL
BOS
BWI
CLT
DCA
DEN
DFW
DTH
w OF
% ON
w
OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
# OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
# OF
% ON
m OF
% ON
CARRIER
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR:
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
AA
628
82.6
754
82.4
437
79.9
114
84.2
677
82.4
416
81.0
11729
85.1
439
89.1
AS
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
CO
602
84.2
815
83.3
125
92.8
H/
572
75.9
4618
78.8
387
85.8
415
61.9
{
DL
13450
79.2
1412
80.0
'5 77.9
172 78.5
742
79.2
506
78.5
7469
85.8
455
80.2
HP
H/
85 68.2
.
89
67.4
H/
60
85.0
168
88.7
206
85.4
H/
I
ML
130
90.0
141
95.0
H/
H/
156
90.4
92
85.9
139
91.4
236
89.8
NW
483
86.5
1002
82.1
174
88.5
H/
1527
87.1
268
87.7
314
90.4
7648
93.9
PA
115
70.4
599
$0.3
38
57.9
58
81.0
626
86.6
61
82.0
88
85.2
177
83.1
TW
201
85.8
248
70.6
166
76.5
84
82.1
369
78.9
240
74.6
271
78.2
208
81.3
UA
341
79.2
612
81.0
202
78.7
144
75.7
386
87.3
5386
83.6
365
84.7
311
88.8
us
522
78.2
2051
84.2
3468
85.1
10026
82.8
2137
86.2
153
73.9
262
77.1
483
82.6
WN
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
180
90.6
TOTAL
16472
79.8
7720 82.7
5034
83.4
10598
82.6
7252
84.3
41908
81.3
21230
85.3
10532
91.3
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 2. NUMBER OF REPORTED FLIGHT ARRIVALS AND PERCENTAGE ARRIVING ON TIME D/
BY CARRIER AND AIRPORT (REPORTABLE AIRPORTS ONLY)
ARRIVAL AIRPORT
EWR
IAD
IAH
JFK
LAS
LAX
LGA
NCI
# OF % ON
, OF % ON
, OF
% ON
1 OF
% ON
N OF
% ON
n OF
% ON
/ OF
% ON
# OF
% ON
CARRIER
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
AA
745
79.6
226
82.3
528
87.1
766
75.8
422
87.2
1553
81.8
1006
76.3
407
$0.8
AS
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
589
85.9
H/
H/
8
4801
76.1
141
83.0
5874
84.2
H/
299
86.0
769
71.5
1324
77.2
372
85.5
DL
675
75.7
205
83.4
48:
78.8
183
74.9
662
83.5
2734
74.6
1051
75.0
514
87.7
HP
⑉ 69.3
H/
102
88.2
:86
92.8
4119
87.1
849
82.4
24
83.3
204
88.2
ML
H/
H/
H/
H/
59
94.3
145
$6.6
247
82.2
182
94.4
NW
808 82.9
175 33.1
56
$2.8
28
39.3
238
84.0
677
80.5
664
84.0
319
93.4
PA
84
57.1
H/
116
83.6
1028
76.2
H/
288
80.6
1038
88.3
28
82.1
TW
159
83.5
125
77.6
H/
1220
71.7
147
77.6
380
84.5
472
75.6
275
80.7
UA
-
815
77.0
2089
82.9
173
80.9
265
75.1
324
78.4
3079
77.5
687
78.7
293
85.0
US
1705 80.9
237
91.1
265
73.0
357
74.5
455
79.3
1013
72.8
2328
80.8
871
87.1
MN
H/
H/
153
80.2
H/
1411
93.1
1193
88.3
H/
686
95.3
TOTAL
9684
77.3
4098
83.7
7548
83.9
4033
74.5
8138
86.8
13869
78.2
8841
79.8
4131
83.0
!
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 2. NUMBER OF REPORTED FLIGHT ARRIVALS AND PERCENTAGE ARRIVING ON TIME D/
BY CARRIER AND AIRPORT (REPORTABLE AIRPORTS ONLY)
ARRIVAL AIRPORT
NCO
MEN
MIA
MSP
ORD
PHL
PHX
PIT
w OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
a OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
w OF
CARRIER
% ON
n OF
% ON
# OF
% ON
ARR.
# OF
TIME
% ON
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
AA
472
80.3
204
85.8
1847
75.3
308
86.0
8585
85.7
563
81.3
345
84.1
293
82.6
AS
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
240
97.1
H/
8
460
75.0
H/
465
74.0
249
84.7
583
81.5
252
82.1
232
84.9
187
77.5
DL
2493
79.5
594 85.4
883
73.5
337
84.3
841
81.7
604
79.8
719
89.8
239
87.0
HP
H/
H/
H/
115
87.1
202
81.7
H/
5614
89.3
H/
ML
137
83.2
H/
60
85.0
230
84.3
H/
184
83.2
60
93.3
H/
NW
501
84.0
3733 $3.4
331
83.4
7346
89.7
805
87.8
403
87.3
348
92.2
174
91.4
PA
254
76.0
H/
1360
75.7
30
70.0
59
81.4
H/
H/
H/
TW
337
72.4
H/
236
70.3
199
77.9
310
85.8
222
63.5
234
76.5
206
82.5
UA
534
79.2
149
89.9
238
60.8
449
86.0
11502
86.9
461
79.0
343
83.1
113
76.1
us
1560
82.6
195
89.2
1149
78.4
176
80.7
532
81.6
4287
81.4
519
85.4
8966
84.9
$
H/
H/
N/
H/
H/
H/
3436
89.9
H/
TOTAL
6748
79.9
4875
91.8
6287
75.4
9440
88.4
23419
86.0
6976
80.9
12090
88.9
10178
84.7
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 2. NUMBER OF REPORTED FLIGHT ARRIVALS AND PERCENTAGE ARRIVING ON TIME D/
BY CARRIER AND AIRPORT (REPORTABLE AIRPORTS ONLY)
ARRIVAL AIRPORT
RDU
SAN
SEA
SFO
SLC
STL
TPA
# OF
% ON
1 OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
# OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
w OF
% ON
CARRIER
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
ARR.
TIME
AA
3628
$8.6
628
87.1
495
85.1
612
79.6
300
89.0
396
83.8
373
72.1
AS
H/
223
87.4
2271
90.3
626
81.9
H/
H/
H/
8
H/
232
78.0
392
75.8
518
70.8
138
83.3
86
90.7
413
86.4
DL
415 84.8
584
82.9
753
76.5
1031
74.0
4742
88.0
293
84.0
936 81.9
HP
H/
487
87.1
283
79.9
471
73.5
194
93.3
129
76.7
H/
ML
H/
H/
H/
H/
H/
167
82.0
118
89.8
NW
H!
191
89.0
732
83.5
479
81.6
88
87.5
357
88.5
390
87.4
PA
H/
H/
H/
143
76.2
29
62.1
H/
135
63.0
TW
114
85.1
113
60.2
198
74.2
303
59.4
88
68.6
7806
85.9
329
73.3
UA
108
83.3
614
80.0
1794
82.2
5021
75.4
282
72.7
304
81.3
207
76.3
us
931
88.5
629
83.5
333
80.5
1212
72.4
H/
222
83.8
1566
77.8
MN
H/
1323
89.4
H/
524
77.8
H/
1124
91.1
H/
TOTAL
4896
87.8
5022
84.9
7251
83.7
10940
75.2
5859
87.0
10884
86.1
4467
79.3
1
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 3. PERCENTAGE OF ALL CARRIERS' REPORTED FLIGHT OPERATIONS ARRIVING ON TIME D/
BY AIRPORT AND TIME OF DAY (REPORTABLE AIRPORTS ONLY.)
ARRIVAL AIRPORT
SCHEDULED
ARRIVAL TIME
ATL
BOS
BWI
CLT
DCA
DEN
DFW
DTW
EWR
IAD
IAH
JFK
LAS
LAX
LGA
ACI
600
-
659 AM
J/
79.3
89.7
97.8
J/
JI
96.4
94.4
79.6
80.8
96.8
77.8
100.0
95.8
J/
J/
700
-
759 AM
90.5
$3.4
78.4
88.6
90.8
88.9
96.0
J/
76.9
100.0
97.7
74.1
89.2
87.6
98.6
100.0
800
-
859 AM
94.2
92.6
89.5
78.8
89.5
87.6
94.2
97.6
87.8
91.6
93.2
97.3
95.2
87.8
88.2
95.0
900
-
959 AM
88.2
91.0
94.2
78.8
90.8
82.7
88.8
91.9
86.1
91.9
86.9
100.0
91.2
77.5
90.9
94.8
1000
-
1059 AM
86.5
$5.0
84.2
87.5
$3.3
76.2
93.6
91.1
89.8
84.4
92.8
90.6
88.1
82.8
87.1
94.4
1100
-
1159 AM
83.1
90.0
88.7
84.9
$0.5
85.8
85.9
95.9
91.4
93.3
88.6
J/
93.7
77.9
89.3
$6.3
1200
-
1259 PM
83.3
89.0
94.4
92.6
91.8
85.8
89.4
95.8
86.1
91.1
87.2
96.8
82.2
77.6
91.2
91.1
100
-
159 PM
91.1
93.5
90.6
89.2
91.9
88.9
84.3
95.8
89.3
91.6
74.2
90.9
84.7
79.4
85.9
89.0
200
-
259 PM
84.1
88.6
92.8
88.6
86.4
85.1
83.6
94.9
82.1
87.7
82.9
88.9
82.8
79.5
85.7
89.5
300
,
359 PM
74.0
88.2
83.0
86.0
87.9
85.4
87.9
92.2
79.9
85.9
90.7
72.8
83.8
83.2
79.7
$0.3
400
-
459 PM
83.8
78.6
79.2
80.0
79.5
80.8
82.1
93.8
69.7
82.9
84.5
68.7
85.0
77.8
70.7
88.9
500
-
559 PM
75.6
74.5
79.8
73.4
78.5
75.9
82.4
90.4
66.8
81.3
80.3
59.4
87.3
86.6
71.8
90.1
600
-
659 PM
69.4
76.7
77.4
81.7
78.9
79.1
74.2
89.2
69.0
79.7
81.2
72.3
87.5
77.4
71.7
87.2
700
-
759 PM
74.6
70.9
75.6
79.5
78.4
74.9
79.7
85.6
61.0
72.5
76.5
76.3
91.2
74.3
70.4
79.6
800 -
859 PM
80.8
75.1
76.4
73.0
76.5
65.8
77.6
88.8
69.8
68.2
69.7
79.0
87.5
71.8
73.5
87.8
900 -
959 PM
75.4
71.8
69.2
75.6
75.2
75.0
80.4
85.2
71.1
72.5
78.7
82.7
85.2
63.2
88.8
78.9
1000
-
1059 PM
79.8
80.9
77.7
79.0
78.2
76.6
84.0
80.7
72.9
86.1
74.2
72.8
81.6
73.9
72.3
84.8
1100
-
559 AM
76.6
78.0
84.5
80.0
82.1
91.9
90.7
80.1
79.8
80.5
79.2
84.4
85.0
86.3
77.3
91.1
TOTAL.
ALL ARRIVALS,
BY AIRPORT
79.8
82.7
83.4
82.6
84.3
81.3
85.3
91.3
77.3
83.7
83.9
74.5
86.8
78.2
79.8
89.0
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 3. PERCENTAGE OF ALL CARRIERS' REPORTED FLIGHT OPERATIONS ARRIVING ON TIME D/
BY AIRPORT AND TIME OF DAY (REPORTABLE APRPORTS ONLY)
ARRIVAL AIRPORT
SCHEDULED
ARRIVAL TIME
NCO
NEM
MIA
MSP
ORD
PHL
PHX
PIT
RDU
SAN
SEA
SFO
SLC
STL
TPA
TOTAL
600
-
659 AM
63.3
J/
88.4
85.6
94.3
86.9
97.9
91.2
J/
70.0
88.5
J/
J/
90.9
77.4
88.1
700
-
759 AM
97.7
97.1
96.2
95.8
94.5
83.9
95.2
93.7
100.0
90.9
96.6
94.2
63.9
98.4
96.3
92.4
800
-
859 AM
95.2
96.4
94.5
93.8
91.6
84.6
94.6
89.7
92.9
91.2
94.0
83.7
93.7
84.3
95.5
91.4
900
-
959 AM
92.4
91.8
94.8
95.8
91.5
87.9
91.4
80.7
94.5
91.9
96.9
84.0
86.7
90.9
93.9
88.2
1000
-
1059 AM
89.0
87.4
86.8
88.6
90.1
90.2
88.9
82.0
75.9
86.3
93.3
70.6
92.9
87.4
88.6
87.9
1100
-
1159 AM
85.1
88.3
78.5
93.4
92.7
95.2
90.8
92.7
83.9
92.4
76.4
67.1
91.5
86.9
86.5
86.8
1200
-
1259 PM
90.4
97.9
85.2
91.5
89.9
90.3
93.9
94.4
96.4
85.3
80.6
58.3
92.9
85.1
88.5
86.8
100
-
159 PM
90.7
95.6
81.3
87.7
92.1
86.6
88.1
90.8
92.3
80.3
79.8
70.0
89.0
90.0
83.3
87.8
200
-
259 PM
76.1
94.8
73.6
94.7
91.1
83.3
87.0
92.4
91.8
86.2
82.7
73.1
92.2
88.3
71.9
85.7
300
-
359 PM
74.0
88.9
72.7
90.2
84.4
84.3
89.8
87.8
95.6
81.2
81.7
81.2
87.6
90.9
78.1
83.9
400
-
459 PM
76.1
96.7
73.4
88.7
85.3
75.4
86.8
81.7
91.1
84.7
87.0
84.6
74.7
82.7
79.6
79.7
500
-
559 PM
72.0
86.8
64.9
86.6
80.1
73.2
83.4
80.1
83.9
85.4
84.0
80.8
88.1
82.2
77.9
79.3
800
-
€59 PM
71.5
88.7
60.8
84.9
76.4
76.3
88.0
85.8
80.1
89.5
88.9
82.9
91.3
83.6
65.3
79.7
700
759 PM
72.6
83.4
65.9
91.3
75.6
68.7
84.9
76.8
82.2
80.7
83.5
78.1
87.1
84.2
62.3
78.0
800
-
859 PM
60.0
71.2
61.7
81.2
75.8
54.2
82.6
75.7
76.3
80.4
78.6
72.2
76.5
84.4
63.1
74.9
900
-
959 PM
71.7
82.5
67.7
84.0
79.0
72.8
87.5
79.5
76.0
84.9
83.2
70.5
62.1
83.8
73.7
76.1
1000
-
1059 PM
81.9
77.4
72.1
79.6
75.3
80.7
86.4
77.3
76.5
80.7
84.2
76.6
100.0
80.0
74.6
78.4
1100
-
559 AM
81.9
96.4
77.0
80.7
90.0
88.7
82.6
87.0
82.1
80.5
82.1
84.5
82.2
82.2
73.7
83.8
TOTAL
ALL ARRIVALS,
BY AIRPORT
79.9
91.8
75.4
88.4
86.0
80.9
88.9
84.7
87.8
84.9
83.7
75.2
87.0
86.1
79.3
83.4
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 4. PERCENTAGE OF ALL CARRIERS' REPORTED FLIGHT OPERATIONS DEPARTING ON TIME E/
BY AIRPORT AND TIME OF DAY (REPORTABLE AIRPORTS ONLY)
DEPARTURE AIRPORT
SCHEDULED
DEPARTURE TIME
ATL
BOS
BWI
CLT
DCA
DEN
DFW
DTW
EWR
IAD
IAH
JFK
LAS
LAX
LGA
MCI
600
-
659 AM
93.9
96.4
100.0
98.8
97.8
98.1
96.6
95.8
95.4
97.8
98.3
96.7
97.9
95.3
96.9
99.0
700
-
759 AM
95.3
92.8
97.3
96.5
95.0
95.5
98.3
95.5
93.7
98.7
95.6
92.8
96.3
94.6
93.9
98.9
800 -
859 AM
95.6
95.6
95.3
91.1
94.8
93.6
96.6
98.5
88.0
98.4
94.2
88.9
95.4
90.0
93.8
96.9
900
-
959 AM
91.5
93.6
92.8
87.6
94.2
92.4
95.4
94.8
87.5
92.2
92.6
94.2
91.2
84.4
92.7
94.9
1000
- 1059 AM
92.6
94.3
96.3
94.7
96.8
88.7
90.4
94.0
89.8
91.7
91.0
94.2
84.0
76.4
89.9
95.2
1100
-
1159 AM
89.3
97.1
J/
o
94.2
89.0
94.0
95.1
94.3
88.3
83.1
91.9
91.8
78.7
90.3
98.9
1200
-
1259 PM
91.9
92.3
91.9
9.6
91.9
89.2
91.8
94.0
94.6
93.8
92.4
93.1
93.0
79.2
92.5
95.3
100
-
159 PM
89.4
91.1
98.3
92.5
94.3
90.1
90.0
95.9
90.1
92.6
87.2
95.5
87.4
85.4
92.2
88.7
200
-
259 PM
89.0
93.4
92.1
90.3
91.0
86.8
91.0
91.1
88.5
88.0
85.1
88.6
87.2
82.7
87.6
89.2
300
-
359 PM
87.2
85.0
87.6
85.1
84.9
87.2
89.3
88.5
80.6
86.9
89.3
83.1
90.5
85.3
85.8
91.9
400
-
459 PM
71.3
86.1
85.0
82.9
83.8
81.7
87.9
89.8
81.3
90.5
89.5
70.1
86.7
87.4
84.5
92.8
500
-
559 PM
79.4
76.5
74.3
74.0
83.2
82.5
87.0
89.3
66.4
70.6
79.7
66.5
84.2
83.5
78.9
92.4
600
-
659 PM
74.3
78.1
94.4
74.8
81.1
79.9
84.0
90.1
70.6
82.9
83.2
47.8
86.5
86.1
72.7
92.2
700
-
759 PM
84.2
75.3
79.6
83.1
78.8
80.1
81.8
88.3
65.6
89.5
87.4
74.8
82.9
83.3
75.9
84.1
800 -
859 PM
81.4
76.6
82.6
84.1
80.9
75.9
84.6
83.5
67.8
77.0
80.6
80.0
86.7
82.3
74.0
92.6
900 -
959 PM
95.5
90.4
82.2
77.9
79.9
J/
83.9
83.8
69.6
73.9
95.8
86.1
92.5
81.6
77.6
100.0
1000
-
1059 PM
79.5
75.9
64.4
J/
J/
96.7
86.3
J/
78.9
J/
83.7
78.8
89.8
85.9
70.9
72.2
1100
-
559 AM
82.3
80.6
100.0
100.0
J/
100.0
90.5
96.2
100.0
88.5
86.4
59.3
85.3
92.4
J/
80.6
TOTAL
ALL DEPARTURES,
BY AIRPORT
86.0
88.2
88.8
86.5
89.1
86.3
90.2
91.5
83.0
87.6
87.6
74.7
88.7
85.5
86.7
93.3
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 4. PERCENTAGE OF ALL CARRIERS' REPORTED FLIGHT OPERATIONS DEPARTING ON TIME E/
BY AIRPORT AND TIME OF DAY (REPORTABLE AIRPORTS ONLY)
DEPARTURE AIRPORT
SCHEDULED
DEPARTURE TIME
MCO
MEM
MIA
MSP
ORD
PHL
PHX
PIT
RDU
SAN
SEA
SFO
SI.C
STL
TPA
TOTAL
600
-
659 AM
89.8
100.0
96.5
04.5
96.2
99.0
96.9
97.5
96.4
96.4
95.2
95.6
93.1
88.1
95.6
96.2
700
759 AM
96.6
99.1
95.1
93.0
94.4
95.9
94.6
94.1
97.0
95.5
90.1
96.5
93.5
95.1
95.7
95.0
800
859 AM
94.4
94.2
94.9
94.5
96.1
92.8
90.6
93.3
96.3
96.8
90.6
90.6
93.6
95.7
96.0
93.6
$00
959 AM
94.4
95.8
95.5
93.7
93.4
89.9
91.0
90.7
95.1
86.2
91.2
91.6
91.3
92.1
96.2
92.3
1000
1059 AM
95.3
90.3
94.0
94.9
92.5
89.6
87.5
92.3
94.5
76.6
90.5
88.3
90.7
91.8
95.0
90.6
1100
1159 AM
94.0
100.0
90.1
92.0
93.8
100.0
88.9
90.0
100.0
84.0
90.9
76.0
90.2
92.7
91.6
90.2
1200
1259 PM
88.4
91.7
90.1
91.5
92.6
81.5
89.5
87.1
100.0
88.0
80.4
75.4
92.5
87.3
92.4
89.3
100
-
159 PM
3.2
93.0
87.3
88.5
92.8
90.5
91.1
91.4
94.3
89.1
78.8
70.5
92.8
90.3
91.8
89.1
200
-
259 PM
82.1
95.2
82.2
92.0
91.4
83.1
82.8
91.4
91.7
86.6
82.7
75.1
93.7
92.9
80.9
88.6
300
-
359 PM
82.7
88.5
78.8
94.2
88.5
85.2
84.8
83.3
89.7
92.6
83.1
80.4
96.2
90.5
88.8
87.0
400
-
459 PM
90.0
98.3
82.4
94.5
87.1
80.1
87.3
83.6
95.6
81.4
91.0
83.7
88.9
89.1
95.1
84.8
500
.
559 PM
82.0
92.2
82.6
88.2
83.9
81.0
81.2
80.5
89.8
84.8
94.0
88.3
92.3
89.6
88.2
81.6
600
652 PM
81.3
95.2
81.4
85.4
81.1
83.9
83.4
79.8
77.2
86.0
83.9
84.5
93.3
84.5
90.5
81.0
700
759 PM
81.0
89.1
80.5
86.0
76.4
77.9
85.3
89.1
82.0
84.2
89.6
79.9
89.4
89.2
82.6
82.0
800
-
859 PM
76.6
86.9
89.3
87.6
80.3
80.1
84.7
79.3
84.3
79.8
77.9
74.1
J/
86.4
76.9
81.6
900
$59 PM
71.2
J/
78.9
87.0
74.1
J/
83.3
77.1
88.6
91.4
73.1
76.9
77.3
85.2
90.6
79.9
1000
-
1059 PM
75.9
93.1
J/
88.0
81.6
J/
85.7
91.3
J/
94.9
91.6
87.3
96 3
92.2
86.4
84.9
1100
-
559 AM
93.5
J/
69.0
JI
91.4
100.0
94.7
J/
83.3
98.9
92.1
95.7
91.1
J/
98.2
89.6
TOTAL
ALL DEPARTURES
BY AIRPORT
87.3
92.8
87.5
90.4
88.9
86.9
88.3
86.4
90.9
88.6
87.4
83.6
89.8
89.8
91.2
87.8
DEPARTURES; DIVERTED FLIGHTS ARE ON TIME OR LATE, DEPENDING ON ACTUAL DEPARTURE TIME.
NOTE: DEPARTURES LESS THAN 15 MINUTES AFTER SCHEDULED DEPARTURE TIME ARE CONSIDERED ON TIME: CANCELLED FLIGHTS COUNT AS LATE
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 5. LIST OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED FLIGHTS I/ ARRIVING LATE BOX OF THE TIME OR MORE
NUMBER OF
PERCENTAGE. OF FLIGHT
FLIGHT
ORIGIN-DESTIN.
SCHEDULED
OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS ARRIVING
NO. OF MIN. LATE
CARRIER
NUMBER
AIRPORTS
DEPARTURE TIME
REPORTED
15 MINUTES LATE OR MORE D/
AVERAGE MEDIAN
PA
787
BOL-MIA
0745
17
100.00
PA
784
MIA-BOL
1855
17
100.00
TW
733
BWI-SFO
1755
30
96.67
101
101
TW
108
STL-PHL
1055
30
03.33
33
29
TW
721
STL-LAX
1837
26
92.31
49
46
DL
57
LAX-ANC
1050
23
86.90
20
20
DL
146
LAX-ATL
1220
31
83.87
27
27
US
151
SFO-LAX
1000
31
83.87
22
20
TW
805
JFK-HOU
1803
30
83.33
45
35
US
151
LAX-TPA
1155
30
83.33
28
24
TW
881
JFK-MSY
1810
29
82.76
55
41
DL
1088
DFW-ATL
1300
31
80.65
31
24
UA
378
SFO-MIA
1335
31
80.65
33
28
DL
100
LAX-ATL
0840
30
80.00
27
27
DL
1000
LAX-SFO
1000
30
80.00
33
37
UA
845
LAX-SFO
1100
30
80.00
30
20
us
777
CHS-CLT
1615
25
80.00
23
20
JULY 1991
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
TABLE 6. NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED FLIGHTS I/
ARRIVING LATE 70% OF THE TIME OR MORE
NUMBER OF
REGULARLY SCHEDULED FLIGHTS
REGULARLY SCHEDULED FLIGHTS
LATE 70% OF THE TIME OR MORE D/
FOR WHICH
CARRIER
CARRIER REPORTED DATA
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
PAN AMERICAN
251
6
2.4
TWA
727
12
1.7
DELTA
2480
19
0.8
CONTINENTAL
1299
9
0.7
USAIR
2558
12
0.5
MIDWAY AIRLINES
240
1
0.4
ALASKA
319
1
0.3
AMERICA WEST
712
2
0.3
UNITED
1931
6
0.3
AMERICAN
2180
2
0.1
SOUTHMEST
1173
1
0.1
NORTHWEST
1387
0.0
TOTAL
15257
71
0.5
FOOTNOTES FOR TABLES 1 THROUGH 6 (FLIGHT DELAYS)
A
See Appendix for list of carrier codes.
B
See Appendix for list of 31 airports for which data must be reported. Data include all reported domestic flight
operations to the 31 reportable airports (e.g., Albany to Atlanta, Toledo to Boston).
C
All domestic airports for which carrier reported data. Data include all reported domestic flight operations to the 31
reportable airports and from those aiprorts to other destinations (e.g., Albany to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Albany): in
addition, for carriers that reported data for their entire domestic systems, the data also include all reported domestic
flight operations between non-required airports (e.g., Albany to Toledo).
D
"On time" means an arrival less than 15 minutes after scheduled arrival time; cancelled and diverted flights are not
considered on-time arrivals.
E
"On time" means a departure less than 15 minutes after scheduled departure time; cancelled flights are not considered
on-time departures; diverted flights may be on time or late departures, depending on actual departure time.
F
Incomplete data; percentage based on operations reported.
G
Carrier did not report useable data.
H
Carrier did not serve airport.
I
Regularly scheduled flights are those for which the carrier reported at least 15 operations for the month.
J
Blanks in any time interval in Tables 3. and 4 indicate no arrival operations (Table 3) or departure operations (Table
4) for domestic flights of the reporting carriers during that time period. Other carriers, including code-sharing
partners, may operate during those periods.
S
Carrier reported data for entire domestic system.
V
Carrier reported data voluntarily.
APPENDIX
NOTE: The Department of Transportation has screened the reporting carriers' data for completeness and
verified all arithmetic data elements computed by the carriers (e.g., length of delay). Individual flight
operations records with incorrect calculations, erroneous city-pairs, or missing data elements were
rejected and excluded from the data base; such rejected records accounted for less than 0.01% of the flight
operations records submitted. Any errors in the data base with respect to basic flight data -- non-
computed data elements such as flight numbers, scheduled and actual arrival/departure times, days of
operation -- are the responsibility of the reporting carrier.
Air Carriers Required to Report Data
Airports Covered by the Rule
to DOT and to CRS Vendors
Atlanta. Hartsfield
ATL
AS
Alaska Airlines
Baltimore. Balt-Wash International BWI
AA
American Airlines
Boston. Logan International
BOS
HP
America West Airlines
Charlotte. Douglas
CLT
CO
Continental Airlines
Chicago. O'Hare
ORD
DL
Delta Air Lines
Dallas-Fort Worth International
DFW
ML
Midway Airlines
Denver. Stapleton International
DEN
NW
Northwest Airlines
Detroit. Metro Wayne County
DTW
PA
Pan American World Airways
Houston Intercontinental
IAH
WN
Southwest Airlines
Kansas City International
MCI
TW
Trans World Airlines
Las Vegas. McCarran International
LAS
US
USAir
Los Angeles International
LAX
UA
United
Memphis International
MEM
Miami International
MIA
Minneapolis-St. Paul International
MSP
Newark International
EWR
New York. JFK International
JFK
New York. LaGuardia
LGA
Orlando International
MCO
Philadelphia International
PHL
Phoenix. Sky Harbor International
PHX
Pittsburgh. Greater International
PIT
Raleigh-Durham International
ROU
St. Louis. Lambert
STL
Salt Lake City International
SLC
San Diego Intl. Lindbergh Field
SAN
San Francisco International
SPO
Seattle-Tacoma International
SEA
Tampa International
TPA
Washington. Dulles International
IAD
Washington. National.
DCA
MISHANDLED BAGGAGE
This section gives the rate of mishandled-baggage reports per 1,000 passengers by carrier and
for the industry. The rate is based on the total number of reports each carrier received from
passengers concerning lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered baggage. Each carrier uses a
different system to track bag 10 problems and thus variations exist in what is reported to
DOT. Some carriers have m.° F comprehensive reporting systems than others. In order to
establish a uniform system from which useful comparisons can be made, reports filed with
carriers about courtesy tracers, voluntary separations, carry-on baggage and double counts are
not included in calculating the rate of complaint reports. This allows the data for each carrier to
be listed in rank order, based on the net number of reports filed per 1,000 passengers. Like the
data on flight delays in the previous section, these baggage statistics are filed with DOT by the
12 largest U.S. airlines on a monthly basis as required by 14 C.F.R. 234. The report is based on
each carrier's systemwide domestic passenger service.
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
JULY
MISHANDLED BAGGAGE REPORTS
FILED BY PASSENGERS
JULY
JULY
1991
1990
NET NO. OF
REPORTS
NET NO. OF
REPORTS
JULY '91
BAGGAGE
PER 1,000
BAGGAGE
RANK
PER 1,000
U.S. AIRLINES
REPORTS
PASSENGERS
PASSENGERS
REPORTS
PASSENGERS
PASSENGERS
1
Midway
1,070
393,282
2.72
N.A.
2
American
27,583
6,785,896
4.06
35,811
6,224,380
5.75
3
Southwest
9,476
2,224,904
4.26
8,507
2,050,598
4.15
4
Northwest
16,130
3,446,827
4.68
22,745
3,435,309
6.62
5
America West
7,889
1,612,950
4.89
10,360
1,340,084
7.73
6
Pan Am
3,496
711,941
4.91
7
4,778
761,094
6.28
USAir
26,006
4,996,348
5.21
33,975
5,435,454
6.25
8
Continental
18,261
3,507,665
5.21
18,877
3,356,709
5.62
9
United
31,511
5,512,413
5.72
32,231
10
5,153,259
6.25
Trans World
10,748
1,737,117
6.19
16,979
2,018,614
8.41
11
Alaska
3,762
600,223
6.27
3,766
554,269
6.79
12
Delta
35,184
5,042,843
6.98
30,524
5,635,072
5.42
Total
191,116
36,572,409
5.23
218,553
35,964,842
6.08
NOTE: Passengers Enplaned --For the domestic system only.
Net No. of Reports -- For the domestic system only. These are passenger reports of mishandled baggage, including those that did not subsequently
result in claims for compensation. Some carriers have more comprehensive reporting systems than others. To allow fair comparison, reports
about CO: rtesy tracers, voluntary separations, carry-on baggage, and double counts have been deducted from the total baggage reports submitted
by those carriers offering such services.
OVERSALES
This section furnishes data on the number of passengers who hold confirmed reservations and are denied
boarding ("bumped") from a flight because it is oversold. These figures include only passengers whose oversold
flight departs without them; they do not include passengers affected by cancelled, delayed or diverted flights.
The report includes U.S. airlines that have revenues over $100 million per year (see footnote on chart for
details). It provides system data for scheduled passenger service on domestic flights and data on International
flight segments that originate in the United States. Information is displayed for the latest available quarter
requirement is found in 14 C.F.R. 250.10.
and for the year to date, for the current period and for the same period in the previous year. The reporting
These tables give information by carrier on the number of passengers bumped involuntarily and on the number
who voluntarily gave up their seat on an oversold flight in exchange for compensation. Also shown is the rate
of involuntary denied boardings per 10,000 passengers. This rate determines the order in which carriers are
listed; the airline with the lowest rate appears first. The number and rate of Involuntary denied boardings
include both passengers who received denied boarding compensation and passengers who did not quality for
compensation because of one of the exceptions in the oversales rule. There are three exceptions: 1) passenger
accommodated on another flight scheduled to arrive within one hour of the original flight; 2) passenger fails to
comply with ticketing, check-in or reconfirmation procedures; and 3) aircraft of smaller capacity is
substituted. Totals appear at the end of each table.
The enplanement figures that are used to calculate the Involuntary denied boarding rate do not Include "shuttle"
service on which reservations are not offered, nor do they include inbound international service, since the rule
does not apply to these flights.
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PASSENGERS DENIED BOARDING
BY MAJOR/NATIONAL U.S. AIRLINES'
Ranked by Involuntary Denied Boardings per 10,000 Passengers
APRIL through JUNE 1991
1991
1990
APR-JUNE 1991
U.S. AIRLINES
DENIED
BOARDINGS (DB's)
PASSENGERS
INVOLUNTARY DB'S
DENIED
BOARDINGS (DB's)
PASSENGERS
INVOLUNTARY DO'S
RANK
VOLUNTARY
INVOLUNTARY
BOARDED
PER 10,000 PSGRS
VOLUNTARY
INVOLUNTARY
BOARDED
PER 10,000 PSGRS
MAJORS
1
American
22,159
330
20,659,855
0.16
26,066
89
18,845,734
0.05
2
Della
12,196
590
18,532,619
0.32
8,503
739
16,773,741
0.44
3
United
23,255
641
15,141,516
0.42
20,302
350
13,495,325
0.26
4
Northwest
14,670
550
9,348,283
0.59
12,876
735
9,235,853
0.80
5
USAN
11,681
896
14,065,420
0.64
22,978
2,461
15,676,410
1.57
6
Continental
16,975
1,368
9,343,753
1.48
12,126
1,365
8,661,415
1.58
7
America Weat
12,376
717
4,501,134
1.59
3,938
1,805
3,696,426
4.88
8
Pan Am
3,927
615
2,463,035
2.50
3,907
642
2,962,351
2.17
9
T W A
6,767
1,809
4,755,477
3.80
5,328
2,117
5,869,033
3.61
10
Southwest
8,380
2,199
5,456,290
4.03
6,138
2,405
5,204,140
4.62
TOTAL MAJORS
132,386
9,715
104,267,382
0.93
122,162
12,708
100,420,428
1.27
NATIONALS
1
We stair
622
o
796,458
0.00
0
1,009
580,204
17.39
2
American Trans AW
o
o
93,756
0.00
0
o
48,584
0.00
3
Tower
o
o
73,136
0.00
o
o
49,256
0.00
4
Air Wisconsin
327
4
817,372
0.06
253
5
574,936
0.09
5
Midweet Express
34
2
190,236
0.11
54
11
206,458
0.53
6
Herizon
1
2
58,450
0.34
1
2
51,391
0.39
7
Hawallan
26
58
784,012
0.74
12
225
1,053,012
2.14
0
Alaoka
1,375
198
1,496,102
1.32
2,456
416
1,316,894
3.16
9
Midway
3,552
294
1,319,604
2.23
1,744
247
1,734,722
1.42
10
Markeir
59
35
117,769
2.97
71
38
129,331
2.94
11
Aloha
2
939
1,193,784
7.87
6
719
1,095,456
6.58
TOTAL NATIONALS
5,996
593
5,547,125
1.07
4,591
1,953
5,744,786
3.40
GRAND TOTAL
138,382
10,308
109,814,507
0.94
126,753
14,681
106,185,214
1.38
Airlines are grouped based on annual operating revenues. Airlines are classified as Majors If they exceed $1,000,000,000 operating revenue.
Nationals are airlines with operating revenues from $100,000,000 through $1,000,000,000.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PASSENGERS DENIED BOARDING
BY MAJOR/NATIONAL U.S. AIRLINES*
Ranked by Involuntary Denied Boardings per 10,000 Passengers
JANUARY through JUNE 1991
1991
1990
JAN-JUN 1991
U.S. AIRLINES
DENIED
BOARDINGS (DG's)
PASSENGERS
INVOLUNTARY DB'S
DENIED
BOARDINGS (DB'e)
PASSENGERS
INVOLUNTARY DB'S
RANK
VOLUNTARY
INVOLUNTARY
BOARDED
PER 10,000 PSGRS
VOLUNTARY
INVOLUNTARY
BOARDED
PER 10,000 PSGRS
MAJORS
1
American
48,300
895
37,458,376
0.24
55,299
297
36,046,983
0.08
2
Della
27,790
1,586
35,144,412
0.45
23,310
1,928
33,544,947
0.57
3
USAK
25,887
1,720
27,024,213
0.64
58,537
5,808
29,897,919
1.94
4
Northwest
25,174
1,135
17,347,372
0.65
27,691
1,783
17,856,329
1.00
5
United
38,812
1,839
27,441,846
0.67
45,418
937
26,015,522
0.26
6
Continental
29,596
2,719
17,633,772
1.54
25,394
2.774
16,958,749
1.84
7
America Weet
27,147
2,047
8,671,532
2.36
11,062
6,321
7,256,359
8.71
8
Pan Am
7,662
1,229
4,660,837
2.64
8,955
1,447
5,539,268
2.61
9
Southweet
15,052
3,864
10,690,853
3.61
15,960
5,589
9,633,328
5.80
10
TWA
14,668
3,598
9,112,185
3.95
10,536
3,622
11,002,677
3.29
TOTAL MAJORS
259,886
20,633
195,185,398
1.06
282,160
30,504
193,752,081
1.57
NATIONALS
1
Westelr
1,205
o
1,513,121
0.00
0
2,371
1,097,053
21.61
2
American Trans Air
0
o
178,429
0.00
o
0
92,937
0.00
3
Tower
o
o
122,968
0.00
0
0
102,455
0.00
4
Midweet Express
73
2
368,263
0.05
99
18
369,613
0.49
5
Air Wisconsin
535
7
1,091,242
0.06
454
13
1,076,608
0.12
6
Horizen
7
4
107,993
0.37
2
2
94,619
0.21
7
Hawaiian
26
58
784,012
0.74
26
496
2,097,292
2.36
8
Alaska
5,253
549
2,763,992
1.99
4,737
641
2,477,181
2.59
9
Markeir
137
70
202,734
3.45
150
83
219,368
3.78
10
Midway
8,637
1,049
2,738,334
3.83
6,472
664
3,389,895
1.96
11
Aloha
13
1,411
2,284,349
6.18
15
1,140
2,212,813
5.15
TOTAL NATIONALS
15,873
1,739
9,871,068
1.76
11,940
4,288
11,017,001
3.89
GRAND TOTAL
275,759
22,372
205,056,486
1.09
294,100
34,792
204,769,082
1.70
Airlines are grouped based on annual operating revenues. Airlines are classified as Majors W they exceed $1,000,000,000 operating revenue.
Nationals are airlines with operating revenues from $100,000,000 through $1,000,000,000.
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
This section summarizes aviation consumer complaints filed with the Department in writing, by telephone or In
person. It does not Include safety complaints, which are handled by the Federal Aviation Administration. An
explanation of each section of the report appears below:
Summary. Page 1 gives the total number of complaints, and also breaks down complaints by industry
groups (U.S. airlines, tour operators, etc.). As with most other sections of the report, figures for the current
month are compared to the same month in the previous year.
Complaint Categories. Page 2 ranks the categories of complaints (baggage, refunds, etc.). A
detailed explanation of each category appears at the end of the Consumer Complaint section of the report.
U.S. Airlines. Page 3 shows the number of complaints against individual U.S. airlines, listed
alphabetically and broken down by complaint category.
Incident Date. The next page shows the number of complaints against individual U.S. airlines, listed
alphabetically and broken down by the time periods in which the incidents occurred.
Companies Other Than U.S. Airlines. The next several pages break down complaints by
complaint category for foreign airlines; tour operators, cargo companies, etc.
Major/National Rankings: The last page ranks the largest U.S. airlines, the Majors and Nationals,
according to the rate of complaints per 100,000 passengers. This ranking takes into account airline size when
identifying the Major and National carriers against whom the most complaints have been filed.
PAGE 1
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
COMPLAINT CATEGORIES
8
JULY 1991
JULY 1990
RANKING
SUB
COMPLAINTS**
CATEGORY
SUB
RANKING
COMPLAINTS.
CATEGORY
FLIGHT PROBLEMS
DELAYS
1
202
CANCELLATIONS
1
81
235
MISCONNECTIONS
62
87
29
75
BAGGAGE
50
128
REFUNDS
2
136
R
92
TICKETING/BOARDING
4
68
DISABLED
4
87
3
17
72
CUSTOMER SERVICE
18
5
78
FARES
5
65
6
42
OTHER
6
38
FREQUENT FLYER
7
40
8
22
21
OVERSALES
11
8
36
ADVERTISING
7
32
9
5
SMOKING
9
6
10
4
TOURS
11
3
11
4
CREDIT
10
6
12
1
12
1
COMPLAINT TOTAL
719
683
.
A DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE COMPLAINT CATEGORIES IS ATTACHED.
: INCLUDES FIGURES FOR SUB-CATEGORIES.
PAGE 2
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
COMPLAINTS AGAINST U.S. AIRLINES
BY COMPLAINT CATEGORY
JULY 1991
U.S. AIRLINES
FLIGHT
OVER-
TICKETING/
ALPHABETICAL
PROBLEMS
CUSTOMER
SALES
ADVER-
BOARDING
FARES
REFUNDS
BAGGAGE
SERVICE
SMOKING
TISING CREDIT
TOURS
OTHER
TOTAL
AMERICA WEST AIRLINES
6
2
4
1
AMERICAN AIRLINES
6
3
33
2
o
5
1
18
o
0
11
1
4
28
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES
14
16
17
0
3
0
7
0
1
4
7
6
109
DELTA AIR LINES
8
6
12
0
1
0
5
0
0
2
1
7
50
EASTERN AIR LINES
5
9
o
0
0
0
o
o
1
o
1
16
43
0
0
o
1
o
0
2
19
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES
6
o
1
MIDWAY AIRLINES
o
0
4
2
2
0
o
0
o
1
o
0
NORTHWEST AIRLINES
o
1
13
1
17
0
0
2
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
6
PAN AM EXPRESS
2
1
3
o
1
1
o
o
o
PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS
o
1
1
29
2
8
o
0
4
0
o
2
0
2
0
4
5
8
1
o
o
o
o
1
30
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
2
o
2
TRANS WORLD AIRLINES
0
1
1
28
3
2
o
o
7
0
o
6
0
9
UNITED AIRLINES
13
20
33
10
2
2
0
15
0
0
9
9
97
USAIR
8
21
12
17
3
o
4
2
o
o
0
7
114
OTHER U.S. AIRLINES
0
4
14
2
4
0
0
5
0
0
1
o
3
25
7
5
0
0
0
0
2
41
JULY
1991
191
29
72
% OF TOTAL COMPLAINTS
37
71
98
31.0
76
4.7
2
11.7
5
1
2
6.0
32
616
11.5
15.9
12.3
0.3
0.8
0.2
0.3
5.2
JULY
1990
208
24
58
% OF TOTAL COMPLAINTS
32
42
38.4
105
51
4.4
2
10.3
5
1
1
5.9
15
542
7.7
19.4
9.4
0.4
0.9
0.2
0.2
2.8
AIRLINES COMPLAINTS ARE LISTED INDIVIDUALLY IF DOT RECEIVED 5 OR MORE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THEM DURING THE
AGAINST U.S. AIRLINES ACCOUNTING FOR FEWER COMPLAINTS THAN THAT ARE INCLUDED UNDER 'OTHER REPORTING U.S. AIRLINES. PERIOD.
PAGE 3
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
COMPLAINTS AGAINST U.S. AIRLINES,
BY INCIDENT DATE
JULY 1991
INCI-
UN-
COMPS
INCI-
INCI-
DENTS
KNOWN
RECD
DENTS
DENTS
IN ALL
INCI-
U.S. AIRLINES
IN
IN
IN
PRIOR
DENT
ALPHABETICAL
JUL
JUL
PERCENT
JUN
PERCENT
MONTHS
PERCENT
DATE
PERCENT
AMERICA WEST AIRLINES
26
3
11.54
6
23.08
15
57.69
2
7.69
AMERICAN AIRLINES
109
30
27.52
36
33.03
37
33.94
6
5.50
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES
50
12
24.00
23
46.00
12
24.00
3
6.00
DELTA AIR LINES
43
7
16.28
17
39.53
14
32.56
5
11.63
EASTERN AIR LINES
19
1
5.26
o
0.00
7
36.84
11
57.89
HAWAIIAN AIRLINES
13
1
7.69
8
61.54
4
30.77
0
0.00
MIDWAY AIRLINES
6
3
50.00
1
16.67
2
33.33
0
0.00
NORTHWEST AIRLINES
29
12
41.38
10
34.48
3
10.34
4
13.79
PAN AM EXPRESS
5
3
60.00
2
40.00
0
0.00
0
PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAY
0.00
30
4
13.33
8
26.67
13
43.33
5
16.87
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
9
4
44.44
o
0.00
5
55.58
0
0.00
TRANS WORLD AIRLINES
97
25
25.77
22
22.68
44
45.36
8
6.19
UNITED AIRLINES
114
33
28.95
38
33.33
30
26.32
13
USAIR
11.40
25
9
36.00
10
40.00
5
20.00
1
4.00
OTHER U.S. AIRLINES
41
21
51.22
12
29.27
6
14.63
2
4.88
TOTALS
616
168
27.27
193
31.33
197
31.98
58
9.42
PRIOR YEAR'S TOTALS
542
174
32.10
147
27.12
202
37.27
19
3.51
AIRLINES ARE LISTED INDIVIDUALLY IF DOT RECEIVED 5 OR MORE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THEM DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD.
COMPLAINTS AGAINST U.S. AIRLINES ACCOUNTING FOR FEWER COMPLAINTS THAN THAT ARE INCLUDED UNDER 'OTHER U.S. AIRLINES'.
PAGE 4
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
COMPANIES OTHER THAN U.S. AIRLINES
BY COMPLAINT CATEGORY
JULY 1991
FLIGHT OVER- TICKETING/
CUSTOMER.
ADVER-
PROBLEMS
SALES
BOARDING
FARES
REFUNDS
BAGGAGE
SERVICE
SMOKING
TISING CREDIT
TOURS
OTHER
TOTAL
FOREIGN AIRLINES
OTHER FOREIGN AIRLINES
6
7
7
4
16
27
2
2
0
o
0
2
73
TOTAL
6
7
7
4
16
27
2
2
0
0
o
2
73
CARGO COMPANIES
OTHER CARGO COMPANIES
0
0
0
0
o
o
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
TOTAL
o
o
o
o
0
0
o
0
o
o
0
1
1
TRAVEL AGENTS
OTHER TRAVEL AGENTS
o
o
3
o
2
0
Q
0
o
o
0
o
5
TOTAL
o
o
3
0
2
o
0
0
o
0
o
o
5
TOUR OPERATORS
OTHER TOUR OPERATORS
1
o
0
0
1
I
0
0
0
o
0
0
3
TOTAL
1
o
o
o
1
1
o
0
o
0
0
0
3
MISCELLANEOUS
OTHER MISCELLANEOUS
4
0
5
1
2
2
0
0
o
0
2
5
21
TOTAL
4
o
5
1
2
2
0
0
o
0
2
5
21
COMPANIES ARE LISTED INDIVIDUALLY IF DOT RECEIVED o OR MORE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THEM DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD
COMPLAINTS AGAINST COMPANIES ACCOUNTING FOR FEWER COMPLAINTS THAN THAT ARE INCLUDED UNDER 'OTHER FOREIGN AIRLINES
'OTHER CARGO COMPANIES', ETC.
'
F
PAGE 5
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS
SUMMARY
JULY 1991
JULY 1990
COMPLAINTS
OPINIONS
COMPLIMENTS
INFO REQUESTS
COMPLAINTS
OPINIONS
COMPLIMENTS
INFO REQUESTS
U.S. AIRLINES
816
19
4
101
542
10
7
34
FOREIGN AIRLINES
73
1
o
19
82
o
1
9
CARGO COMPANIES
1
o
o
2
2
o
0
0
TRAVEL AGENTS
5
1
o
2
4
o
0
7
TOUR OPERATORS
3
0
0
3
11
o
0
3
MISCELLANEOUS
21
12
1
91
42
9
0
59
INDUSTRY TOTALS
719
33
5
218
683
19
8
112
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
JULY
AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
MAJOR/NATIONAL U.S. AIRLINES*
RANKINGS
JULY
JULY
1991
1990
COMPLAINTS
COMPLAINTS
JULY '91
U.S. AIRLINES
PER 100,000
PER 100,000
RANK
COMPLAINTS
PASSENGERS**
PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
PASSENGERS"
PASSENGERS
MAJORS
1
Southwest
9
2,226,867
0.40
8
2,053,835
0.39
2
USAir
25
4,771,659
0.52
39
5,201,074
0.75
3
Delta
43
6,662,584
0.65
33
5,867,123
0.56
4
Northwest
29
3,761,385
0.77
38
3,757,967
1.01
5
Continental
50
3,657,895
1.37
64
3,505,827
1.83
6
American
109
7,382,487
1.48
57
6,572,345
0.87
7
America West
26
1,626,155
1.60
18
1,344,617
1.34
8
United
114
5,989,856
1.90
68
5,473,511
1.24
0
9
Pan Am
30
1,246,373
2.41
45
1,761,826
2.55
10
TWA
97
1,959,280
4.95
107
2,399,147
4.46
TOTAL MAJORS
532
39,284,541
1.35
477
37,937,272
1.26
NATIONALS
1
Westair
0
262,854
0.00
0
175,614
0.00
2
Air Wisconsin
0
235,240
0.00
0
207,727
0.00
3
Trump Shuttle
0
130,142
0.00
0
145,191
0.00
4
Michwest Express
0
64,379
0.00
NA.
5
Markair
0
49,207
0.00
0
56,903
0.00
6
Aloha
1
470,099
0.21
1
418,954
0.24
7
Horizon
1
1
191,849
0.52
0
177,148
0.00
8
Alaska
4
615,569
0.65
1
554,829
0.18
9
Midway
6
437,446
1.37
2
647,104
0.31
10
American Trans Air
4
225,298
1.78
2
237,138
0.84
11
Hawaiian
13
419,943
3.10
6
474,004
1.27
12
Tower
4
62,273
6.42
0
53,141
0.00
TOTAL NATIONALS
33
3,164,299
1.04
12
3,147,753
0.38
GRAND TOTAL
565
42,448,840
1.33
489
41,085,025
1.19
Airlines are grouped based on annual operating revenues. Airlines are classified as Majors If they exceed $1,000,000,000 operating revenue.
Nationals are airlines with operating revenues from $100,000,000 through $1,000,000,000.
The number of passengers on this page is from the same month as the complaints: e.g., January complaints are compared against January passengers.
COMPLAINT CATEGORIES
Flight Problems: Cancellations, delays, or any other deviations from schedule, whether planned or unplanned.
Oversales: All bumping problems, whether OR the airline evimpied with DOT oversale regulations.
Ticketing and Boarding: Airline or travel a!" I mistakes in reservations and ticketing; problems in making reservations and obtaining
tickets due to busy telephone lines or waiting ... line, or delays in mailing tickets. Problems boarding the aircraft (except oversales).
Complaints Involving disabled air travelers.
Fares: Incorrect or incomplete information about fares, discount fare conditions and availability, overcharges, fare increases and level of
fares in general.
Refunds: Problems in obtaining refunds for unused or lost tickets or fare adjustments.
Beggage: Claims for lost, damaged or delayed baggage, charges for excess baggage, carry-on problems, and difficulties with airline claim
procedure.
Customer Service: Rude or unhelpful employees, inadequate meals or cabin service, treatment of delayed passengers.
Smoking: Inadequate segregation of smokers from non-smokers; failure of airline to enforce no-smoking rules; objections to the rule, would
prefer change such as; (1) relaxation or elimination of regulations, or (2) banning of smoking on all flights.
Advertising: Advertising that is unfair, misleading or offensive to consumers.
Credit: Denial of credit, Interest or late payment charges, Incorrect billing, or incorrect credit reports on airline-Issued credit.
Tours: Problems with scheduled or charter tour packages.
Other: Cargo problems, security, airport facilities, claims for bodily injury, frequent flyer, and other problems not classified above.
9142- 20 A
CAB news
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20428
Contact: Alan M. Pollock
FOR RELEASE
(202) 673-5990
Thursday
January 6, 1983
CAB 83-5
AIRLINE CONSUMER COMPLAINTS UP 3% IN OCTOBER
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 6) --Consumer complaints to the Civil
Aeronautics Board increased 3 percent in October 1982 over the same month
the previous year, according to John Golden, Director of the Board's Office
of Congressional, Community and Consumer Affairs.
For October 1982, 845 complaints were filed with the Board, compared
with 822 in October 1981. For U.S. carriers, the increase was 2 percent,
from 688 to 701.
For the first 10 months of 1982, consumer complaints dropped 23
percent for all categories, 21 percent for U.S. carriers.
For that same period, flight problems comprised 23.3 percent of
complaints against U.S. airlines, followed by baggage problems (18.1 percent)
and oversales (15.5). For foreign carriers, the largest categories of
complaints were baggage (28.6 percent) and oversales (17.8).
- 30 -
NOTES TO REPORT
This report is based on informal consumer complaints the Board has received
by mail or telephone. We have not determined the validity of each complaint.
The types of problems included in each category are:
Flight Problems: Cancellations, delays, or any other deviations from
schedule, whether planned or unplanned.
Oversales: All bumping problems. whether or not the airline complied
with CAB oversale regulations.
Reservations and Ticketing: Airline or agent mistakes in reservations
and ticketing; problems in making reservations and obtaining tickets due
to busy telephone lines or waiting in line, or delays in mailing tickets.
Fares: Incorrect or incomplete information about fares, discount fare
conditions and availability, overcharges, fare increases and level of fares
in general.
Refunds: Problems in obtaining refunds for unused or lost tickets.
Baggage: Lost, damaged or delayed baggage claims, charges for excess
baggage, carry-on problems, and difficulties with airline claim procedure.
Customer Service: Rude or unhelpful employees, inadequate meals or
cabin service, treatment of delayed passengers, and discriminatory treat-
ment.
Special Passengers: Handicapped passengers, passengers on stretchers,
children, elderly passengers, passengers requiring oxygen or other medical
care.
Smoking: Inadequate segregation of smokers from non-smokers, failure
of airline to enforce no-smoking rules, objections to the rules.
Advertising: Advertising that is unfair, misleading, or offensive to
consumers.
Credit: Denial of credit, interest or late payment charges, incorrect
billing, or incorrect credit reports.
Tours: Problems with scheduled or charter tour packages.
Other: Cargo problems, security, airport facilíties, claims for bodily
injury, lack of adequate service, and other problems not classified above.
- 2 -
b/ Airlines are listed on the October report if the Board
received 5 or more complaints against them during the
month. For the January through October report, airlines
with at least 10 complaints are listed.
c/ All complaints about Allegheny Commuters are charged to
USAir, and the number of passengers listed for USAir
includes commuter boardings. These commuters are: Air
Kentucky, Chautauqua Airlines, Crown Airways, Fischer
Bros. Aviation, Henson Airlines, Pennsylvania Commuter
Airlines, Pocono Airlines, Southern Jersey Airways and
Suburban Airlines.
d/ The number of passengers flown is based on adjusted
enplanement data on CAB Form 41 reports filed by
certificated airlines. For the October report, the
number of passengers flown are from August 1982 and 1981.
For the January through October report, the number of
passengers flown are from November and December 1980
and 1981 and August 1982 and 1981.
CIVIL APRIMAJICS 3.1AKD CONSTRIER COMPL ANT KEPJET
PAGE
1
FUR THE 400111 or OCTOBER 1982
ALSERVATIONS
b
FLIGHT OVER- A'l)
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
U.S. APLIVES
PROJLEMS SALIS TICKETING FAFES REFUNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGL'S SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOJRS OTHER TOTAL
AIR IL JR IDA
5
2
5
2
0
0
0
n
0
0
16
U
?
0
AMERICAN
3
2
3
2
1
3
0
1
0
1
0
1
21
4
Anril. AIRWAYS
U
0
3
0
0
0
0
J
3
0
6
2
1
0
0
J
0
1
6
NIL
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
CAPITOL sih.
8
1
6
1
4
0
1
0
0
U
4
44
3
10
CONTENTAL
5
i
0
2
1
3
3
1
0
0
J
0
1
16
DELTA
1
9
1
2
3
0
0
1
J
0
1
28
7
4
1
1
0
1
1
1
28
FASTERN
6
)
2
4
3
1
1
MJR: INTERNATIONAL
3
1
0
0
0
Γ
1
J
0
0
U
1
0
8
NEW Yish AIR
2
2
1
0
0
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
9
NT'L.
4
1
0
14
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
22
0
2
5
J
U
0
0
0
0
36
NUFFICEST
17
?
5
1
4
OVERSEAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS
3
C
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
6
MARK
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
U
0
0
0
0
5
PACIFIC :AST AI.
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
0
1
4
2
4
11
4
4
2
0
1
1
3
50
PAV 112.10AV
10
4
4
PEOPLE PRESS AIRLINES
2
:
2
2
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
J
0
11
PIECTINT
3
3
0
1
1
2
3
0
1
0
0
0
1
15
PSA
1
2
1
1
1
C
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
1
1
1
3
3
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
17
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
6
Subtotal
1
1
2
0
0
2
1
0
0
4
4
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
12
TEAD, I'l'L
THA
18
d
3
5
18
13
0
7
0
1
1
2
78
2
7
14
1
6
4
16
9
0
2
0
1
0
2
62
UTITED
26
USAING/
5
8
2
3
0
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
2
WESTERN
3
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
16
4
2
1
2
with
8
2
1
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
20
2
3
OTHER J.S. AIRLINES
25
22
5
6
12
27
13
1
2
0
0
1
5
1.
6
28
701
OCTUBER 1432 COMPLAINTS
159
92
42
55
72
136
19
9
17
1
5
** PERCENTAGES **
22.7
13.1
19.4
11.3
1.3
2.4
.1
.7
.9
4.0
100.0
6.0
7.9
10.3
1901 COMPLAINTS
166
99
30
63
55
3
14
10
6
0
19
688
148
69
: (CENTAGES **
5.2
7.2
9.0
21.5
10.0
.4
2.0
1.5
.9
.0
2.8
130.0
24.1
14.4
CIVIL APROVACTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPAI
fill THE IF OCTOBER 1982
PAGE
2
OCTOBER 11 12
0210158 19 81
1.1.1 PASSENGERS FLORD CAMPLAINTS PET
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
J.S. MAINES
CUMPLAINTS
$1000.0011
100.000 PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)5
100,000 PASSENGERS
AIH PLOWIDA
10
2.02
5.67
29
3.06
9.48
AMERICAN
<1
25.25
.83
50
23.50
2.13
AIRWAYS
6
DRA.IFF 1.1°L
1.
24
R.29
2.90
CAPIER 111
44
2.23
14.73
45
1.51
24.9)
CONTINENTAL
16
3.55
1.87
11
3.46
1.30
ILLIA
20
27.39
1.02
20
29.41
.63
EASTERN
2P
30.98
.90
40
24.14
1.35
THE INTERNATIONAL
3
7
NEW YES AIR
4
1.42
6.34
16
1.36
11.75
INT'L.
22
.13
109.23
NUMBREST
36
12.48
2.89
28
10.74
2.59
OVERSTAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS
5
States
5
4.U3
1.24
5
3.12
1.60
PACIFIC LAST AR
11
PAN AMERICAN
50
13.06
3.82
48
13.24
3.61
PEOPLE EXPRESS ARRIVES
11
2.67
4.12
16
1.31
12.21
PRESENT
15
H.33
1.80
4
6.47
1.39
PSA
7
0.01
.07
2
5.14
.35
11
16.54
1.02
25
14.23
1.75
6
8.77
.68
1
6.70
.15
IFVS 171°L
12
4.35
2.76
14
3.34
4.10
Tax
18
17.57
4.30
85
16.07
5.29
62
32.50
1.91
39
27.15
1.44
JSAIC
26
15.16
1.72
25
11.83
2.11
nkji
16
10.06
1.59
4
9.24
.97
with
20
1.66
12.05
29
2.23
12.72
The J.S. AIRLINES
11°
25.29
4.71
111
23.05
4.59
LIVIL ADRONAUTICS BUARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
3
FOR THE of OCTOBER 1992
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- A'v)
CUSTOMER SPECIAL
ADVCH-
FOREIN ARRIVES
PRIBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFINDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGLES SYJKING TISING CREDIT TOJKS OTHER TOTAL
BRITTIN Althays
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
C
0
0
0
6
0
3
0
2
0
0
0
1
5
1111 DANSA
c
1
0
0
1
0
0
States
2
i
1
0
1
c
1
J
1
0
0
J
0
6
3
10
20
7
0
2
0
0
2
2
77
athir POSEIGN AIRLINES
10
11
3
JUI ... 1,532 COMPLAINTS
12
20
4
4
12
23
9
0
5
0
0
2
3
94
12.8
21.3
4.3
4.3
12.8
24.5
9.6
.0
5.3
.0
.0
2.1
3.2
100.0
** PERCENTAGES er
1931 COMPLAINTS
11
12
5
1
11
33
9
0
2
0
I
1
10
97
11.3
12.4
5.2
3.1
11.3
34.0
9.3
.0
2.1
.0
.0
1.0
10.3
130.0
** PROCESSAGES "
CIVIL ALRONADTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
11.1 THE 41411 of JOBSUER 1982
PAGE
4
RESERVATIONS
COMPLAINTS BY
FLIGHT JVLR- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
AD VER-
PRODUCTRY GROUP
PRIBLEMS SALLS LICKLING FARCS REFJ.IDS BACOAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SHIKING TISING CREDIT TODAS OTHER TOTAL
U.S. VIRLINES
ACTIBER 1952 COMPLAINTS
159
02
42
55
12
136
79
9
17
1
s
j
28
701
STOTES 1981 CJMPLAINTS
166
;
36
11
55
148
69
3
14
10
6
)
19
688
FOREIGN AIRLINES
OCTOBER 1932 CUMPLAINTS
12
2C
4
4
12
23
9
0
5
0
0
2
3
94
OCTOBER 1941 COMPLAINTS
11
12
5
3
11
33
9
0
2
0
0
1
10
97
CARD:/PREIGHT FORWARDERS
OCTOBER 1962 COMPLAINTS
0
C
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
)
4
4
0
0
J
0
0
0
0
10
10
Octjet 1951 COMPLAINTS
0
C
0
0
0
IRAV:1. AGENTS
ACTOBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
0
C
2
2
4
0
0
J
0
0
0
1
0
9
1
5
0
0
0
0
0
U
2
0
3
INTURER 1931 COMPLAINTS
0
C
,
TIME OPERATORS
OCTOBER 1932 COMPLAINTS
0
2
0
1
3
0
1
0
0
1
0
23
0
36
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
14
0
18
OCTOBER 1931 COMPLAINTS
0
CARRIERS
ПСТОВЕК 1982 COMPLAINTS
0
c
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
J
1
1
OCTOBER 1991 COMPLAINTS
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
J
0
1
101.1 COMPLAINTS
OCTOBER 1962 COMPLAINTS
171
114
48
62
91
159
89
9
22
2
5
37
36
345
.. PERCENTABLE **
20.2
13.5
5.7
7.3
10.3
18.8
10.5
1.1
2.6
.2
.6
4.4
4.3
100.0
39
822
ПСТОВЕК 1911 COMPLAINTS
177
113
42
67
72
181
78
3
11
10
6
11
-> PERCENTABLE **
21.5
13.7
5.1
9.2
8.8
22.0
9.5
.4
2.1
1.2
.7
2.1
4.7
100.0
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS JJARD CONSUMER CJYRLAINT REP RT
PAJE
5a
JANUARY 1932 THROUGH OCTOBER 1992
RESERVATIONS
ADVER-
b
PRILEYS SALES TICKETING FARES REFUNDS BAGLAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE PASSENGERS SPECIAL SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOJKS OTHER TOTAL
FLIGHT OVER- AND
U.S. AIRLINES
AERO VACID ISLANDS
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
24
1
17
3
13
0
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
38
10
AIR CALIFIRNIA
21
1
4
2
3
0
4
218
41
38
19
15
25
39
AIR ILJEIDA
AIR ILLINIS
0
&
0
1
2
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
10
3
2
0
1
5
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
12
AIR "ston ENGLATD
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
13
AIR .1136 PISIA
5
2
0
0
0
3
0
4
2
1
2
8
1
0
0
0
0
,
1
19
ALUMA ANLINES
11
8
2
3
11
9
4
1
1
0
0
'
0
50
ALTAIN
104
72
55
100
78
8
18
12
14
2
21
556
AMERICAN
43
29
0
0
0
0
1
0
10
ARISTA
2
1
0
0
0
1
5
ARR 14 Alimars
0
13
0
0
1
0
0
)
1
26
8
3
0
,
ASPET
3
3
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
17
2
5
1
0
3
21
5
3
2
1
2
3
2
0
0
0
0
BAR AIRLINES
BRAVIFF NT'L
15
50
9
1
3
1
2
0
11
230
19
b
4
109
4
0
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
18
s
6
1
BRITT Always
6
1
0
18
446
114
117
18
10
29
78
48
2
5
CAPITOL AR
CASCA):
4
2
1
Γ
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
10
-
COMAIN
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
11
COMMAND ARWAYS
3
2
1
0
0
2
CONTINENTAL
36
21
12
16
13
35
25
2
4
3
3
0
6
176
2
1
0
1
1
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
14
CROWNAIN
27
32
4
12
8
4
0
5
234
DELTA
58
22
19
30
13
128
24
32
42
44
88
79
7
10
5
12
2
16
489
EASTERN
15
12
o
3
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
J
2
36
EMPIRE
16
>
8
6
0
1
0
1
0
7
68
2
7
15
FRONTIER
0
2
0
0
1
5
29
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
8
1
0
2
0
3
7
GOLDEN WEST ARRINES
4
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
35
16
5
1
1
4
HAWAIIA.
2
-
0
0
0
0
0
2
31
7
4
5
8
2
0
1
16
4
3
0
0
0
4
3
1
0
0
0
IMPERIAL SIRLIVES
1
2
J
0
1
0
0
1
12
JET AMERICA AIRLINES
1
1
3
0
2
11
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
20
2
1
METH) ADDRESS
0
0
2
1
22
10
1
0
J
0
5
3
0
0
METRO INTERNATIONAL
MIJ PACIFIC ARLINES
1
2
1
J
1
o
1
0
0
1
19
0
11
1
11
7
1
1
1
11
1
1
0
0
c
0
37
3
MIDAY
0
0
0
0
0
J
0
11
0
5
0
1
2
3
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
32
13
10
5
9
25
11
3
0
0
1
J
2
111
NEW PORT AIR
37
43
8
J
53
3
2
0
2
2
3
0
0
155
NORTHEASTERN INT'L.
44
3
4
4
2
J
4
235
NORTHNEST
30
22
11
15
21
25
0
1
0
3
0
9
0
J
0
0
0
0
0
10
OCEANAIN LINE
0
0
0
0
1
-
J
1
0
0
3
4
16
OVERSEAS NATIONAL Alimays
6
2
1
2
0
0
1
1
47
13
4
4
9
6
02 ARK
4
33
10
2
1
8
2
2
0
0
0
0
)
3
PACIFIC LAST AIR
b
55
120
61
8
20
4
4
1
24
537
PAY AMERICAN
99
54
29
28
PEOPLE EXPRESS ARLINES
32
14
4
2
0
1
0
0
2
156
47
24
16
14
if
4
85
23
21
3
5
9
10
7
2
1
0
0
PIEJUNI
1
2
J
1
0
0
)
0
15
PILGRIM APLINES
3
1
0
0
1
2
0
c
2
S
3
0
0
a
0
12
4
3
-
PIONLER
o
-
n
0
17
7
5
c
0
3
O
-
c
0
PRECISIST
PhO All. SERVICES
5
1
0
-
C
0
c
c
c
1
11
-
-
-
17
+
2
2
2
9
-
-
-
0
J
2
50
4
PSA
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BJARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
JANUARY 1732 THROUGH OCTOBER 1932
PAGE
5b
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- ANJ
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
J.S. ALLINES
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSEVGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
PRINAIR
1
3
1
0
0
18
1
o
0
0
0
0
1
25
REPUBLIC
82
65
11
25
24
38
41
3
4
12
4
o
18
327
R10 AIR-AYS
6
C
1
0
3
4
3
0
o
o
0
0
0
17
RUCKY MONTAIN
3
2
1
0
1
3
2
1
0
0
0
o
0
13
ROYALE
,
2
0
0
0
1
6
J
0
0
0
J
0
14
SIMMIVS AIRLINES
3
2
1
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
o
0
10
SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND
1
a
2
0
2
13
5
0
0
0
0
J
3
34
SOUTHWEST
12
13
e
1
4
9
7
1
2
0
1
J
3
59
0
9
2
1
0
0
0
J
1
26
SUN 1122
3
9
1
D
TEXAS 111°C
26
32
8
10
17
18
16
2
5
1
0
J
4
139
TRANSAMINICA
6
1
1
1
1
2
3
0
1
0
o
3
0
19
TWA
179
109
40
53
51
163
130
12
39
8
14
5
23
826
UNITED
146
04
28
48
37
110
76
9
27
4
7
0
32
608
USAIRS
91
40
8
13
7
58
31
8
7
3
1
0
6
284
11
13
2
n
2
10
6
1
1
1
0
0
2
49
WESTSIN COMMUTER
WESTERY
20
20
13
15
21
24
18
3
4
12
5
0
7
168
WIEN All. ALASKA
3
2
1
1
1
3
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
14
WINGS WEST
6
5
0
1
o
1
2
0
0
0
J
0
1
16
164
WORLD
42
29
8
10
21
27
19
3
2
1
0
n
2
OTHER J.j. AIRLINES
14
69
14
9
37
60
17
2
1
4
0
3
21
311
CURRETT PERIOD TOTALS
1773
1175
411
471
717
1378
901
98
191
98
84
25
280
7502
.3
3.7
100.0
** PURCENTAGES **
23.3
15.5
5.4
6.2
9.4
18.1
11.9
1.3
2.5
1.3
1.1
SAVE PERIOD PRIJK YEAR
2344
1137
521
576
725
2095
1178
113
264
95
94
30
401
9593
** PERCENTAGES **
24.4
11.9
5.4
6.0
1.6
21.8
12.3
1.2
3.0
1.0
1.0
.3
4.2
100.0
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
JANUARY 1952 THROUGH OCTOBER 1982
PAGE
6a
CURRENT PERIOD
SAME PERIOD PRIOR YEAR
TOTAL PASSENGLRS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
J.S.
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
CORPLAINTS (100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
AER.) VIRGIN ISLANDS
24
25
AIR CAR
38
29.62
1.28
64
28.75
2.23
AIR FL: 1.11
218
25.24
0.64
358
26.34
13.5;
AIR ILLINIS
10
7
AIR Nin CASLAND
12
32
AIM 7831 WSIN
13
6.11
2.13
29
5.70
5.09
ALOHA AIRLINES
14
21.56
.88
15
10.97
1.37
ALTAIR
so
4.38
11.42
34
2.76
12.32
AMERICA.
556
226.55
2.45
632
205.27
3.08
ARISIA INTERNATIONAL
10
Ahhi). AI issurs
26
ASPL.
17
2.78
6.12
24
2.38
10.03
BAR March ADDLINES
21
17
BRANITT NTT
230
56.91
4.04
418
90.54
4.62
BRITT AIRWAYS
18
33
3.20
10.31
CAPIT... AIR
446
15.04
29.65
304
8.31
36.58
CASLA...E
11
2.34
4.70
6
2.02
2.97
COMAIN
10
13
COMMAND AIRWAYS
11
6
CONTINENTAL
170
77.20
2.28
197
67.15
2.93
CODATAL
14
4
JELIA
234
283.72
.82
277
300.33
.92
EASTERN
459
295.26
1.66
810
307.14
2.64
9.34
EMPIRE
36
4.42
8.14
27
2.89
FROMITE
6h
50.74
1.34
98
52.52
1.67
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
29
?
GULDEN ALSI ARLINES
35
5.09
6.88
36
5.40
6.67
HAWAIIAN
31
27.31
1.14
33
25.31
1.30
IMPERIAL AIRLINES
16
1.87
8.56
21
1.08
19.44
JEI MEDICA AIRLINES
12
1.32
9.09
METHI AMLINES
20
6
METHO INTERNATIONAL
22
23
MID PALIFIC APLINES
19
3
MIDWAY
17
9.35
3.75
21
3.96
5.30
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY,
11
3.91
2.81
23
2.62
8.73
NEW Visia AIR
111
15.02
7.39
127
8.91
14.25
NURTHEASTERN MIL.
155
.54
287.04
NORTHNEST
235
91.66
2.56
266
95.51
2.79
OCEANAIN LINE
10
23
OVERSEAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS
16
02 AK<
47
36.58
1.28
73
36.34
2.01
PACIFIC EAST All
33
PAV AMERICAN
537
109.72
4.89
1098
116.70
9.41
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLINES
156
20.24
7.71
51
3.70
13.73
PIED4501
85
69.13
1.25
80
56.60
1.41
PILKIN ARLINES
15
27
PICKLE
12
10
PRECISITY
17
9
PRO Alh SERVICES
11
1
PSA
50
56.93
.88
103
45.38
2.27
CIVIL AEROTAUTICS BJARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
JANUARY 1902 THRUJGH OCTOBER 1932
PAGE
6b
CURRENT PERIOD
SAME PERIOD PRIOR YEAR
TOTAL FASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
J.S. MINLINES
COMPLAINTS
P(000'001)
100,000 PASSENGERS
CUMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
PRINAIR
25
80
REPUBLIC
327
153.78
2.13
391
132.98
2.94
R10 Albways
17
16
RUCKY MOUNTAIN
13
3.08
4.22
23
.48
47.92
ROYALE
14
6
SIMHONS AIRLINES
10
SOJTH PACIFIC ISLAND
34
.20
170.00
3
.21
14.29
SOUTHWEST
59
70.77
.83
55
64.28
.85
SUN AIRE
20
7
TEXAS INT'L
139
36.61
3.00
225
34.03
6.61
TRANSANLICA
14
4.27
4.43
43
6.88
6.25
TWA
826
146.62
5.63
1060
152.69
6.94
UNITED
608
271.50
2.24
586
246.91
2.37
USAIRC
284
133.41
2.05
413
134.97
3.05
WESTAIR COMMUTER
49
2.80
17.50
13
WESTERN
160
80.15
2.10
160
79.11
2.02
WIEN 284 ALASSA
14
8.46
1.45
10
7.52
1.33
WINGS WEST
16
3
WORLD
104
14.33
11.44
400
10.61
24.08
OTHER J.S. AIRLINES
311
31.95
9.73
633
44.73
14.13
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BJARD CONSUMER CJMPLAINT REPUIT
JANUARY 1982 THROUGH OCTOBER 1932
PASE
7
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
FORLIN AIRLINES
PRIBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
AER LINGUS
3
3
0
1
2
2
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
14
AERUMEXICO
10
14
3
0
3
17
9
0
-1
0
0
0
4
61
AIR CAVADA
1
C
0
0
1
2
3
0
2
0
0
0
0
15
AIR FRANCE
8
3
0
1
2
11
5
0
2
0
J
0
4
36
AIR 15014
2
?
1
2
2
6
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
25
AIR JAHAICA
2
M
1
0
4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
21
ALITALIA AIRLINES
4
/
2
3
6
10
3
0
1
0
0
J
1
37
ALIA JONDAVIAN 416LINES
0
1
0
0
1
11
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
15
AVISVCA
3
6
0
1
3
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
17
BAHAHASAIS
4
1
0
1
1
7
1
0
0
0
0
J
0
15
BRITISH AIRWAYS
12
13
7
4
2
18
9
0
3
1
J
0
1
70
BRITISH CALEDONIAN AIRWAY
1
1
3
2
0
0
3
0
2
0
0
)
0
12
UNIA
5
1
0
I
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
U
0
11
DOMINICANA DE AVIACION
1
s
0
0
0
5
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
13
FAUCETT, S.A.
0
1
0
1
4
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
13
IBERIA ADDINES
2
12
0
2
5
11
3
1
2
0
0
0
1
39
KOREA's AIRLINES
1
2
1
1
2
7
3
0
0
0
0
1
3
21
KUWAIT ALWAYS
1
1
3
0
0
6
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
13
KLM
3
4
?
3
5
9
3
0
2
0
0
0
3
41
LAKER AIRWAYS
c
C
1
0
22
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
25
LUFTHAVSA
5
2
1
4
4
9
3
0
5
0
1
0
2
36
LACSA
0
2
1
0
2
7
0
0
0
0
0
J
0
12
MEXICANA
7
22
2
J
4
25
a
3
0
0
1
1
3
76
OLYMPIC ARWAYS
4
3
3
2
1
5
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
22
PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL
0
2
o
0
4
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
13
ROYAL Six ЧАЛИС
1
-
0
1
0
3
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
11
SABEVA
3
C
2
0
2
6
1
0
3
0
0
0
0
17
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
0
3
0
0
3
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
10
SAISSAL.
1
?
0
2
0
1
2
0
0
0
n
0
3
11
SAS
2
4
2
2
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
13
VIASA
0
2
0
0
0
6
1
0
0
0
0
D
2
11
OTHER FINEIGN AIRLINES
28
27
a
7
25
60
11
1
3
1
1
4
14
190
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
114
167
48
40
116
268
82
7
30
2
3
7
52
936
** PENCE JAGES :
12.2
17.8
5.1
4.3
12.4
28.6
8.8
.7
3.2
.2
.3
.7
5.6
100.0
SAME PERIOD PRICE YEAR
231
226
70
81
143
444
141
2
34
11
0
&
81
1470
** PERCENTAGES **
15.7
15.4
4.8
5.5
9.7
30.2
9.6
.1
2.3
.7
.0
.4
5.5
130.0
CIVIL ALRONABILES BHARD CONSUMER CORPLAINT REPORT
JANUARY 1962 THROJOH OCTOBER 1932
PAGE
8
RESERVATIONS
COMPLAINTS BY
FLIGHT OVER- slvid
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
AUVER-
INJUSTRY GRJUP
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
U.S. AIRLINES
PERSON TOTALS
1713
1175
411
471
717
1378
901
98
191
98
84
25
280
7602
SIAL PERIOD PRIJR YEAR
2344
1137
521
576
125
2095
1178
113
204
95
94
30
401
9593
FORLIGN AIRLINES
PESTIN TOTALS
114
167
48
40
116
268
82
7
30
2
3
I
52
936
SIIE PERIOD PRIOR YEAR
231
220
70
31
143
444
141
2
34
11
0
6
31
1470
CARGI/PREIGHT FORWARDERS
FERER TOTALS
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
34
36
3882 FERIOD PRIOR YEAR
0
c
0
J
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
J
91
92
TRAVEL ACENTS
CJARLNT TOTALS
3
3
22
14
27
1
3
0
0
0
1
27
1
102
SSIE PERIOD PRICK YEAR
4
0
42
13
38
3
2
0
0
2
3
19
3
129
TOUR MERATIRS
CORRENT PERIOD TOTALS
6
16
11
5
16
9
8
n
0
7
1
221
5
305
SAAt PERIUD PRINK YEAR
9
6
15
5
28
9
4
U
1
6
2
211
2
304
OTHER CARRIERS
CORRENT PERIOD TOTALS
0
2
0
1
0
3
1
2
1
0
0
0
5
15
SAVE PERIOD PRIJR YEAR
6
4
2
16
2
11
5
2
38
2
1
2
48
139
TOTAL COMPLAINTS
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
1896
1363
492
532
875
1660
995
107
222
107
89
280
377
8996
" PERCENTAGES "
21.1
15.2
5.5
5.9
9.7
18.5
11.1
1.2
2.5
1.2
1.0
3.1
4.2
100.0
SAME PERIOD PRINK YFAR
2594
1373
650
691
937
2562
1330
117
357
116
100
274
626
11727
** PINCENTAGES "
22.1
11.7
5.5
5.9
d.0
21.8
11.3
1.0
3.0
1.0
.9
2.3
5.3
100.0
9142.20 A
CAB news
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20428
FOR RELEASE
Contact: Alan M. Pollock
Tuesday
(202) 673-5990
January 18, 1983
CAB 83-13
AIRLINE CONSUMER COMPLAINTS DOWN 23% IN 1982
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 18)--Consumer complaints to the Civil
Aeronautics Board dropped 23 percent in 1982, according to John Golden,
Director of the Board's Office of Congressional, Community and Consumer
Affairs.
In 1982, 10,151 complaints were filed with the Board, compared with
13,189 in 1981. For U.S. carriers, the decrease was 21 percent, from 10,826
to 8,566.
The November and December monthly figures also were released today,
showing drops of 13 percent (683 to 596) and 25 percent (745 to 558),
respectively.
For U.S. airlines, flight problems comprised 23.5 percent of
complaints in 1982, followed by baggage problems (17.8 percent) and oversales
(15.1). For foreign carriers, the largest categories of complaints were
baggage (27.7 percent) and oversales (18.1).
- 30 -
NOTES TO REPORT
a!
This report is based on informal consumer complaints the Board has received
by mail or telephone. We have not determined the validity of each complaint.
The types of problems included in each category are:
Flight Problems: Cancellations, delays, or any other deviations from
schedule, whether planned or unplanned.
Oversales: All bumping problems. whether or not the airline complied
with CAB oversale regulations.
Reservations and Ticketing: Airline or agent mistakes in reservations
and ticketing; problems in making reservations and obtaining tickets due
to busy telephone lines or waiting in line, or delays in mailing tickets.
Fares: Incorrect or incompiete information about fares, discount fare
conditions and availability, overcharges, fare increases and level of fares
in general.
Refunds: Problems in obtaining refunds for unused or lost tickets.
Baggage: Lost, damaged or delayed baggage claims, charges for excess
baggage, carry-on problems, and difficulties with airline claim procedure.
Customer Service: Rude or unhelpful employees, inadequate meals or
cabin service, treatment of delayed passengers, and discriminatory treat-
ment.
Special Passengers: Handicapped passengers, passengers on stretchers,
children, elderly passengers, passengers requiring oxygen or other medical
care.
Smoking: Inadequate segregation of smokers from non-smokers, failure
of airline to enforce no-smoking rules, objections to the rules.
Advertising: Advertising that is unfair, misleading, or offensive to
consumers.
Credit: Denial of credit, interest or late payment charges, incorrect
billing, or incorrect credit reports.
Tours: Problems with scheduled or charter tour packages.
Other: Cargo problems, security, airport facilities, claims for bodily
injury, lack of adequate service, and other problems not classified above.
- 2 -
b/
Airlines are listed on the November and December reports
if the Board received 5 or more complaints against them
during those months. For the January through November
and the January through December reports, airlines with
at least 10 complaints are listed.
/
All complaints about Allegheny Commuters are charged to
USAir, and the number of passengers listed for USAir
includes commuter boardings. These commuters are: Air
Kentucky, Chautauqua Airlines, Crown Airways, Fischer
Bros. Aviation, Henson Airlines, Pennsylvania Commuter
Airlines, Pocono Airlines, Southern Jersey Airways and
Suburban Airlines.
d/
The number of passengers flown is based on adjusted
enplanement data on CAB Form 41 reports filed by
certificated airlines. For the November report, the
number of passengers flown are from September 1982 and
1981. For the December report, the number of passengers
flown are from October 1982 and 1981. For the January
through November and January through December reports,
the number of passengers flown are from November and
December 1980 and 1981 and January through September
and October 1982 and 1981.
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 1982
PAGE
1
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
J.S. AIRLINES
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
AIR FLORIDA
I
1
1
0
I
5
1
o
0
0
0
0
0
10
ALTAIR
6
0
0
1
11
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
21
AMERICAN
4
2
3
4
3
4
1
0
1
3
1
0
4
30
BRAVIFF INT'L
0
0
0
,
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
6
CAP ITOL AIR
6
3
2
2
2
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
21
COVTIVENTAL
3
3
J
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
11
DELTA
4
0
1
4
4
4
0
0
0
2
0
0
)
19
EASTERY
6
2
2
4
5
5
2
0
2
I
I
0
,
32
FRONTIER
2
0
0
0
1
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
5
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
2
0
o
0
0
1
o
0
1
0
0
1
0
5
NEW YORK AIR
3
0
0
0
1
0
1
o
0
0
0
0
,
5
NORTHEASTERN 141'L.
3
1
2
0
9
0
o
0
0
o
0
3
)
15
8
NORTHWEST
2
2
3
1
1
2
1
0
2
0
0
,
)
14
PACIFIC EAST ARR
1
1
1
1
6
0
o
0
0
0
0
0
,
10
PAV AMERICAN
6
3
1
1
5
7
1
0
0
2
0
o
2
28
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLIVES
4
1
2
0
I
o
I
1
0
0
o
0
1
11
PIETMONT
0
2
1
1
1
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
7
REPUBLIC
8
0
2
1
2
1
o
0
0
0
0
0
1
21
STUTHWEST
0
1
Γ
o
o
2
0
0
o
0
0
0
o
5
TEXAS INT'L
o
2
2
0
1
1
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
TRANSAMERICA
2
2
0
o
0
0
2
0
o
0
0
0
0
6
TWA
9
5
2
1
6
8
3
0
4
1
1
0
1
41
UNITED
11
3
o
2
1
9
3
1
2
0
1
0
2
35
USA
8
2
0
3
3
6
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
26
WESTAIR COMMUTER
o
3
0
o
I
1
0
0
o
o
0
0
0
5
WFSTERV
1
0
1
3
0
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
,
10
OTHER U.S. AIRLINES
16
9
2
4
,
16
1
0
1
1
0
2
,
68
NOVEMBER 1992 COMPLAINTS
108
53
30
34
as
85
23
2
14
II
5
3
25
473
.. PERCENTAGES "
22.8
11.2
6.3
7.2
16.9
18.0
4.9
.4
3.0
2.3
1.1
.8
5.3
100.0
NOVEMBER 1931 COMPLAINTS
120
TO
40
39
55
130
72
1
11
10
5
5
20
584
" PERCENTAGES ..
20.5
12.0
6.9
6.7
7.4
22.3
12.3
1.2
1.9
1.7
.9
.9
3.4
100.0
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 1982
PAGE
2
NOVEMBER 19 92
NOVEMBER 19 81
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN
COMPLAINTS PER
U.S. AIRLINES
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
AIR FLORIDA
10
2.02
4.95
22
2.43
9.05
ALTAIR
21
.51
41.18
1
.30
3.33
AMERICAN
30
20.55
1.46
47
19.93
2.36
BRANIFF INT'L
6
23
7.23
3.18
CAPITOL AR
21
1.30
16.15
23
1.26
18.25
CONTIVENTAL
11
6.03
1.81
15
6.92
2.17
DELTA
10
22.97
.83
12
25.46
-47
EASTERN
30
25.63
1.17
36
25.35
1.42
FRONTIER
5
4.43
1.11
11
4.97
2.21
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
5
VEW YORK AIR
,
1.30
3.85
12
1.58
7.59
NORTHEASTERN IVI'L.
15
.10
150.00
NORTHWEST
14
9.95
1.42
25
8.95
2.79
PACIFIC EAST AIR
10
.09
125.00
PAY AMERICAN
28
10.44
2.68
69
11.06
6.24
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLINES
11
2.47
4.45
6
1.32
4.55
PIEDMONT
9
7.03
1.29
8
6.10
1.31
REPUBLIC
21
13.19
1.59
13
13.26
.98
SOUTHWEST
5
7.60
.36
6.01
TEXAS IVTOL
6
3.47
1.73
14
2.65
5.28
TRANSAMERICA
6
.56
10.71
1
1.00
1.00
TWA
41
15.10
2.72
67
14.80
4.53
UNITED
35
26.29
1.33
26
22.28
1.17
USAIRS
26
13.97
1.86
18
12.58
1.43
WESTAIR COMMUTER
5
.49
10.20
WESTERY
10
8.30
1.20
6
7.21
.53
OTHER J.S. AIRLINES
68
22.96
2.96
129
23.13
5.58
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 1982
PAGE
3
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
FORFIGN ARRLINES
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
ALITALIA AIRLINES
0
2
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
MEXICANA
2
Γ
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
SABEVA
4
0
0
0
0
I
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
5
OTHER FJOEIGN AIRLINES
6
11
2
1
17
11
6
0
2
0
0
0
5
61
NOVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
12
15
2
1
15
15
7
0
3
0
0
0
5
78
** PERCENTAGES "
15.4
19.2
2.6
1.3
23.1
19.2
9.0
.0
3.8
.0
.0
.0
0.4
100.0
NOVEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
9
14
3
5
6
17
9
2
4
I
0
0
3
73
.. PERCENTAGES "
12.3
19.2
4.1
6.8
8.2
23.3
12.3
2.7
5.5
1.4
.0
.0
4.1
100.0
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 1982
PAGE
4
RESERVATIONS
COMPLAINTS BY
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
INDUSTRY GROUP
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
U.S. AIRL INES
NOVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
108
53
30
34
no
85
23
2
14
11
5
3
25
473
NOVEMBER 1931 COMPLAINTS
120
TO
40
39
55
130
72
7
11
10
5
5
20
584
FOREIGN AIRL INES
NOVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
12
15
2
1
18
15
7
0
3
0
0
0
5
78
NJVEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
9
14
3
5
6
17
9
2
4
1
0
0
3
73
CARGO/FREIGHT FORWARDERS
VIVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
o
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
2
NOVEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
TRAVEL AGENTS
NOVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
1
o
1
1
2
n
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
6
NOVEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
1
0
0
3
TOJR OPERATORS
NOVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
0
1
0
0
10
1
0
0
0
I
o
16
1
30
NOVEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
9
)
12
0
0
OTHER CARRIERS
NOVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
0
2
3
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
,
7
NOVEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
n
0
0
1
c
0
3
TOTAL COMPLAINTS
NOVEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
121
71
33
38
111
101
30
2
18
13
5
20
33
596
" PERCENTAGES ..
20.3
11.9
5.5
3.4
14.6
16.9
5.0
.3
3.0
2.2
. 5
3.4
5.5
130.0
27
681
NOVEMBER 1991 COMPLAINTS
130
35
44
45
65
149
81
9
15
11
6
14
" PERCENTAGE S "
19.0
12.4
6.4
R.B
3.5
21.9
11.9
1.3
2.2
1.6
.9
2.0
4.2
137.0
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
JANUARY 1992 THROUGH NOVEMBER 1982
PAGE
5a
RESERVATIONS
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
FLIGHT OVER- AND
SPECIAL
ADVER-
U.S. AIRLINES
AERO VIRGIN ISLANDS
2
1
0
0
1
11
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
24
AIR CALIFORNIA
15
7
1
2
1
2
10
1
1
1
o
o
0
41
22
1
4
2
3
0
4
228
AIR FLORIDA
48
39
20
15
26
"
AIR ILLINDIS
0
4
0
1
2
1
1
o
1
0
0
0
0
10
AIR VEW ENGLAND
3
2
0
1
5
0
0
o
0
0
1
0
0
12
o
o
3
2
o
0
0
0
0
1
14
AIR WISCONSIN
6
2
0
ALOHA AIRLINES
0
4
2
1
2
8
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
19
ALTAIR
17
8
2
4
22
12
4
1
1
0
0
0
0
71
108
74
58
47
32
104
79
,
19
15
15
2
25
586
AMERICAN
ARISTA INTERNATIONAL
4
1
0
0
0
1
6
0
0
0
0
1
0
13
ARROW AIRWAYS
8
3
3
0
0
13
0
0
1
1
0
1
2
29
ASPEV
3
3
1
1
2
6
1
o
1
0
o
0
3
18
3
21
BAR HARBOR AIRLINES
5
3
2
1
2
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
BRANIFF IVT'L
15
19
6
4
114
50
9
1
3
1
2
0
12
236
BRITT AIRWAYS
4
4
0
3
2
7
1
1
o
0
0
0
0
19
6
1
0
15
469
CAPITOL AIR
120
120
21
12
31
82
50
2
5
CASCADE
4
2
1
2
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
COMAIR
1
2
1
0
0
3
I
0
0
0
0
0
3
11
2
1
0
0
0
0
3
12
COMMAND AIRWAYS
3
2
1
0
0
3
COVTINENTAL
39
24
12
17
14
35
28
2
4
4
3
0
7
187
CROWVAIR
2
1
0
1
1
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
14
34
17
31
32
4
12
10
4
0
5
253
DELTA
62
22
20
EASTERV
134
26
34
46
49
93
81
7
12
6
13
2
16
519
EMPIRE
17
13
0
3
o
2
2
0
0
0
o
0
2
39
FRONTIER
18
5
2
8
15
6
o
1
0
1
0
9
73
a
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
10
1
0
2
o
4
1
0
3
0
0
2
5
34
GOLDEN WEST AIRLINES
17
5
1
1
4
4
3
0
0
0
0
1
3
36
HAWAIIAN
7
4
2
1
5
,
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
32
2
20
IMPERIAL AIRLIVES
4
3
0
0
0
7
3
1
0
0
0
0
JET AMERICA AIRLIVES
1
1
1
3
o
2
2
0
0
1
0
0
1
12
METRO AIRLINES
12
3
2
2
-
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
23
2
0
0
3
-
25
METRO INTERNATIONAL
10
1
1
0
0
5
3
0
1
MID PACIFIC AIRLIVES
1
2
1
o
o
11
1
1
0
1
o
o
1
19
MIDWAY
11
7
1
-
1
11
3
1
1
o
0
0
0
37
o
o
0
0
0
o
,
11
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
o
5
0
1
2
3
NEW VORK AIR
35
13
10
5
10
25
12
3
0
o
1
0
2
115
NORTHEASTERY IVI'L.
40
46
10
0
62
3
2
0
2
2
3
0
0
170
16
22
27
45
3
6
4
2
0
.
249
NORTHWEST
82
24
14
OCEAVAIR LINE
o
1
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
OVERSEAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS
6
0
o
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
3
4
16
13
4
2
4
s
.
6
1
2
0
0
1
1
40
OZARE
9
11
3
2
14
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
43
PACIFIC EAST All
105
87
30
29
63
127
62
a
20
6
4
-
26
555
PAY AMERICAN
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLIVES
51
33
16
24
5
16
15
3
0
1
o
0
3
167
4
94
PIEDMONT
23
23
4
6
10
13
7
2
1
o
1
0
PILGRIY AIRLINES
7
3
1
0
0
1
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
15
PIONEER
4
2
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
)
12
3
0
1
0
,
17
PRECISION
7
6
0
0
4
o
-
0
0
PRO AIR SERVICES
5
1
©
1
1
1
1
c
0
0
0
o
1
11
PSA
18
9
2
3
3
10
4
-
1
1
0
5
2
54
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
JANUARY 1982 THROJGH NOVEMBER 1982
PAGE
5b
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
U.S. AIRLINES
PRJALEYS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
PRINAIR
1
3
1
0
0
20
1
0
0
0
0
o
1
27
REPUBLIC
90
71
13
26
26
39
41
3
4
12
4
0
19
348
RIO AIRWAYS
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
17
1
0
3
4
3
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
3
2
1
0
1
3
2
I
0
0
0
0
o
13
ROYALE
5
2
0
0
0
1
6
0
0
o
0
0
0
14
SIMMJVS AIRLIVES
3
1
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
3
0
0
SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND
1
8
2
0
2
13
5
0
0
0
0
0
3
34
SOUTHWEST
12
14
8
1
4
11
7
1
2
o
1
0
3
54
SUV AIRE
3
9
1
0
o
10
2
1
0
0
0
0
1
21
145
TEXAS INT'L
26
34
10
10
18
19
16
2
5
1
0
0
4
THE FLYING TIGER LIVE
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
12
13
TRANSAMERICA
8
3
1
1
1
2
5
0
I
0
0
3
0
25
9
15
5
24
967
TWA
188
114
42
54
57
171
133
12
43
UNITED
157
87
28
50
38
119
79
10
29
4
8
0
34
543
USAIRC
99
48
8
21
10
64
32
8
8
3
1
0
8
310
11
11
I
1
1
0
0
2
54
WESTAIR COMMUTER
16
2
0
3
6
WESTERN
21
20
14
18
27
27
20
3
4
12
5
0
7
178
WIEN AIR ALASKA
3
2
1
1
1
3
I
0
1
0
0
0
1
14
WINGS WEST
5
0
o
1
2
0
0
,
0
,
1
15
6
1
WORLD
43
29
8
11
21
28
19
3
2
1
0
0
2
167
OTHER U.S. AIRLINES
80
73
15
10
42
63
17
2
1
4
c
4
15
325
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
1882
1229
442
505
797
1463
924
100
205
109
89
29
305
6079
3.8
100.0
** PERCENTAGES **
23.3
15.2
5.5
6.3
9.9
18.1
11.4
1.2
2.5
1.3
1.1
.4
SAME PERIOD PRIJR YEAR
2470
1211
562
519
783
2229
1252
120
295
107
99
35
421
10202
** PERCENTAGES :
24.2
11.9
5.5
6.1
1.7
21.8
12.3
1.2
2.9
1.0
1.0
.3
4.1
100.0
CIVIL AERONAJTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
6a
JANUARY 1982 THROUGH NOVEMBER 1982
CURRENT PERIOD
SAME PERIOD PRIOR YEAR
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
U.S. AIRLINES
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
AERO VIRGIN ISLANDS
24
27
AIR CALIFORNIA
1.26
70
31.6F
2.21
41
32.51
AIR FLORIDA
226
27.25
8.37
383
28.77
13.31
AIR ILLINOIS
10
1
AIR NEW ENGLAND
12
32
AIR WISCONSIN
14
6.69
2.09
6.32
4.75
30
ALOHA AIRLINES
19
23.25
.82
19
12.80
1.48
ALTAIR
71
14.49
35
3.06
11.44
4.90
586
247.10
2.37
682
225.21
3.03
AMERICAN
ARISTA INTERNATIONAL
13
ARROW AIRWAYS
29
ASPEV
18
2.75
6.47
25
2.55
9.80
BAR HARBOR AIRLINES
21
18
BRANIFF INT'L
236
56.91
4.15
443
97.78
4.53
33
3.20
10.31
BRITT AIRWAYS
19
468
16.34
28.64
331
9.57
34.59
CAPITOL AIR
11
2.34
4.70
6
2.21
2.71
CASCADE
COMAIR
11
13
12
6
COMMAND AIRWAYS
187
83.28
2.25
212
74.07
2.86
CONTINENTAL
CROWNAIR
14
4
DELTA
253
306.61
.83
289
325.79
.89
519
320.88
1.62
848
332.49
2.55
EASTERN
7.94
29
3.28
8.84
EMPIRE
39
4.91
FRONTIER
73
55.23
1.32
109
57.49
1.90
34
2
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
GOLDEN WEST AIRLINES
36
5.07
7.07
39
5.96
6.54
HAWAIIAN
32
29.46
1.09
36
27.56
1.31
IMPERIAL AIRLINES
20
1.87
10.70
21
1.25
16.80
1
JET AMERICA AIRLINES
12
1.32
9.09
23
6
METRO AIRLINES
METRO INTERNATIONAL
25
30
19
3
MID PACIFIC AIRLINES
MIDWAY
37
10.95
3.38
23
4.79
4.80
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
11
3.91
2.81
25
2.95
8.47
NEW YORK AIR
116
16.32
7.11
140
10.49
13.35
NORTHEASTERN IVTOL.
170
.64
265.63
NORTHWEST
249
101.51
2.45
292
104.48
2.90
10
23
OCEAVAIR LINE
OVERSEAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS
16
DEARK
48
39.99
1.20
78
39.36
1.98
PACIFIC EAST AIR
43
.05
537.50
PAY AMERICAN
565
120.16
4.70
1168
127.76
9.14
5.02
11.35
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLINES
167
22.71
7.35
57
PIEDMONT
94
75.17
1.25
88
62.70
1.40
15
27
PILGRIM AIRLINES
PIONEER
12
12
PRECISION
19
10
11
1
PRO AIR SERVICES
54
63.27
.85
109
50.42
2.15
PSA
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
6b
JANUARY 1782 THROUGH NOVEMBER 1992
CURRENT PERIOD
SAME PERIOD PRIOR YEAR
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
U.S. AIRLINES
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)$
100,000 PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
PRINAIR
27
83
REPUBLIC
348
166.96
2.08
404
146.23
2.76
RIO AIRWAYS
17
16
13
3.31
3.93
23
.71
32.39
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
ROYALE
14
6
SIMMONS AIRLINES
11
SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND
34
.20
170.00
4
.29
13.79
SOUTHWEST
"
78.36
.82
55
70.29
.78
SUN AIRE
27
10
TEXAS IVT'L
145
40.08
3.62
239
36.69
6.51
3.66
2
3.26
.61
THE FLYING TIGER LINE
13
3.55
TRANSAMERICA
25
4.85
5.15
44
7.87
5.59
TWA
867
161.92
5.35
1129
167.48
6.74
UNITED
643
297.85
2.16
613
269.19
2.28
310
152.36
2.03
432
147.55
2.93
USAIRC
WESTAIR COMMUTER
54
3.30
16.36
13
WESTERN
178
85.45
2.01
166
86.32
1.92
WIEN AIR ALASKA
14
9.20
1.52
13
8.43
1.54
WINGS WEST
16
3
WORL )
167
15.82
10.56
437
18.51
23.61
OTHER U.S. AIRLINES
326
32.50
10.03
668
44.92
14.87
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
7
JANUARY 1982 THROUGH NOVEMBER 1982
RESERVATIONS
ADVER-
PROBLEMS FLIGHT OVER- SALFS TICKETING AND FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE PASSENGERS SPECIAL SM3KING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
FOREIGN AIRLINES
0
0
0
1
0
15
AER L INGUS
3
0
1
2
3
1
1
3
17
10
1
0
0
0
5
64
0
3
0
3
0
J
15
AEROMEXICO
11
14
1
2
3
0
2
0
0
AIR CAVADA
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
o
0
4
37
8
3
0
1
3
11
5
0
0
0
0
,
25
AIR FRANCE
3
0
2
9
1
2
2
7
AIR INDIA
1
0
0
0
0
2
22
8
1
0
5
3
0
AIR JAHAICA
2
4
2
o
0
0
1
42
2
1
10
0
3
0
0
1
15
ALITALIA AIRLIVES
4
9
1
11
o
0
1
0
ALIA JORDAVIAN AIRLIVES
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
2
21
4
6
0
1
5
1
1
0
0
0
0
3
15
AVIAVCA
1
0
77
4
1
0
1
1
7
2
18
9
0
3
1
0
0
1
AAHAYASAIR
BRITISH AIRWAYS
12
15
1
4
3
2
0
0
0
0
13
2
2
0
o
0
3
0
0
0
13
BRITISH CALEDOVIAN AIRWAY
1
0
5
1
0
0
0
BWIA
6
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
13
1
5
o
0
0
5
1
o
DOMIVICANA DE AVIACION
0
0
1
0
0
12
3
1
0
13
3
3
o
o
1
EL AL ISRAEL
o
0
0
0
0
1
FAUCETT. S.A.
0
1
4
6
0
0
1
3
1
2
0
0
0
1
42
13
o
2
6
12
1
0
0
0
11
IBERIA AIRLINES
2
1
1
1
0
0
0
ICELANDAIR
6
0
1
s
0
0
1
3
23
2
2
1
3
7
3
0
KOREAV AIRLINES
1
0
0
0
0
0
17
7
4
0
3
42
2
1
3
0
o
5
9
3
0
2
0
0
0
KUWAIT AIRWAYS
3
7
7
3
KLY
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
25
0
o
1
o
22
o
0
1
0
2
31
LACER AIRWAYS
4
9
3
c
5
5
2
1
5
0
0
0
0
0
13
LUFTHAVSA
1
o
2
a
0
0
LACSA
o
2
0
0
1
1
3
83
9
24
2
0
4
28
8
3
0
MEXICAVA
Γ
5
4
0
0
0
0
0
23
OLYMPIC AIRWAYS
4
3
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
14
o
2
o
0
5
6
0
0
0
0
2
10
PAKISTAY INTERNATIONAL
0
2
5
0
0
PHILIPPI' AIRLINES
o
o
1
3
0
0
0
3
14
0
1
o
3
1
0
ROYAL AIR MAROC
1
5
3
O
0
0
0
22
7
2
7
1
0
o
2
o
0
1
10
SABEVA
3
3
0
0
0
o
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
o
3
0
0
0
2
0
0
o
o
0
3
11
1
2
0
2
0
1
SWISSAIR
0
0
0
0
I
10
1
0
0
1
4
3
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
)
14
SAHSA
2
2
0
1
0
2
4
0
0
0
2
13
SAS
6
1
0
0
o
2
0
0
2
3
15
169
VIASA
24
22
9
5
27
52
8
1
3
0
0
OTHER FOREIGN AIRLINES
89
7
33
2
3
6
57
1011
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
125
181
50
41
134
283
3.3
.2
.3
.6
5.6
100.0
.7
" PERCENTAGES "
12.4
17.9
4.9
4.1
13.3
28.0
8.8
39
12
0
6
85 1550
SAME PERIOD PRIJR YEAR
241
241
86
149
463
151
4
73
9.7
2.5
.8
.0
.4
5.5
100.0
15.5
15.5
4.7
5.5
9.6
29.9
.3
" PERCENTAGES "
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
8
JANUARY 1982 THROUGH NOVEMBER 1982
RESERVATIONS
COMPLAINTS BY
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER SPECIAL
ADVER-
INDUSTRY CROUP
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
U.S. AIRLINES
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
1832
1229
797
1463
924
100
205
109
89
29
305
8079
442
505
295
107
99
35
421
10202
SAME PERIOD PRIJE YEAR
2470
1211
562
618
783
2229
1252
120
FOREIGN AIRLINES
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
125
181
50
41
89
7
33
2
3
s
57
1011
134
283
151
4
39
12
0
6
35
1550
SAME PIRTOD PRINS YEAR
241
241
73
86
149
463
CARG)/FREIGHT FORWARDERS
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
0
o
o
1
o
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
35
39
1
o
o
0
0
0
0
0
99
100
SAYE PERIND PRIJR YEAR.
0
o
o
o
TRAVEL AGENTS
CURRENT PERIZD TOTALS
+
3
23
15
29
1
3
0
0
0
1
27
2
108
43
13
41
3
2
C
0
2
3
19
3
134
SAME PERIOD PRIOR YEAR
5
o
TOJR OPERATORS
CURRENT PERIOD TOTALS
6
17
11
5
26
10
8
0
o
8
1
237
5
335
9
7
15
6
29
9
.
0
1
6
2
226
2
316
SAME PERIOD PRIDR YEAR
OTHER CARRIERS
CURRENT PERIJO TOTALS
0
4
o
3
1
3
1
2
2
0
0
1
5
22
SAME PERIOD PRITE YEAR
6
4
2
16
2
13
5
?
38
2
2
2
45
142
TOTAL COMPLAINTS
CURRENT PERID TOTALS
2017
1434
526
570
987
1761
1025
109
240
120
94
300
410
7593
" PERCENTAGES "
21.0
14.9
5.5
5.9
10.3
18.4
10.7
1.1
2.5
1.3
1.0
3.1
4.3
100.0
288
658
12444
SAME PERIOD PRIOR YEAR
2731
1463
695
739
1005
2717
1414
126
373
129
106
.. PERCENTAGES ..
21.9
11.8
5.6
5.9
9.1
21.8
11.4
1.0
3.0
1.0
:
2.3
5.3
100.0
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
9
FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 1982
RESERVATIONS
b
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
FLIGHT OVER- AND
SPECIAL
ADVER-
J.S. AIRLINES
AIR FLORIDA
0
2
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
ALTAIR
0
0
0
0
10
0
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
AMERICAN
A
7
0
5
2
5
7
3
6
1
2
0
2
47
BRANIFF INT'L
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
6
CAPITOL AIR
11
0
o
0
5
3
I
0
0
0
0
0
0
20
CONTINENTAL
6
2
1
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
11
2
2
0
0
2
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
12
DELIA
4
3
0
EASTERN
8
3
0
3
10
3
1
1
0
0
0
s
2
31
FRONTIER
2
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
NORTHEASTERY INT'L.
3
0
0
3
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
1
o
0
0
0
0
1
20
NORTHWEST
10
1
2
0
0
4
2
PACIFIC EAST AIR
2
0
0
3
1
0
0
0
o
0
0
0
0
7
PAV AMERICAN,
4
4
2
0
2
7
3
0
3
0
0
0
?
27
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLINES
7
1
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
11
0
0
11
PIEDIONI
2
5
0
0
1
0
1
0
2
o
o
PSA
0
2
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
REPUBLIC
5
3
1
0
3
0
0
2
1
0
0
2
19
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
5
TRANSAMERICA
TNA
8
6
3
5
2
6
3
3
3
0
3
I
2
45
UNITED
13
a
4
6
B
5
4
2
1
o
1
J
2
52
USARE
6
2
1
0
2
5
2
0
2
0
c
0
1
21
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
,
WESTAIR COMMUTER
1
3
0
0
WESTERY
1
Γ
2
I
5
1
0
1
0
2
0
0
2
11
WORLD
;
2
0
0
0
2
o
0
o
0
0
0
0
7
OTHER U.S. AIRLINES
22
9
0
I
11
13
4
2
1
4
o
0
3
77
21
11
6
1
22
487
DECEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
128
67
17
26
91
62
32
13
** PERCENTAGES ..
26.3
13.8
3.5
5.3
15.6
12.7
4.6
2.1
4.3
2.3
1.2
.2
4.5
130.0
OFCE4BER 1981 COMPLAINTS
160
81
36
39
49
125
67
3
18
7
4
3
33
524
.. PERCENTAGES "
25.6
13.0
5.8
6.3
7.7
20.0
10.7
.5
2.9
1.1
.6
.5
5.3
133.9
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
10
FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 1992
DECEMBER 19 32
DECEMBER 19 81
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
U.S. AIRLINES
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
1100,000.00
100,000 PASSENGERS
AIR FLORIDA
5
1.60
3.13
20
2.58
7.75
10
6
.52
11.54
ALTAIR
AMERICAN
49
22.83
2.15
31
21.09
1.47
BRAVIFF INT'L
19
8.25
2.30
6
20
14.71
40
1.07
37.38
CAPITOL AR
1.36
CONTINENTAL
17
5.91
2.88
13
7.42
1.75
12
26.74
.45
23
27.77
.93
DELTA
EASTERV
31
1.07
34
28.24
1.20
28.97
6
4.34
1.38
1
5.11
1.37
FRONTIER
NORTHEASTERY IVT'L.
7
.10
70.00
WORTHWEST
20
10.26
1.95
10
9.01
1.11
PACIFIC EAST AIR
9
.07
128.57
4.5R
PAY AMERICAN
27
10.15
2.66
51
11.14
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLIVES
3.61
9
1.41
6.38
11
3.05
PIEDIOYT
11
7.51
1.46
9
6.84
1.32
PSA
5
6.42
.78
,
5.56
1.52
REPUBLIC
10
14.42
1.25
37
13.65
2.71
TRANSAMERICA
5
.42
12.20
2
.70
2.86
3.02
58
15.19
3.82
TWA
45
14.90
UNITED
52
28.78
1.01
"
23.75
2.00
USAIPE/
21
15.41
1.36
32
14.15
2.26
WESTAIR COMMUTER
6
.48
12.50
3
17
7.84
2.17
11
7.04
2.41
WESTERN
WORLD
7
1.51
4.64
14
1.61
8.70
DTHER U.S. AIRLINES
70
27.26
2.57
131
26.51
4.94
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 1982
PAGE
11
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
FOREIGN AIRLINES
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
AEROMEXICO
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
5
OTHER FOREIGN AIRLINES
5
8
1
0
10
8
2
o
0
0
0
1
1
36
DECEMBER 1992 COMPLAINTS
8
10
2
0
1
0
0
1
1
41
9
1
0
8
** PERCENTAGES "
19.5
22.0
2.4
.0
24.4
19.5
4.9
.0
2.4
.0
.0
2.4
2.4
100.0
DECEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
19
14
6
8
12
23
9
o
o
1
0
0
3
95
** PERCENTAGES **
20.0
14.7
6.3
8.4
12.6
24.2
9.5
.0
.0
1.1
.0
.0
3.2
100.0
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 1982
PAGE
12
RESERVATIONS
0090 ATT: BY
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER SPECIAL
ADVER-
INDUSTRY
PROPLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFUNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SHOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
9.5. 1121 INES
02058352 1792 COMPLAINTS
128
67
17
26
81
62
32
13
21
11
6
1
22
487
DECEMBER 1731 EXPLAINTS
160
81
36
39
48
125
67
3
18
7
4
3
33
424
FOREIGN AIRLINES
ret' :.2 199. 001 AIVTS
8
9
1
0
10
8
2
0
1
0
0
1
1
41
DECEMBER 1031 COMPLAINTS
19
14
0
0
1
0
0
3
95
6
8
12
23
9
CARG)/ERFIGHT FORWARDERS
DECEMBER 1792 COMPLAINTS
0
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
o
o
o
0
2
2
DECEMBER 1931 COMPLAINTS
0
o
o
o
o
o
o
5
5
0
o
o
0
0
TRAVEL AGFVTS
DECEMBER 1932 COMPLAINTS
0
0
0
3
2
0
o
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
DECEMBER 1931 COMPLAINTS
1
o
0
1
2
o
0
o
0
0
o
1
1
6
TOUR OPERATORS
DECEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
0
1
2
1
4
0
o
0
o
o
o
8
3
15
DECEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
1
1
0
1
o
0
o
o
o
o
o
7
0
10
OTHER CARRIERS
DECEMBER 1982 COMPLAINTS
0
2
o
o
o
3
0
0
0
o
0
0
2
7
DECEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
1
1
0
2
0
1
o
0
0
0
0
n
,
5
TOTAL COMPLAINTS
DECEMBER 1987 COMPLAINTS
136
79
20
30
97
73
34
13
22
11
6
10
21
559
00 PERCENTAGES "
24.4
14.2
3.5
5.4
17.4
13.1
6.1
2.3
3.9
2.0
1.1
1.8
4.8
130.0
DECEMBER 1981 COMPLAINTS
182
97
42
51
62
149
70
3
13
8
4
11
42
745
" PERCENTAGES ..
24.4
13.0
5.8
6.8
8.3
20.0
10.2
.4
2.4
1.1
.5
1.5
5.5
133.0
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
TWELVE MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 1982
PAGE
13a
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
J.5. AIRLINES
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
AFRU VIRGIN ISLANDS
2
1
0
0
1
17
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
24
AIR CALIFORNIA
15
1
1
2
1
2
10
I
1
1
0
0
0
41
AIR FLORIDA
1
4
2
3
0
4
233
48
41
21
15
27
45
22
AIR ILLINOIS
0
5
0
1
2
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
)
11
AIR NEW ENGLAND
3
2
0
1
5
0
0
0
0
0
1
n
0
12
AIR VIRGINIA
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
2
5
0
0
0
AIR WISCONSIN
6
2
0
0
0
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
I
14
ALTHA AIRLINES
0
4
?
1
2
8
1
0
0
0
0
,
2
20
ALTAIR
17
4
32
12
4
1
1
0
0
0
0
81
8
2
AMERICAN
116
81
58
53
34
109
86
11
25
15
IT
2
27
635
AMERICAN CEVTRAL AIRLINES
0
6
0
1
1
3
0
0
n
0
0
0
;
0
11
ARISTA INTERNATIONAL
4
1
0
0
0
1
6
0
0
0
0
I
,
13
ARROW AIRWAYS
9
3
0
0
0
13
0
0
2
1
0
1
3
32
ASPEV
3
3
1
1
2
6
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
18
SAR MARBER AIRLINES
5
3
2
1
2
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
21
BRANIFF IVIL
15
19
6
4
119
50
9
1
3
1
Γ
0
13
242
BRITT AIRWAYS
4
4
0
0
3
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
20
CAPITOL AR
131
120
21
12
36
85
51
2
5
6
1
0
18
489
CASCADE
4
2
1
2
1
1
o
o
0
o
0
0
,
11
COMAIR
1
2
1
0
0
3
1
0
0
o
0
0
3
11
COMMAND AIRWAYS
3
2
1
0
0
3
2
1
0
0
0
0
3
12
COVTINENTAL
45
26
13
19
16
37
27
2
4
4
3
0
,
204
CROWYAIR
2
1
0
1
1
0
o
o
o
0
0
0
1
14
DELTA
66
25
20
34
17
33
33
4
12
12
4
0
5
265
142
49
59
96
82
0
12
6
13
2
19
550
EASTERN
29
34
EMPIRE
18
13
0
3
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
40
FROVISER
20
7
2
8
10
15
6
0
1
0
I
0
9
19
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
11
1
0
2
0
4
7
o
3
0
0
?
5
35
GOLDEN WEST AIRLINES
18
5
1
1
5
4
3
o
0
o
0
1
?
39
HAWAII EXPRESS
5
o
1
0
0
o
o
0
o
3
o
0
1
10
HAWATIAN
7
4
2
1
5
10
2
o
o
0
0
0
2
33
IMPERIAL AIRLIVES
4
4
0
o
0
1
3
1
o
0
0
0
3
22
JET AMERICA AIRLINES
1
1
1
3
0
2
2
o
o
1
0
3
I
12
METRO AIRLIVES
12
3
2
2
1
3
1
o
o
0
c
0
0
24
METRO INTERNATIONAL
11
1
1
0
0
5
3
1
1
0
o
3
1
21
MID PACIFIC ARLIVES
1
4
1
o
5
11
1
1
o
1
0
0
1
21
MIDWAY
12
7
1
1
1
11
3
1
1
0
o
9
0
33
2
o
1
0
o
0
0
0
12
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
0
5
o
1
3
NEW YORK AIR
36
13
10
5
11
25
12
3
o
0
1
0
₹
118
NORTHEASTERY IVI'L.
43
46
10
o
66
3
2
o
2
2
3
0
3
111
92
23
22
11
47
3
6
4
2
0
5
267
NORTHWEST
16
16
OCEAYAIR LINE
I
1
0
0
0
10
o
o
o
a
o
o
0
12
OVERSEAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS
6
1
0
o
,
1
1
0
1
0
0
3
4
"
JEARK
11
4
2
4
6
9
6
1
2
0
,
1
1
40
PACIFIC EAST AIR
11
11
3
2
21
2
2
o
o
o
,
0
0
52
PAN AMERICAN
107
of
32
29
62
134
65
a
23
6
4
1
28
992
PEJPLE EXPRESS AIRLINES
59
"
16
26
5
18
16
3
0
1
0
?
3
ITA
0
4
105
PIEDMONT
25
28
4
5
11
13
a
2
3
0
1
PILGRIM AIRLINES
4
3
1
0
,
1
2
o
1
c
0
e
0
16
PIOVEFR
4
2
0
0
2
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
,
12
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
TWELVE MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 1982
PAGE
13b
RESERVATIONS
FLIGHT OVER- AND
CUSTOMER
SPECIAL
ADVER-
U.S. AIRLINES
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
POYPANO AIRWAYS
1
0
0
1
4
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
PRECISION
9
6
0
0
4
0
2
0
0
0
I
C
0
22
PRO AIR SERVICES
6
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
D
1
12
PSA
18
11
2
3
3
12
4"
1
2
1
0
0
2
59
PRINAIP
1
3
1
0
0
22
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
30
REPUBLIC
95
74
14
26
41
3
6
13
4
0
21
366
29
40
1
3
4
3
o
0
0
0
0
0
17
RIO AIRWAYS
6
0
0
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
3
2
1
0
1
3
2
1
0
0
o
0
0
13
ROYALE
5
2
o
0
0
1
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
14
SIMMONS AIRLINES
3
3
1
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
C
0
11
0
o
0
0
0
3
35
SOJTH PACIFIC ISLAND
1
8
2
0
2
14
5
SOUTHWEST
13
14
8
1
5
12
7
1
2
0
1
0
3
67
SUN AIRE
3
9
1
,
o
10
2
1
0
C
o
0
1
27
TEXAS INT'L
26
34
10
11
19
19
16
2
5
1
0
0
4
147
0
12
13
THE FLYING TIGER LINE
0
0
o
0
0
1
0
0
0
o
0
TRANSAMERICA
10
3
1
2
5
1
1
1
0
3
1
30
1
1
TWA
196
120
45
59
59
177
136
15
46
9
18
6
26
91?
170
95
32
56
44
124
83
12
30
4
9
,
36
695
UNITED
USAIRS
105
50
7
21
12
69
34
8
10
3
1
0
7
331
WESTAIR COMMUTER
12
19
?
o
4
11
7
1
1
1
0
o
?
60
WESTERV
22
22
13
19
32
28
20
4
4
14
5
o
9
105
1
4
1
o
1
0
o
)
I
15
WIEN AIR ALASKA
3
2
1
1
WINGS WEST
6
5
o
1
o
1
2
o
0
0
o
,
1
15
WORLD
46
31
s
11
21
30
19
3
2
I
0
c
2
174
OTHER U.S. AIRLINES
81
66
8
42
60
17
2
I
5
0
4
10
314
14
226
120
95
30
327
9536
1987 COMPLAINTS
2010
1296
459
531
375
1525
956
113
.. PERCENTAGES **
23.5
15.1
5.4
6.2
10.2
17.8
11.2
1.3
2.6
1.4
1.1
.4
3.8
100.0
1981 COMPLAINTS
2630
1292
593
557
331
2354
1319
123
313
114
103
38
454
10926
** PERCENTAGES ..
24.3
11.9
5.5
5.1
7.7
21.7
12.2
1.1
2.9
1.1
1.0
.4
4.2
100.0
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
TWELVE MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 1982
PAGE
14a
17 92
1981
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN
COMPLAINTS PER
U.S. AIRLINES
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
(100,000)
100,000 PASSENGERS
AERO VIRGIV ISLANDS
24
31
AIR CAL IFORVIA
41
35.73
1.15
75
34.85
2.15
AIR FL 33 10A
233
28.85
8.08
403
31.35
12.85
AIR ILLINOIS
11
8
AIR NEW ENGLAND
12
33
AIR VIRGINIA
10
5
AIR WISCONSIN
14
6.69
2.09
30
7.01
4.28
AL3HA AIRLINES
20
25.20
.79
21
15.03
1.40
ALTAIR
81
4.95
16.53
41
3.58
11.45
269.93
2.35
713
246.30
2.89
AMERICAN
635
AMERICAN CEVTRAL AIRLINES
11
2
ARISTA INTERNATIONAL
13
ARROW AIRWAYS
32
ASPEV
18
2.78
6.47
28
2.72
10.27
BAR HARBOR AIRLINES
21
19
BRANIFF IVIL
242
56.91
4.25
462
106.03
4.35
BRITT AIRWAYS
20
33
3.20
10.31
371
10.64
34.97
CAPITOL AIR
488
17.70
27.57
CASCADE
11
2.34
4.70
6
2.41
2.49
COMAIR
11
15
COMMAND AIRWAYS
12
6
CONTINENTAL
204
89.19
2.29
225
81.49
2.76
CROWNAIR
14
4
DELTA
265
333.35
.79
312
353.57
.88
EASTERN
550
349.87
1.57
882
360.74
2.44
EMPIRE
40
5.43
7.37
36
3.67
9.81
FRONTIER
79
59.57
1.33
116
62.60
1.85
GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL
35
3
GOLDEN WEST AIRLINES
38
5.09
7.47
45
6.56
6.86
HAWAII EXPRESS
10
1.34
HAWATIAN
33
31.84
1.04
40
29.89
IMPERIAL AIRLINES
22
1.97
11.76
25
1.47
17.01
JET AMERICA AIRLINES
12
1.32
9.09
1
METRO AIRLIVES
24
6
METRO INTERNATIONAL
27
30
MID PACIFIC AIRLINES
21
4
MIDWAY
38
12.09
3.15
28
5.70
4.71
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
12
3.71
3.07
25
3.32
7.53
NEW YORK AIR
118
17.84
6.61
161
12.41
12.97
NORTHEASTERN INT'L.
177
.74
239.19
VORTHWEST
269
111.77
2.41
302
113.47
2.55
OCEAVAIR LIVE
12
23
OVERSEAS NATIONAL AIRWAYS
17
1.12
85
42.79
1.99
GEAR<
49
43.70
PACIFIC EAST AIR
52
.15
325.00
PAY AMERICAN
592
137.31
4.54
1219
138.89
3.78
PEOPLE EXPRESS AIRLIVES
178
25.76
6.71
66
6.43
10.26
PIEDUCT
105
82.67
1.27
"
69.54
1.39
PILGRIM AIRLINES
16
29
PIDNEER
12
12
CIVIL AEROVAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
14b
THELVE MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 1982
11 32
1981
TOTAL PASSENGERS FLOWN
COMPLAINTS PER
TOTAL PASSENSERS FLOWN
COMPLAINTS PER
U.S. AIRLINES
COMPLAINTS
(100,00710
100,000 PASSENGERS
COMPLAINTS
(100,0001)
100,000 PASSENGERS
POMPANO AIRWAYS
10
PRECISION
22
10
12
1
PRO AIR SERVICES
PSA
59
69.69
.85
118
55.98
2.11
PRINAIR
30
86
441
159.88
2.76
REPUBLIC
366
181.37
2.02
17
16
R10 AIRWAYS
13
3.31
3.93
23
.93
24.73
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
ROYALE
14
8
SIMMONS AIRLINES
11
STJTH PACIFIC ISLAND
35
.20
175.00
5
.39
12.82
SOUTHWEST
67
85.90
.77
63
76.69
.92
SUN AIRE
27
11
39.71
4.35
TEXAS IVT'L
147
43.44
3.38
252
THE FLYING TIGER LINE
13
3.81
3.41
2
3.65
.55
TRANSAMERICA
30
5.26
5.70
46
8.58
5.34
TWA
912
175.82
5.16
1187
182.67
6.50
UNITED
695
326.63
2.13
662
292.94
2.26
167.78
1.97
464
161.69
2.87
USARE
331
WESTAIR COMMUTER
60
1.17
15.92
16
195
96.29
2.03
103
93.36
1.96
WESTERV
WIEN AIR ALASKA
15
9.84
1.52
13
9.27
1.40
16
3
WINGS WEST
174
17.33
10.04
451
20.12
22.42
WORLD
OTHER J.S. AIRLINES
314
35.61
8.82
687
47.66
14.41
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
15
TWELVE MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 1992
RESERVATIONS
PR7BLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
FLIGHT OVER- AND
SPECIAL
ADVER-
SERVICE 4:" MRS
ACD LIVIUS
3
3
0
E
1
1
0
0
0
1
,
15
2
3
15
3
o
3
17
10
0
2
0
0
0
5
69
14
AIR CIVIZE
1
0
0
9
7
2
3
0
2
2
0
0
0
15
A!R FRANCE
e
3
0
1
4
11
5
0
2
0
0
0
4
33
0
0
0
0
0
)
2ª
ATC 18913
3
9
1
2
3
7
3
A!? JAMAICE
2
B
1
0
5
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
22
ACTIVITY APLIVES
4
10
2
3
8
10
4
0
2
0
0
0
2
45
ALLA AIRLINES
0
1
0
0
2
11
0
0
1
0
0
U
1
15
4
6
0
I
5
₹
1
1
0
0
0
0
?
22
7
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
15
*********
4
I
o
1
1
PRETISH :12-AYS
12
15
3
4
3
18
9
0
3
1
0
0
1
74
""TISH CALEDOVIAN AIRWAY
2
2
3
2
,
0
3
0
2
0
0
C
0
14
0
13
nuga
6
1
0
o
o
5
1
0
0
0
0
0
DE AVIACION
1
5
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
13
5
o
o
0
1
1
0
0
o
1
0
0
12
: " IL ISTAEL
3
3
0
o
3
595CETT, S.A.
0
1
o
1
4
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
14
INERIS APLINES
2
15
0
2
6
13
4
1
2
0
0
0
1
"
0
,
11
ICELANDAIR
I
7
0
1
1
2
0
0
0
1
0
KOREA" AIRLINES
i
2
3
7
3
0
0
0
0
1
3
23
2
1
3
o
4
0
o
0
0
0
,
"
KUWAIT AIR.,1YS
2
1
0
7
KLM
3
7
1
3
$
10
3
0
2
0
0
0
3
"
LACER AIRWAYS
0
0
1
э
24
o
0
0
0
0
o
o
2
21
1
0
2
37
LUCTMANSA
5
2
1
5
4
,
3
0
5
0
LACSA
0
3
1
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
14
,
Γ
2
0
4
28
8
1
0
0
1
1
,
84
MERICAVA
10
24
TYYPIC dirners
4
3
3
2
3
5
4
0
0
0
0
o
,
24
PAKISTAV INTERNATIONAL
0
2
0
,
s
9
o
0
0
0
0
o
1
"
0
0
0
?
11
CHILIPPINE AIRLINES
0
1
o
1
2
5
o
0
o
ROYAL AIR VARUL
1
5
o
o
1
0
3
0
0
0
,
14
1
3
0
2
o
2
8
1
o
3
0
0
0
o
21
SABEYA
a
SINGAPORE AIRLIVES
0
3
3
0
3
3
0
0
0
0
o
0
1
10
SaISSAIR
1
2
D
2
o
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
11
0
0
o
0
1
10
SAHSA
1
0
0
o
1
4
3
c
sas
2
4
2
2
o
1
0
2
0
o
)
,
14
1
0
2
@
o
2
6
1
o
o
0
o
0
2
"
VIASA
OTHER FOREIGN AIRLINES
25
24
9
$
27
52
.
1
3
o
0
4
15
176
1932 COMPLAIVIS
113
190
51
41
144
291
91
1
34
2
1
1
59 1052
8.7
.7
3.2
.2
.3
.1
5.5
100.0
.. PERCENTAGES "
12.6
18.1
4.8
3.9
13.7
27.7
1931 CORPLAINTS
260
255
19
94
161
486
160
4
39
13
0
6
na 1048
" PEACENTACES 00
15.8
15.5
4.8
5.7
9.8
27.5
9.7
.2
2.4
.
.0
.4
5.3
137.0
CIVIL AERONAUTICS BUARD CONSUMER COMPLAINT REPORT
PAGE
16
TWELVE MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 1992
RESERVATIONS
COMPLAINTS BY
PROBLEMS SALES TICKETING FARES REFJNDS BAGGAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE PASSENGERS SMOKING TISING CREDIT TOURS OTHER TOTAL
FLIGHT OVER- AND
SPECIAL
ADVER-
INDUSTRY GROUP
.
U.S. AIFLINES
1982 COMPLAINTS
2010
1296
459
531
878
1525
956
113
226
120
95
30
327
9566
1981 COMPLAINTS
2630
1292
593
557
931
2354
1319
123
313
114
103
38
454
10926
FOREIGN AIRLINES
1932 COMPLAINTS
133
190
51
41
144
291
91
7
34
2
3
7
58
1052
13
0
6
88
1345
:981 COMPLAINTS
260
255
77
94
161
456
160
4
39
CARGT/FREIGHT FORWARDERS
1982 COMPLAINTS
0
o
0
0
1
0
o
0
1
0
0
37
40
1
1981 COMPLAINTS
o
o
0
0
-
0
o
0
0
0
0
o
104
105
TRAVEL AGENTS
1982 COMPLAINTS
4
3
23
18
31
1
3
0
o
0
1
27
2
113
0
o
2
1
20
.
140
1981 COMPLAINTS
6
0
43
14
43
3
2
TOUR OPERATORS
1982 COMPLAINTS
6
13
13
6
30
8
o
o
8
1
245
B
351
10
1981 COMPLAINTS
10
9
15
,
27
9
4
o
1
6
2
233
?
326
OTHER CARRIERS
1782 COMPLAINTS
6
o
3
1
6
1
2
2
C
0
1
7
20
o
14
5
2
38
2
2
2
48
147
1981 COMPLAINTS
7
5
2
18
2
TOTAL COMPLAINTS
1982 COMPLAINTS
2153
1513
546
500
1384
1834
1059
122
262
131
100
310
437
10151
.. PERCENTAGES "
21.2
14.9
5.4
5.7
13.7
19.1
10.4
1.2
2.6
1.3
1.0
3.1
4.3 100.0
1981 COMPLAINTS
2913
1560
137
GGS
1067
2866
1490
129
391
137
110
279
" PEFCENTAGES ..
22.1
11.9
5.6
6.5
9.1
21.7
11.3
1.0
3.0
1.0
.8
2.3
CONTENTS
INFORMATION
PLEASE
ALMANAC
ATLAS & YEARBOOK
1985
38TH EDITION
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON
1985
492
Environment
Environment
493
Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) in Standard Metropolitan
Statistical Cities-1980-1981
Water Supply of the World1
The Antarctic Icecap is the largest supply of fresh water, nearly 2 percent of the world's total of fresh and salt water. As can
1981
1980
be seen from the table below, the amount of water in our atmosphere is over ten times as large as the water in all the rivers
taken together. The fresh water actually available for human use in lakes and rivers and the accessible ground water amounts
More
More
to only about one third of one percent of the world's total water supply.
100-
200-
than
100-
200-
than
Metropolitan Area
0-99
199
300
300
0-99
199
300
300
Surface area
Volume
Percentage
Buffalo, N.Y.
(square miles)
(cubic miles)
of total
358
6
-
1
348
12
6
-
Chicago, III.
347
18
-
-
318
45
3
-
Salt Water
Denver, Colo.
286
56
22
1
277
62
23
4
The oceans
139,500,000
317,000,000
97.2
Houston, Texas
298
47
20
-
265
80
21
-
Inland seas and saline lakes
270,000
25,000
0.008
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.
361
4
-
-
329
36
1
-
Fresh Water
Los Angeles, Calif.
117
137
111
-
145
109
110
2
Freshwater lakes
330,000
30,000
0.009
Louisville, Ky.-Ind.
345
19
1
-
307
56
3
-
All rivers (average level)
-
300
0.0001
Milwaukee, Wis.
354
10
1
-
350
14
2
-
Antarctic Icecap
6,000,000
6,300,000
1.9
New York, N.Y.-N.J.
259
102
4
-
235
129
2
-
Arctic Icecap and glaciers
900,000
680,000
0.21
Philadelphia, Pa.-N.J.
333
31
1
-
303
59
4
-
Water in the atmosphere
197,000,000
3,100
0.001
Portland, Oreg.-Wash.
335
26
4
-
311
42
10
4
Ground water within half
-
1,000,000
0.31
Riverside, San Bernardino-
181
92
92
-
195
78
92
1
a mile from surface
Ontario, Calif.
Deep-lying ground water
-
1,000,000
0.31
St. Louis, Mo.-III.
339
23
2
1
311
49
6
-
Total (rounded)
-
326,000,000
100.00
Salt Lake City, Utah
335
29
1
-
312
36
18
-
San Diego, Calif.
296
67
2
-
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
1. All figures are estimated. Source: Department of the Interior, Geological Survey.
Seattle-Everett, Wash.
330
34
1
-
333
33
-
-
Washington, D.C.-Md.-Va.
344
21
-
-
297
67
2
-
Speed of Animals
Source: U.S. Council on Environmental Quality, 1980 and unpublished data. PSI is a highly summarized health-related index
based on the following criteria pollutants: Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, total suspended particulates, photochemical OXI-
Most of the following measurements are for maximum speeds over approximate quarter-mile distances. Exceptions-which
dants or ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. The PSI for one day will rise above 100 when any one of the 5 criteria pollutants (at
are included to give a wide range of animals-are the lion and elephant, whose speeds were clocked in the act of charging;
only one station in an SMSA) reaches a level judged to have adverse short-term effects on human health. Depending on the
the whippet, which was timed over a 200-yard course; the cheetah over a 100-yard distance; man for a 15-yard segment
pollutant, the time to exceed the standard varies from 1 to 24 hours. The health effect labels for PSI intervals are good or
of a 100-yard run; and the black mamba, six-lined race runner, spider, giant tortoise, three-toed sloth, and garden snail, which
moderate for 0-99; unhealthy for 100-199; very unhealthful for 200-300; and hazardous for more than 300.
were measured over various small distances.
Federal Outlays for the Environment by Activity, 1978-1982
Speed
Speed
Speed
Animal
mph
Animal
mph
Animal
mph
(In millions of dollars, except percent, for years ending Sept. 30)
Cheetah
70
Mongolian wild ass
40
Man
27.89
Pronghorn antelope
61
Greyhound
39.35
Elephant
25
Activity
1982
1981
1980
1979
1978
Wildebeest
50
Whippet
35.5
Black mamba snake
20
Lion
50
Rabbit (domestic)
35
Six-line race runner
18
Pollution abatement and control
$6,954
$7,220
$7,632
$6,945
$5,934
Thomson's gazelle
50
Mule deer
35
Squirrel
12
Percent Environmental Protection Agency
68.6
72.8
73.4
69.1
68.6
Quarter horse
47.5
Jackal
35
Pig (domestic)
11
Aid to State and local governments
4,500
4,671
5,177
4,769
3,972
Elk
45
Reindeer
32
Chicken
9
Research and development
800
810
782
795
836
Cape hunting dog
45
Giraffe
32
Spider (Tegenearia atrica)
1.17
Standard setting and enforcement
750
776
791
537
524
Coyote
43
White-tailed deer
30
Giant Tortoise
0.17
Reduction of pollution from Federal
Gray fox
42
Wart hog
30
Three-toed sloth
0.15
facilities
506
488
471
550
431
Hyena
40
Grizzly bear
30
Garden snail
0.03
Other
398
474
411
294
171
Zebra
40
Cat (domestic)
30
Protection and enhancement
2,266
2,583
2,749
2,614
2,688
Aid to State and local governments³
851
1,063
891
856
847
Source: Natural History Magazine, March 1974, copyright 1974. The American Museum of Natural History; and James Doher-
City recreation
196
209
335
338
425
ty, Curator of Mammals, N.Y. Zoological Society.
Noncity general recreation
232
253
128
196
158
Historic preservation and rehabili-
tation
75
106
84
45
39
Animal Names: Male, Female, and Young
Direct Federal activities
1,415
1,520
1,858
1,758
1,841
Noncity general recreation
310
319
468
449
372
Animal
Male
Female Young
Animal
Male
Female
Young
Animal
Male
Female
Young
Preservation and protection⁴
347
382
434
387
647
City recreation
213
206
212
196
132
Ass
Jack
Jenny
Foal
Duck
Drake
Duck
Duckling
Sheep
Ram
Ewe
Lamb
Historic preservation and rehabili-
Bear
Boar
Sow
Cub
Elephant
Bull
Cow
Calf
Swan
Cob
Pen
Cygnet
tation
101
100
112
133
63
Cat
Tom
Queen
Kitten
Fox
Dog
Vixen
Cub
Swine
Boar
Sow
Piglet
Understanding, describing, and predicting³
2,603
2,698
2,376
2,423
2,155
Cattle
Bull
Cow
Calf
Goose
Gander
Goose
Gosling
Tiger
Tiger
Tigress
Cub
Observation and prediction5
929
902
854
757
744
Chicken
Rooster
Hen
Chick
Horse
Stallion
Mare
Foal
Whale
Bull
Cow
Calf
Locate and describe natural resources
739
902
650
861
688
Deer
Buck
Doe
Fawn
Lion
Lion
Lioness
Cub
Wolf
Dog
Bitch
Pup
Research on environmental impact on
Dog
Dog
Bitch
Pup
Rabbit
Buck
Doe
Bunny
people
428
398
337
303
266
Ecological and other basic environmental
Source: James Doherty, Curator of Mammals, N.Y. Zoological Society.
research
181
178
228
266
242
Physical environmental surveys
302
292
281
214
197
Heat Wave in August 1983 Breaks the Record
Total
11,823
12,501
12,757
11,982
10,777
According to the National Climate Analysis Cen-
The unbroken heat wave lasted almost nine
1. Estimated. Based on January budget estimates. 2. Includes funds for planning, monitoring and surveillance, and technical
ter, the August 1983 heat wave was the hottest
weeks, claiming at least 220 lives and destroying
assistance. 3. Includes activities not shown separately. 4. Unique natural areas and endangered species. 5. Includes weather,
month on record for the United States and also one
$10 billion in crops. The summer of 1983 was only
ocean, and earthquakes and other disturbances. Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States. 1984.
of the driest.
the 17th hottest overall.
448
Energy
*
Household Appliance Data, November 1982
&
(million households)
GREAT DISASTERS
Census region
Area type
North
Non-
Northeast
Central
South
West
Metropolitan metropolitan
Total
(For later disasters, see Current Events of 1984)
Appliance
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
%
Electric Appliances
Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions
20-sq-mi. area of city leaving estimated 242,
Television set (color)
15.5
18.3
22.8
14.4
54.3
16.7
71.0
84.8
000 dead.
Television set (B/W)
8.9
10.6
13.7
A.D. 79Aug. 24, Italy: eruption of Mt. Vesuvius buried
5.8
29.6
9.3
38.9
46.5
Clothes washer (automatic)
11.9
14.5
20.2
11.4
42.4
15.5
57.9
69.1
cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing
Aug. 17, Mindanao, Philippines: earthquake and
thousands.
tidal wave left up to 8,000 dead or missing.
Clothes washer (wringer)
0.5
1.0
0.9
0.1
1.5
1.0
2.5
3.0
1556 Jan. 24, Shaanxi (Shensi) Province, China: most
1977 March 4, Bucharest: earthquake razed most of
Range (stove-top or
16.5
8.7
31.8
44.7
53.3
deadly earthquake in history; 830,000 killed.
downtown Bucharest; 1,541 reported dead,
burners)
7.6
11.9
12.9
7.0
10.0
15.0
7.7
28.3
11.4
47.4
1755 Nov. 1, Portugal: one of the most severe of rec-
over 11,000 injured.
Oven (not microwave)¹
39.7
1.6
1.3
3.7
1.1
4.9
5.8
orded earthquakes leveled Lisbon and was
1978 Sept. 16, Tabas, Iran: earthquake destroyed city
Microwave
0.6
1.4
in eastern Iran, leaving 25,000 dead.
Clothes dryer
6.9
9.7
14.2
7.2
26.3
11.6
37.9
45.3
felt as far away as southern France and North
1980 Nov. 23, Naples, Italy: 2,735 killed when earth-
Separate freezer
5.0
9.1
12.0
4.9
19.9
11.1
31.0
37.0
Africa; 10,000-20,000 killed in Lisbon.
quake struck southern Italy.
Dishwasher
5.8
6.8
10.3
7.3
24.7
5.6
30.3
36.1
1883 Aug. 26-28, Netherlands Indies: eruption of Kraka-
1982 Dec. 13, Yemen: 2,800 reported dead in earth-
Humidifier
2.5
6.3
1.7
0.8
7.8
3.5
11.3
13.5
tau; violent explosions destroyed two thirds
quake
Dehumidifier
2.4
3.9
1.1
0.1
5.5
2.1
7.5
9.0
of island. Sea waves occurred as far away as
Window or ceiling fan
5.0
6.5
10.0
1.9
17.6
5.9
23.5
28.0
Cape Horn, and possibly England. Estimated
Whole house cooling fan
1.3
1.8
2.8
0.6
5.0
1.5
6.5
36,000 dead.
Floods, Avalanches, and Tidal Waves
7.8
Evaporative cooler
-
0.1
0.6
2.8
3.0
0.6
3.6
4.2
1902 May 8, Martinique, West Indies: Mt. Pelée erupted
1228 Holland: 100,000 persons reputedly drowned
and wiped out city of St. Pierre; 40,000 dead.
by sea flood in Friesland.
Gas appliances
1906 April 18, San Francisco: earthquake accompanied
1642 China: rebels destroyed Kaifeng seawall; 300,
Range (stove-top or
10.3
9.6
11.4
7.7
31.5
7.6
39.0
46.6
by fire razed more than 4 sq mi.; more than
000 drowned.
burners)
500 dead or missing; property damage about
1889 May 31, Johnstown, Pa.: more than 2,200 died in
Oven1
8.9
8.1
9.7
6.9
27.3
6.3
33.7
40.2
$250-300 million.
flood.
Clothes dryer
2.7
4.3
2.4
2.8
10.6
1.6
12.2
14.6
1908 Dec. 28, Messina, Sicily: about 85,000 killed and
1896 June 15, Sanriku, Japan: earthquake and tidal
Outdoor piped gas grill
0.7
0.6
1.3
0.5
2.7
0.4
3.0
3.6
city totally destroyed.
wave killed 27,000.
Outdoor LPG gas grill
2.4
1.5
1.8
0.7
4.9
1.5
6.4
7.7
1915 Jan. 13, Avezzano, Italy: earthquake left 29,980
1928 March 12, Santa Paula, Calif.: collapse of St. Francis
Outdoor gas light
0.1
0.5
0.7
0.1
1.2
0.3
1.4
1.7
dead.
Dam left 450 dead.
Swimming pool heater
-
0.1
-
0.1
0.3
-
0.3
0.4
1920 Dec. 16, Gansu (Kansu) Province, China: earthquake
1953 Northwest Europe: storm followed by floods dev-
killed 200,000.
astated North Sea coastal areas. Netherlands
Refrigerators
1923 Sept. 1, Japan: earthquake destroyed third of
was hardest hit with 1,794 dead.
One
15.2
17.6
25.1
14.5
54.6
17.8
72.4
86.4
Tokyo and most of Yokohama; more than
1959 Dec. 2, Frejus, France: flood caused by collapse of
Two or more
2.7
3.6
2.9
1.9
8.5
2.7
11.1
13.3
140,000 killed.
Malpasset Dam left 412 dead.
None
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.3
1933 March 10, Long Beach, Calif.: 117 left dead by
1960 Agadìr, Morocco: 10,000-12,000 dead as earth-
earthquake.
quake set off tidal wave and fire, destroying
Air Conditioning (A/C)
1935 May 31, India: earthquake at Quetta killed an es-
most of city.
Central
2.1
5.9
11.8
3.5
19.2
4.1
23.3
27.8
timated 50,000.
1962 Jan. 10, Peru: avalanche down Huascaran, ex-
Individual room units
7.2
6.4
9.5
2.2
19.3
6.0
25.3
30.2
tinct Andean volcano, killed more than 3,000
None
1939 Jan. 24, Chile: earthquake razed 50,000 sq mi.;
8.6
9.0
6.8
10.7
24.7
10.4
35.1
41.9
about 30,000 killed.
persons.
18.0
21.3
Dec. 27, Northern Turkey: severe quakes destroyed
1963 Oct. 9, Italy: landslide into the Vaiont Dam; flood
Total households
28.1
16.5
63.2
20.6
83.8
100.0
city of Erzingan; about 100,000 casualties.
killed about 2,000.
1946 April 1, Alaska, Hawaii, West Coast: earthquake and
1966 Oct. 21, Aberfan, Wales: avalanche of coal, waste,
1. Data are for the most used oven. NOTE: A dash represents less than 0.05 million households. NOTE: Sum of components
may not equal total due to independent rounding. Source: Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-457, "The Residential
tsunami (tidal wave) left 173 dead in Hawaii.
mud, and rocks killed 144 persons, including
Energy Consumption Survey.'
1950 Aug. 15, India: earthquake affected 30,000 sq mi.
116 children in school.
in Assam; 20,000-30,000 believed killed.
1969 Jan. 18-26, Southern California: floods and mud-
1963 July 26, Skoplje, Yugoslavia: four fifths of city de-
slides from heavy rains caused widespread
ycan we set 92
stroyed; 1,011 dead, 3,350 injured.
property damage; at least 100 dead. Another
1964 March 27, Alaska: strongest earthquake ever to
downpour (Feb. 23-26) caused further floods
strike North America hit 80 miles east of An-
and mudslides; at least 18 dead.
chorage; followed by seismic wave 50 feet
1970 Nov. 13, East Pakistan: 200,000 killed by cyclone-
(Based
high that traveled 8,445 miles at 450 miles
driven tidal wave from Bay of Bengal. Over
per hour; 117 killed and damage in Alaska
100,000 missing.
and West Coast $500-750 million.
1971 Sept. 29, Orissa State, India: cyclone and tidal wave
off Bay of Bengal killed as many as 10,000.
figures
1970 May 31, Peru: earthquake left 50,000 dead,
MPG
$1.60
17,000 missing.
1972 Feb. 26, Man, W. Va.: more than 118 died when
$1.70
1971 Feb. 9, Los Angeles: earthquake rocked San Fer-
slag-pile dam collapsed under pressure of tor-
50
320
340
nando Valley. Death toll 64; damage $1 bil-
rential rains and flooded 17-mile valley.
45
355
377
lion.
June 9-10, Rapid City, S.D.: flash flood caused 237
40
400
425
35
1972 April 10, Iran: 5,000 killed in earthquake 600
deaths and $160 million in damage.
458
486
miles south of Teheran.
June 20, Eastern Seaboard: tropical storm Agnes,
30
533
566
Dec. 22, Managua, Nicaragua: earthquake devas-
in 10-day rampage, caused widespread flash
25
640
680
tated city, leaving up to 6,000 dead.
floods. Death toll was 129, 115,000 were left
20
800
850
1976 Feb. 4, Guatemala: earthquake left over 23,000
homeless, and damage estimated at $3.5 bil-
15
1,067
1,134
lion.
dead.
10
1,600
1,700
July 28, Tangshan, China: earthquake devastated
1976 Aug. 1, Loveland, Colo.: Flash flood along Route 34
in Big Thompson Canyon left 139 dead.
449
64
Business and the Economy
65
Business and the Economy
Leading Advertising Agencies
Percent Unemployed in
Comparison of Median Earnings of Year-Round,
in World Billings
the Civilian Labor Force
Full-Time Workers; 15 Years and Over, by Sex, 1960 to 1982
(in millions of dollars)
Percent
Percent
Year
Unemployed Year
Unemployed
Women's
Percent
Earnings
Agency
1983
1982
Earnings
earnings
men's
Median earnings
gap in
gap in
1920
5.2
1972
5.6
as a
earnings
constant
Young & Rubicam
$2,761.4
$2,511.7
current
exceeded
1922
6.7
1974
5.6
Year
percent
Women
1982
Men
dollars
of men's
Ted Bates Worldwide
2,586.1
2,374.0
1924
5.0
1976
7.7
women's
dollars
J. Walter Thompson Co.
2,524.1
2,315.2
1926
1.8
1978
6.0
1960
$3.257
$5,368
$2,111
60.7
64.8
Ogilvy & Mather
2,360.4
2,151.0
1965
$6,880
1928
4.2
1979
5.8
3,828
6,388
2,560
60.0
66.9
1970
7,832
McCann-Erickson
1,993.1
1,841.4
1930
8.7
1980
7.1
5,323
8,966
3.643
59.4
68.4
9,056
BBDO International
1,949.0
1,605.5
1932
23.6
1981
7.6
1974
6.970
11.889
4,919
58.6
70.6
9,628
Saatchi & Saatchi Compton
1,710.6
1,302.6
1934
21.7
1982
9.7
1975
7,504
12,758
5,254
58.8
70.0
Leo Burnett Co.
1,485.3
1,487.4
9,423
1936
16.9
1983
9.6
1976
8,099
13,455
5,356
60.2
66.1
1977
9,082
Foote Cone & Belding
1,405.6
1,211.4
1938
19.0
Jan.
10.4
8,618
14,626
6,008
58.9
69.7
9,570
SSC&B: Lintas Worldwide
1,321.5
1,305.5
1940
14.6
Feb.
10.4
1978
9.350
15,730
6,380
59.4
68,2
1942
4.7
March
10.3
1979
9,439
10,169
17,045
6,876
59.7
67.6
9,144
Source: Reprinted with permission from the March 28, 1984,
1944
1.2
April
10.2
1980
11,197
18,612
7,415
60.2
issue of Advertising Age. Copyright © 1984 by Crain Com-
66.2
8,686
1946
3.9
May
10.1
1981
12,001
20,260
8,259
munications, Inc.
59.2
68.8
8,765
1948
3.8
June
10.0
1982
13,014
21,077
8,063
61.7
62.0
8,063
Unemployment Rate, 1983
1950
5.3
July
9.5
1952
3.0
Aug.
9.5
Source: Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
1954
5.5
Sept.
9.2
Race and age
Women'
Men'
1956
4.1
Oct.
8.8
1958
6.8
Nov.
8.4
All races:
9.2
9.9
1960
5.5
Dec.
8.2
Composition of the Civilian Labor Force and Unemployment
16 to 19 years
21.3
23.3
1962
5.5
1984
20 years and over
8.1
8.9
1964
5.2
Jan.
8.0
White
7.9
8.8
1966
3.8
Feb.
7.8
July 1983
July 1982
16 to 19 years
18.3
20.2
1968
3.6
March
7.8
Civilian
Civilian
20 years and over
6.9
7.9
1970
4.9
April
7.8
labor force
Unemployed
labor force
Unemployed
Minority races:
17.0
18.5
16 to 19 years
44.6
44.9
NOTE: Estimates prior to 1940 are based on sources other
Num-
Per-
Num-
Per-
Num-
Per-
Num-
Per-
cent
cent
20 years and over
15.2
16.5
than direct enumeration. Source: Department of Labor, Bur-
ber
ber
ber
cent
ber
cent
eau of Labor Statistics.
(thou-
distri-
(thou-
distri-
(thou-
distri-
(thou-
distri-
Race, sex, and age
sands)
bution
sands)
bution
Rate
sands)
bution
1. Annual averages. Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of
sands)
bution
Rate
Labor Statistics.
White
97,255
64.4
7,995
59.1
8.2
96,493
87.3
8,356
77.4
8.7
Employment and Unemployment
Men. 20 years and older
51,901
34.4
4,010
29.6
7.7
51,292
*
46.4
4,037
37.4
7.9
Women, 20 years and older
38,161
25.3
2,587
19.1
6.8
37,845
(in millions of persons)
34.2
2,777
25.7
7.3
Teenagers. 16 to 19 years
7,193
4.8
1,398
10.3
19.4
7,356
6.7
1,542
14.3
21.0
Black and other
11,741
35.6
2,298
40.9
19.6
14,027
1983
1980
1979
1975
1970
1959
1950
1945
1941
1932
1929
12.7
2,433
22.6
17.3
Category
Men. 20 years and older
5,599
17.0
1,040
18.5
18.6
6,784
6.1
1,063
10.0
5.7
Women. 20 years and older
5,317
16.1
859
15.3
16.2
6,247
5.7
897
8.3
4.4
EMPLOYMENT STATUS¹
Teenagers. 16 to 19 years
825
2.5
399
7.1
48.4
997
0.9
47.4
Total noninstitutional population
174.2
169.8
167.0
155.3
140.3
117.9
106.6
105.5
101.5
473
4.4
All races
Total labor force
-
109.0
107.0
96.0
86.0
70.9
63.9
65.3
57.5
51.3
49.4
Men. 20 years and older
57,500
51.4
5,050
48.2
8.8
58,076
47.3
Percent of population
64.0
64.2
64.1
61.8
61.3
60.2
59.9
61.9
56.7
I
52.5
5,100
8.8
Women, 20 years and older
43,478
41.4
3,446
34.4
7.9
44,092
40.0
3,674
34.1
8.3
Civilian labor force
111.6
106.9
105.0
93.8
82.8
68.4
62.2
53.9
55.9
51.0
49.2
Teenagers, 16 to 19 years
8,018
7.3
1,797
17.4
22,4
8,353
78.7
64.6
58.9
52.8
50.4
38.9
7.6
2,015
18.7
24.1
Employed
100.8
99.3
98.8
85.8
47.6
Total
108,996
100.0
10,293
100.0
9.4
110,520
100.0
10,789
Agriculture
3.4
3.4
3.3
3.4
3.5
5.6
7.2
8.6
9.1
10.2
10.5
100.0
9.8
Nonagricultural industries
97.5
95.9
95.5
82.4
75.2
59.1
51.8
44.2
41.3
28.8
37.2
NOTE: Totals may not add due to rounding. Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Unemployed
10.7
7.6
6.1
7.9
4.1
3.7
3.3
1.0
5.6
12.1
1.6
Percent of labor force
9.6
7.1
5.8
8.5
4.9
5.5
5.3
1.9
9.9
23.6
3.2
Not in labor force
62.7
60.8
59.9
59.4
54.3
47.0
42.8
40.2
44.0
Advertising Expenditures by Medium
INDUSTRY
Total nonagricultural employment
90.1
90.4
89.8
76.9
70.9
53.3
45.2
40.4
36.5
23.6
31.3
Goods-producing industries
23.4
25.7
26.5
22.6
23.6
20.4
18.5
17.5
16.0
8.6
13.3
(in Millions)
1.0
0.7
1.1
Mining
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.7
0.9
0.8
Construction
3.9
4.3
4.5
3.5
3.6
3.0
2.4
1.1
1.8
1.0
1.5
1982
1981
1980
1975
1970
1960
Manufacturing: Durable goods
10.8
12.2
12.8
10.7
11.2
9.4
8.1
9.1
7.0
Nondurable goods
7.7
8.1
8.3
7.6
8.2
7.3
7.1
6.5
6.2
% of
% of
% of
% of
Medium
% of
Amt.
% of
32.9
26.7
22.9
20.6
15.0
18.0
total
Amt.
total
Amt.
Amt.
Amt.
total
Amt.
Services-producing industries
66.7
64.7
63.4
54.3
47.3
total
total
total
Transportation and public utilities
5.0
5.1
5.1
4.5
4.5
4.0
4.0
3.9
3.3
2.8
3.9
Newspapers
$17.7
26.6
$16.5
27.3
$14.8
27.7
$8.2
29.5
31.0
Trade: Wholesale
5.3
5.3
5.1
4.4
4.0
3.1
2.6
1.9
2.0
$5.7
29.2
$3.7
Magazines
3.7
5.6
3.5
5.8
3.1
6.8
5.4
5.9
1.5
5.2
0.9
Retail
15.5
15.0
15.0
12.6
11.0
8.0
5.3
1.3
6.6
Business Papers
7.9
1.9
2.8
1.8
3.0
1.7
3.1
0.9
3.3
0.7
3.8
0.6
5.1
Finance, insurance, and
Radio
4.7
7.0
4.2
7.0
3.7
2.0
7.1
6.7
0.7
real estate
5.5
5.2
5.0
4.2
3.6
2.5
1.9
1.5
1.5
1.3
1.5
6.9
1.3
Television
5.8
14.3
21.5
12.7
21.0
11.4
21.2
5.3
18.9
3.6
18.4
1.6
Services
19.7
17.9
17.9
13.9
11.5
7.1
5.4
4.2
3.9
2.9
3.4
Direct mail
10.3
13.3
15.5
8.9
14.7
7.6
14.2
4.1
14.8
2.8
14.1
1.8
15.3
Federal government
2.8
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.7
2.2
1.9
2.8
1.3
0.6
0.5
Outdoor
0.7
1.1
0.7
1.2
0.6
1.1
0.3
9.8
5.9
4.1
3.1
3.3
2.7
2.5
1.2
0.2
1.2
0.2
State and local government
13.1
13.4
13.2
11.9
Miscellaneous²
1.7
13.3
19.9
12.1
20.0
10.7
19.9
5.6
20.0
3.9
20.0
2.4
Total
19.8
66.6
100.0
60.4
100.0
53.6
100.0
27.9
100.0
19.5
100.0
11.9
1. For 1929-45, figures on employment status relate to persons 14 years and over; beginning in 1950, 16 years and over.
100.0
NOTE: Figures may not add to totals because of rounding. Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
1. Preliminary. 2. Includes regional farm papers. Sources: McCann-Erickson, Inc., and Advertising Age.
52
Business and the Economy
Business and the Economy
53
Expenditures for New Plant
New Housing Starts¹ and Mobile
and Equipment1
Homes Shipped
50 Companies With Largest Number of Stockholders
(in millions of dollars)
(in thousands)
Company
Stockholders
Company
Stockholders
Manufac-
No. of
No. of
Mobile
American Tel. & Tel.
2,960,000
Middle South Utilities
218,000
turing and
Transpor-
All
units
units
homes
General Motors
998,000
United States Steel
216,000
Year
mining
tation
other2
Total
Year
started
Year
started
Year
shipped
Exxon Corporation
890,000
Dominion Resources
213,000
1950
$8,570
International Business Machines
770,000
Niagara Mohawk Power
209,000
$2,380
$14,370
$25,320
1900
189
1965
1,510
1965
217
1955
36,580
General Electric
501,000
Consolidated Edison
207,000
13,810
2,600
20,170
1910
387
1970
1,469
1970
401
GTE Corporation
476,000
Ohio Edison
204,000
1960
17,650
3,190
27,800
48,630
1920
247
1975
1,171
1975
213
1965
26,770
5,460
38,200
1925
937
1976
Imperial Chemical
366,000
Northeast Utilities
201,000
70,430
1,548
1976
246
1970
39,010
6,950
59,650
105,610
Texaco Inc.
354,000
Eastman Kodak
200,000
1930
330
1977
2,002
1977
277
200,000
1975
61,020
8,680
157,710
221
Sears, Roebuck
340,000
RCA Corporation
88,010
1935
1978
2,036
1978
275
89,930
10,680
130,630
1940
603
1979
Southern Company
340,000
Atlantic Richfield
198,000
1978
231,240
1,760
1979
277
1979
110,060
12,350
148,050
270,460
American Electric Power
338,000
Union Electric
193,000
1945
326
1980
1,313
1980
222
1980
12,090
295,630
1,952
Bell Canada Enterprises
304,000
Standard Oil (Indiana)
190,000
129,320
154,220
1950
1981
1,100
1981
241
1981
165,790
1955
Commonwealth Edison
301,000
Consumers Power
189,000
143,650
12,050
321,490
1,646
1982
1,072
1982
240
1982
11,950
Ford Motor
291,000
Occidental Petroleum
185,000
135,130
169,360
316,430
19601
1,296
1983
1,712
1983
296
1983
Philadelphia Electric
276,000
International Tel. & Tel.
181,000
123,180
11,250
168,750
303,200
19843
182,900
333,320
1. Prior to 1960, starts limited to nonfarm housing; from
Mobil Corp.
272,000
139,460
Long Island Lighting
180,000
10,960
1960 on, figures include farm housing. Sources: Department
Pacific Gas & Electric
268,000
Pennsylvania Power & Light
169,000
1. Data exclude agriculture. 2. Includes electric and gas utili-
of Commerce, Housing Construction Statistics, 1900-1965,
Detroit Edison
254,000
Chrysler Corporation
169,000
ties, trade, service, communications, construction, and fi-
and Construction Reports, Housing Starts, 1970-83, Manu-
Gulf Oil
253,000
BankAmerica
161,000
nance. 3. Planned capital expenditures. NOTE: This series
factured Housing Institute, 1965-76; National Conference
British Petroleum
251,000
Southern California Edison
158,000
was revised in January 1984. Source: Department of Com-
of States on Building Codes and Standards.
duPont de Nemours
246,000
Duquesne Light
144,000
merce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Hitachi, Ltd.
240,000
Westinghouse Electric
144,000
Standard Oil of California
236,000
Dow Chemical
136,000
Public Service Electric & Gas
232,000
Cleveland Electric
132,000
Tenneco Inc.
224,000
Matsushita Electric
129,000
Shareholders in Public Corporations
Note: As of early 1984. Source: New York Stock Exchange.
Characteristic
1983
1980
1975
1970
1965
1959
1952
Individual shareholders (thousands)
42,360
30,200
25,270
30,850
20,120
12,490
6,490
Owners of shares listed on
New York Stock Exchange (thousands)
26,029
23,804
17,950
18,290
12,430
8,510
n.a.
Adult shareowner incidence in population
1 in 4
1 in 5
1 in 6
1 in 4
1 in 6
1 in 8
in 16
Median household income
$33,200
$27,750
$19,000
$13,500
$9,500
$7,000
$7,100
50 Leading Stocks in Market Value
Adult shareowners with household
income: under $10,000 (thousands)
1,460
1,742
3,420
8,170
10,080
9,340
n.a.
Market
Listed
Market
Listed
$10,000 and over (thousands)
36,261
25,715
19,970
20,130
8,410
2,740
n.a.
value
shares
value
shares
Adult female shareowners (thousands)
20,385
13,696
11,750
14,290
9,430
6,350
3,140
Stock
(millions)
(millions)
Stock
(millions)
(millions)
Adult male shareowners (thousands)
19,226
14,196
11,630
14,340
9,060
5,740
3,210
Median age
45
46
53
48
49
49
International Business Machines
$74,013
604.8
Merck & Co.
6,861
75.9
51
American Telephone & Telegraph
57,371
936.7
Dow Chemical
6,819
205.9
NOTE: n.a. = not available. Source: New York Stock Exchange.
Exxon Corp.
33,877
906.4
American Express
6,746
207.6
General Electric
27,139
462.9
Reynolds (R.J.) Inds.
6,359
104.7
General Motors
23,375
314.3
International Telephone & Telegraph
6,140
137.2
Standard Oil (Indiana)
15,407
304.3
Union Pacific
5,813
114.5
50 Most Active Stocks in 1983
Schlumberger, N.V.
15,218
302.8
Bristol-Myers
5,761
135.9
Sears, Roebuck
13,367
361.3
Tenneco Inc.
5,716
139.4
Eastman Kodak
12,658
165.7
Sun Co.
5,698
130.2
Stock
Share volume
Stock
Share volume
Stock
Share volume
duPont de Nemours
12,392
238.3
Pfizer Inc.
5,696
159.3
Shell Oil
12,370
309.3
Abbott Laboratories
5,615
124.1
American Tel. & Tel.
420,502,900
Atlantic Richfield
97,006,700
Standard Oil (Indiana)
75,719,300
Mobil Corp.
12,282
427.2
Unocal Corp.
5,493
173.7
Int'l Business Machines
186,294,000
Sony Corp.
96,055,800
Morris (Philip)
75,504,200
Standard Oil of California
11,888
342.1
Standard Oil (Ohio)
5,443
121.6
Exxon Corp.
166,494,600
Diamond Shamrock
94,775,500
Pepsi Co, Inc.
73,962,900
Atlantic Richfield
10,719
247.8
Teledyne, Inc.
5,385
32.3
Chrysler Corporation
158,081,300
Ford Motor
94,170,100
Halliburton Co.
73,520,700
Hewlett-Packard
10,681
252.1
Phillips Petroleum
5,329
154.4
Merrill Lynch
127,643,200
General Electric
93,151,700
Int'l Tel. & Tel.
70,926,300
Texaco Inc.
9,875
274.3
Bell Canada Enterprises
5,295
196.1
General Motors
126,271,600
AMR Corp.
92,136,600
National Semiconductor
70,264,200
Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing
9,735
118.0
Wal-Mart Stores
5,271
135.1
American Express
112,792,580
RCA Corp.
92,057,600
Boeing Co.
70,234,900
Procter & Gamble
9,545
167.8
Motorola, Inc.
5,215
38.3
Pan American World Airways
112,434,100
Johnson & Johnson
88,146,900
Prime Computer
69,947,900
Gulf Oil
9,139
211.9
Rockwell International
5,098
154.5
Schlumberger, N.V.
112,353,700
K mart Corp.
88,068,800
Phillips Petroleum
69,067,500
Morris (Philip)
9,048
126.1
Citicorp
5,081
136.9
Citicorp
111,945,900
Dow Chemical
81,958,300
Unocal Corp.
68,431,800
Getty Oil
8,687
88.5
Texas Oil & Gas
5,010
104.9
Eastman Kodak
111,325,100
Phibro-Salomon
81,885,200
GTE Corp.
67,491,300
American Home Products
8,373
168.7
Westinghouse Electric
4,932
90.1
Tandy Corp.
109,085,600
Hewlett-Packard
79,972,200
Archer-Daniels-Midland
67,332,800
GTE Corp.
8,131
185.9
Superior Oil
4,880
132.8
Sears, Roebuck
103,730,400
Federal Nat'l Mortgage
79,688,645
Amerada Hess
66,828,100
Johnson & Johnson
7,800
190.8
Halliburton Co.
4,785
118.5
Mobil Corp.
102,291,000
Warner Communications
79,051,700
BankAmerica
64,709,700
Coca-Cola Co.
7,300
136.4
Total
$571,897
11,134.6
Digital Equipment
101,313,900
Goodyear Tire
79,040,500
Xerox Corp.
64,368,400
Ford Motor
7,066
166.3
Gulf Oil
98,481,300
Coleco Industries
76,203,600
American Motors
64,334,100
Superior Oil
97,404,800
Standard Oil Co. of Cal.
75,841,100
NOTE: As of Dec. 31, 1983. Of the 1,518 common stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange at the end of 1983, the
50 issues with the largest market value totaled $572 billion, or 37% of the total value of common stocks listed. The five
Source: New York Stock Exchange.
largest common issues were valued at $216 billion, or 16% of the total. Source: New York Stock Exchange.
Business and the Economy
51
50
Business and the Economy
of
Total Family Income
**
Terms on Conventional First Mortgages: All Major Types of Lenders
(figures in percent)
Contract
Fees and
Effective
Loan-to-price
rate
charges
rate
Maturity
Loan
Purchase
ratio
Type of homes and year
(percent)
(percent)
(percent)
(years)
amount
price
(percent)
White
Black and other races
Income range
1970
1960
1982
1980
New homes: 1983
12.11
2.39
12.57
26.7
70.6
93.9
77.3
1982
1980
1970
1960
1982
14.49
2.96
15.14
27.5
69.5
94.1
76.6
Families (thousands)1
53,407
52,710
46,535
41,123
7,987
7,599
5,413
4,333
1981
14.13
2.66
14.70
27.7
65.2
90.3
74.8
1.9
1.6
5.6
15.1
4.9
5.0
15.6
39.8
1980
12.25
2.09
12.65
28.2
59,200
83,400
73.2
Under $2,500
$2,500 to $7,499
7.1
8.6
25.8
52.9
21.0
22.5
41.4
48.9
1979
10.48
1.66
10.77
28.5
53,300
74,400
73.9
$7,500 to $12,400
11.1
13.1
33.4
24.6
17.5
18.5
25.6
9.9
1975
8.75
1.54
-
26.8
33,300
44,600
76.1
6.5
1970
8.27
1.03
-
25.1
25,200
35,500
71.7
$12,500 to $14,999
5.9
6.8
11.5
3.3
6.2
7.4
0.9
$15,000 to $19,999
12.3
14.1
13.8
2.2
11.1
12.8
7.4
0.3
Existing homes: 1983
12.29
2.40
12.75
25.9
56.8
79.3
74.3
$20,000 to $24,999
12.6
14.2
4.9
0.9
10.7
10.6
2.1
0.3
1982
14.78
2.55
15.33
24.9
48.7
70.7
71.9
68.5
72.9
$25,000 to $34,999
20.3
20.8
3.2
14.5
12.9
1.1
1981
14.51
2.27
15.00
25.9
47.7
-
-
$35,000 to $49,999
16.9
13.6
1.2
1.1
9.6
7.6
0.3
-
1980
12.58
1.90
12.95
26.8
48,000
68,000
73.3
7.2
4.6
2.8
0.1
1979
10.66
1.45
10.92
27.1
46,300
64,600
74.0
$50,000 and over
11.9
0.6
-
-
Median income
$24,603
$21,904
$10,236
$5,835
$15,211
$13,843
$6,516
$3,230
1975
9.01
1.19
-
24.0
27,400
38,200
73.4
1970
8.20
0.92
-
22.8
21,000
30,000
71.1
1. As of March 1984. Source: Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
Source: Federal Home Loan Bank Board.
Producer Price Indexes by Major Commodity Groups
Consumer Credit
(1967 100)
(non-installment credit; in millions of dollars)
Commodity
1983
1980
1975
1970
1965
1960
1955
Single-
Total credit
Single-
Total credit
Service
Charge
payment
out-
Service
Charge
payment
out-
All commodities
303.1
268.8
174.9
110.4
96.6
94.9
87.8
End of year
credit
accounts
loans
standing
End of year
credit
accounts
loans
standing
Farm products
248.2
249.4
186.7
111.0
98.7
97.2
98.2
$ 10,138
1975
12,027
11,739
27,378
51,144
Processed foods
256.0
241.2
182.6
112.1
95.5
89.5
85.0
1950
$ 1,638
$ 4,858
$ 3,642
Textile products and apparel
204.9
183.5
137.9
107.1
99.8
99.5
98.7
1955
2,316
6,761
6,002
15,079
1980
19,280
13,135
42,352
74,767
148.5
94.3
90.8
77.3
1960'
3,734
7,235
9,084
20,053
1981
22,270
14,403
43,496
80,663
Hides, skins, and leather products
271.4
248.9
110.3
Fuels and related products and power
665.9
574.0
245.1
106.2
95.5
96.1
91.2
1965
5,545
8,319
15,462
29,326
1982
24,346
14,381
47,144
85,871
Chemicals and allied products
292.9
260.3
181.3
102.2
99.0
101.8
98.5
1970
9,106
9,156
19,323
37,585
1983
28,635
15,790
52,485
96,910
Rubber and plastic products
243.4
217.4
150.2
108.3
95.9
103.1
102.4
Lumber and wood products
307.3
288.9
176.9
113.6
95.9
95.3
97.1
1. Beginning with 1960, data include Alaska and Hawaii. Source: Federal Reserve Board.
Pulp, paper, and allied products
297.7
249.2
170.4
108.2
96.2
98.1
87.8
Metals and metal products
307.1
286.4
185.6
116.6
96.4
92.4
82.1
Machinery and equipment
286.4
239.8
161.4
111.4
93.9
92.0
75.7
Furniture and household durables
213.9
187.7
139.7
107,5
96.9
99.0
93.3
Nonmetallic mineral products
325.3
283.0
174.0
112.9
97.5
97.2
87.5
Estimated Annual Retail and Wholesale Sales by Kind of Business
Transportation equipment (Dec. 1968 100)
256.7
207.0
141.5
104.6
98.5
98.8
-
(in millions of dollars)
Miscellaneous products
289.5
258.8
147.7
109.9
95.9
93.0
86.5
Kind of business
1983
1980
Kind of business
1983
1980
Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Retail trade, total
$1,173,966
$951,902
Furniture and home furnishings
18,572
15,321
Building materials, hardware,
Lumber and other construction
garden supply, and mobile
materials
(S)
34,514
Life Insurance in Force
Farm Indexes
home dealers
59,873
49,616
Electrical goods
66,143
47,542
Automotive dealers
221,687
162,309
Hardware, plumbing, heating and
(in millions of dollars)
(1977 100)
Furniture, home furnishings, and
supplies
31,187
27,136
equipment stores
51,774
43,416
Machinery, equipment, supplies
138,952
130,282
Ordin-
Indus-
General merchandise group stores
142,997
117,227
Scrap and waste materials
(S)
17,220
As of
Prices paid
Prices rec'd
Ratio
Food stores'
259,441
217,047
Nondurable goods, total
678,980
607,128
Dec. 31
ary
Group
trial
Credit
Total
Year
by farmers'
by farmers2
Gasoline service stations
103,121
93,624
Total (excluding farm-product
1915
$16,650
$100
$4,279
$21,029
1950
37
56
151
Apparel and accessory stores
54,005
44,426
raw materials)
(S)
484,901
-
78,756
9,801
17,693
73
106,413
1955
40
51
128
Eating and drinking places
115,710
85,842
Paper and paper products
26,532
21,296
1930
1945
101,550
22,172
27,675
365
151,762
1960
44
52
118
Drug stores and proprietary stores
38,766
30,504
Drugs, drug proprietaries, and
1950
149,071
47,793
33,415
3,844
234,168
1965
47
54
115
Liquor stores
19,690
17,083
druggists' sundries
(S)
13,626
216,812
14,493
373,332
1970
55
60
109
Merchant wholesale trade, total
1,183,790
1,055,168
Apparel, piece goods, and notions
(S)
25,121
1955
101,345
39,682
1960
341,881
175,903
39,563
29,101
586,448
1975
89
Total, (excluding farm-product
Groceries and related products
199,836
152,551
101
113
1965
499,638
308,078
39,818
53,020
900,554
1980
138
134
97
raw materials)
(S)
932,941
Beer, wine, distilled alcoholic
734,730
38,644
77,392
1,402,123
1981
150
93
Durable goods, total
504,810
448,040
beverages
36,945
32,554
1970
551,357
139
1980
1,760,474
1,579,355
35,994
165,215
3,541,038
1982
156
133
85
Motor vehicles and automotive
Miscellaneous nondurable goods
84,744
68,382
1981
1,978,080 1,888,612 34,547 162,356 4,063,595
parts and supplies
98,814
84,227
Tobacco and tobacco products
(S)
11,366
1982
2,216,388
2,066,361
32,766
4,476,659
1. Commodities, interest, and taxes, and wage rates. 2. All
<1983
2,544,275 2,219,573 31,354 170,659 4,965,861
crops and livestock. Source: Department of Agriculture, Sta-
NOTE: (S) = does not meet publication standards. Source: Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
tistical Reporting Service.
Source: American Council of Life Insurance.
48
Business and the Economy
Todays
Business and the Economy
49
Per Capita Personal Income
Brief Explanation of the
1929
315
77
6
38
30
16
4
5
9
2
-
8
I
n.a.
n.a.
7
Amount
Year
Amount
Year
Year
Amount
Year
Consumer Price Index
$103
33
Year
Amount
Amount
1929
$705
1960
$2,219
1966
$2,987
1972
$4,493
1978
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a meas-
1935
474
$7,729
1961
2,269
1967
3,167
1973
4,980
1979
8,638
ure of the average change in prices over time
1940
593
2,373
3,433
1974
1980
in a fixed market basket of goods and services.
1933
$56
222
46
3
22
20
2
(1)
8
2
n.a.
n.a.
9
25
1962
1968
5,428
1945
1,223
9,511
1963
2,460
1969
3,667
1975
5,851
1981
Effective with the January 1978 index, the
1950
1,501
10,517
1964
2,592
1970
3,893
1976
6,402
1982
1955
11,100
Bureau of Labor Statistics began publishing
1965
2,773
4,132
1977
1983
CPI's for two population groups: (1) a new
1938
$85
312
64
9
34
24
9
2
2
3
13
5
1,881
1971
I
n.a.
n.a.
8
27
7,043
11,675
CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which
Source: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
covers approximately 80% of the total nonin-
1946
477
144
16
83
45
31
7
7
9
stitutional civilian population; and (2) a re-
$210
10
8
28
18
15
3
10
44
Median Earnings of Full-Time
vised CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Cleri-
Median Family Income
cal Workers (CPI-W) which represents about
Women Workers
(in current dollars)
half the population covered by the CPI-U.
The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage
1950
$286
534
192
31
98
63
54
20
6
18
L
2
38
19
14
5
20
54
(persons 15 years and over)
earners and clerical workers, groups that his-
Percent
Percent
Year
Income
torically have been excluded from CPI cover-
As percent
change
Year
Income
change
age, such as professional, managerial, and
1982
1960
$ 5,620
$17,640
technical workers, the self-employed, short-
1955
$399
655
254
39
123
92
68
24
14
24
9
2
75
44
38
9
E
19
of men's
Major occupation group
earnings
earnings
-
1978
10.2
1970
9,867
-
1979
19,661
11.5
term workers, the unemployed, and retirees
Professional and technical workers
$18,423
65.9
1972
11,116
1980
and others not in the labor force.
-
21,023
6.9
12,051
The CPI is based on prices of food, cloth-
1960
$506
737
325
43
151
131
76
24
18
30
4
4
100
54
44
6
47
69
Nonfarm managers and
1973
8.4
1981
22,388
6.5
administrators
17,326
60.1
1974
12,902
7.1
1982
23,433
4.7
ing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares,
Clerical workers
12,693
61.9
1975
13,719
6.3
1983
24,580
4.9
charges for doctors' and dentists' services,
Sales workers
11,002
50.2
drugs, and the other goods and services that
Operatives (including transport)
11,369
79.6
Source: Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
people buy for day-to-day living. Prices are
1965
$688
926
430
63
189
179
112
31
26
46
10
8
138
67
49
18
71
74
Service workers (except private
NOTE: Figures are latest available.
collected in 85 urban areas across the country
household)
8,565
59.2
from about 18,000 tenants, 18,000 housing
All occupations
13,014
61.7
units for property taxes, and about 24,000
establishments-grocery and department
1970
619
265
269
36
38
64
4
4
$982
1,075
85
141
219
96
74
22
123
91
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Cen-
stores, hospitals, filling stations, and other
sus.
types of stores and service establishments. All
Gross National Product or Expenditure
1975
$1,529
1,202
980
133
409
438
189
52
53
96
20
taxes directly associated with the purchase
339
123
84
39
216
127
Median Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Workers by Occupation and Sex
and the use of items are included in the
index. Prices of food, fuels, and a few other
(For third-quarter of 1983)
items are obtained every month in all 85 loca-
tions. Prices of most other commodities and
(in billions)
1978
$2,128
1,399
1,351
200
531
620
352
108
77
145
22
-10
436
153
99
54
283
150
MEN
services are collected every month in the five
WOMEN
TOTAL
largest geographic areas and every other
Number of
Median
Number of
Median
Number of
Median
month in other areas. Prices of most goods
workers
weekly
workers
weekly
workers
weekly
and services are obtained by personal visits
1979
(in thousands)
earnings
(in thousands)
earnings
of the Bureau's trained representatives. Mail
$2,414
1,483
1,511
212
602
696
416
119
96
186
18
13
474
168
111
57
306
163
Occupation
earnings
(in thousands)
questionnaires are used to obtain public util-
Managerial and professional specialty
10,204
$550
7,094
$363
17,298
$445
ity rates, some fuel prices, and certain other
Executive, administrative, and managerial 5,407
568
2,746
347
8,153
476
items.
1980
Professional specialty
4,797
4,348
371
$2,626
1,481
1,673
212
676
785
395
105
109
190
-6
23
535
199
132
67
336
177
533
9,145
431
In calculating the index, price changes for
Technical, sales, and administrative support 8,372
402
14,014
247
22,386
287
the varioús items in each location are aver-
Technicians and related support
1,472
444
1,228
304
2,700
367
aged together with weights that represent
Sales occupations
3,969
407
2,517
208
6,486
316
their importance in the spending of the ap-
1981
$2,926
1,510
1,858
232
743
883
451
106
126
206
16
26
591
230
154
76
361
194
Administrative support, including clerical 2,931
370
10,269
248
13,200
266
propriate population group. Local data are
Service occupations
3,945
258
3,849
176
7,793
208
then combined to obtain a U.S. city average.
Private household
13
(1)
288
112
302
113
Separate indexes are also published by size of
Protective service
1,400
356
155
241
city, by region of the country, for cross-
1982
$3,073
1,485
1,992
245
761
986
414
91
348
3.2
1,555
345
-24.5
17.4
649
649
259
179
79
415
Service, except private household
classification of regions and population-size
and protective
2,532
223
3,405
179
5,937
194
classes, and for 28 local areas. Area indexes
Precision production, craft, and repair
9,718
404
782
243
10,500
392
do not measure differences in the level of
Mechanics and repairers
3,544
110
365
394
1983
$3,311
1,538
2,157
279
804
1,074
471
131
349
3.6
-8.7
I'L-
690
690
275
200
75
391
396
3,654
Construction trades
prices among cities; they measure only the
3,265
396
50
(1)
3,315
392
Other precision production, craft,
average change in prices for each area since
and repair
the base period.
2,909
417
622
237
3,531
390
The index measures price changes from a
Operators, fabricators, and laborers
10,349
316
3,523
207
13,873
279
Machine operators, assemblers, and
designated reference date-1967-which
inspectors
equals 100.0. An increase of 122%, for exam-
4,350
327
2,830
205
7,180
266
Transportation and material moving
ple, is shown as 222.0. This change can also
1. Less than $500 million. NOTE: n.a. not available. Source: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
be expressed in dollars as follows: The price
occupations
3,267
345
157
239
3,424
341
of a base period "market basket" of goods and
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,
services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1967
and laborers
2,733
243
536
211
3,269
239
to $22.20.
Item
Farming, forestry, and fishing
1,324
198
215
175
1,539
194
ment and Earnings," January 1984.
1. Data not shown where base is less than 100,000. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employ-
Gross national product
GNP in constant (1972) dollars
Personal consumption expenditures
Durable goods
Nondurable goods
Services
Gross private domestic investment
Residential structures
Nonresidential structures
Producers' durable equipment
Change in business inventories
Net export of goods and services
Government purchases
Federal
National defense
Other
State and local
Implicit price deflator
money-market expert who popu-
wth stock" investment concept.
BUSINESS & THE ECONOMY
British novelist and playwright
portraits with sharp and humor-
tones. Aug. 14, 1984.
best-selling historical novelist
history and legends of ancient
The King Must Die" and "The
Consumer Price Indexes
Dec. 13, 1983.
80: renowned English actor-
(1967 = 100)
spanned more than 60 years.
Commod-
Ser-
Hous-
All
Percent
Commod-
Ser-
Hous-
All
Percent
82: a leading British actress,
Year
ities
vices
ing
items
change¹
Year
ities
vices
ing
items
change¹
Dame Commander of Order
1960. July 7, 1984.
1940
40.6
43.6
52.4
42.0
1.0
1975
158.4
166.6
166.8
161.2
8.9
NBC News anchorwoman,
1945
56.3
48.2
59.1
53.9
2.3
1977
174.7
194.3
186.5
181.5
6.5
of a car accident. Oct. 24,
1950
78.8
58.7
72.8
72.1
1.0
1979
208.4
234.2
227.6
217.4
11.3
1955
85.1
70.9
82.3
80.2
-0.4
1980
233.9
270.3
263.3
246.8
13.6
(AI), 91: major league player
1960
91.5
83.5
90.2
88.7
1.6
1981
253.6
305.7
293.5
272.4
10.4
as Clown Prince of Baseball.
1965
95.7
92.2
94.9
94.5
1.7
1982
263.8
333.3
314.7
289.1
6.1
1970
113.5
121.6
118.9
116.3
5.9
1983
270.9
342.6
322.0
297.1
3.5
innovative. American theatrical
Beckett, Albee, Pinter, Brecht,
Injured in traffic accident. May
1. Over previous year. Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
78: Russian author of "And
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
and other works that won
terature in 1965. Feb. 21,
(1967 = 100)
Ther, 54: the younger sister of
Feb.
% increase
Feb.
% increase
and Baptist evangelist and
Group
1984
Oct.-Feb.
Group
1984
Oct.-Feb.
ancer. Sept. 26, 1983.
Scottish-born conductor and
All items
306.6
1.4
Fuel oil, coal, bottled gas
688.6
9.3
Baltimore Symphony and di-
Food
302.1
3.1
House operation¹
240.4
0.5
onservatory.) July 8, 1984.
Alcoholic beverages
219.9
0.5
House furnishings
197.6
0.2
62: president of Guinea and
Apparel and upkeep
196.2
-2.3
Transportation
305.8
0.0
t-ruling head of state. March
Men's and boys' apparel
187.9
-2.2
Medical care
373.2
2.8
Women's and girls' apparel
159.0
-6.0
Personal care
267.9
1.8
played key role in develop-
Footwear
206.4
-1.1
Tobacco products
305.4
2.1
nd known as one of greatest
Housing, total
331.0
1.3
Entertainment
251.5
0.1
maticians. May 13, 1984.
Rent
243.6
1.4
Personal and educational
South African Prime Minister
Gas and electricity
429.0
-1.5
expenses
354.4
0.1
0 was a symbol of apartheid.
1. Combines house furnishings and operation. Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
78: former head of U.S. dele-
Represented U.S. at nu-
with Soviet Union in Geneva
March 13, 1984.
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
94: co-founder and longtime
(1967 = 100)
Digest whose philantropic
of millions of dollars. May
Effective January 1978, the Consumer Price Index was revised, with two indexes now being produced: A new index for All
Urban Consumers covers 80% of the non-institutional population; the other index, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers, covers about half of those included in the new index and is a major revision of the one that
Structor of choral and orches-
had been published for many years.
last great conductors of Big
Waring Blendor. July 29,
1984¹
1983
1980
1975
1970
1965
1960
1955
1950
Olympic swimming cham-
All items
303.3
301.5
247.0
161.2
116.3
94.5
88.7
80.2
72.1
Tarzan of the Jungle in a
Food total
302.1
292.6
255.3
175.4
114.9
94.4
88.0
81.6
-
20, 1984.
Apparel and upkeep
195.4
198.1
177.4
142.3
116.1
93.7
89.6
84.1
79.0
of popular short stories
Backers set in her native Indi-
Housing total
324.2
324.2
263.2
166.8
118.9
94.9
90.2
82.3
72.8
Rent
242.9
241.3
191.3
137.3
110.1
96.9
91.7
84.3
70.4
Gas and electricity
427.9
426.7
301.2
169.6
107.3
99.4
98.6
87.5
81.2
composer, author of Broad-
Fuel oil, coal, bottled gas
691.4
626.4
557.2
253.3
110.1
94.6
89.2
82.3
72.7
n." June 15, 1984.
House operation²
237.4
237.3
202.9
158.1
113.4
95.3
93.8
89.9
-
Actress for nearly a century
House furnishings
196.0
196.9
172.6
144.4
111.4
97.1
99.3
99.2
95.5
arances. on stage, screen,
Transportation
307.7
308.2
250.5
150.6
112.7
95.9
89.6
77.4
68.2
1984.
Medical care
371.3
364.3
267.2
168.6
120.6
89.5
79.1
64.8
53.7
Israel's war of independ-
Personal care
266.1
264.4
212.7
150.7
113.2
95.2
90.1
77.9
68.3
Prime Minister in 1977-
Entertainment
247.7
245.8
203.7
144.4
113.4
95.9
87.3
76.7
74.4
must devoted to discovering
June 28, 1984.
1. May 1984. 2. Combines house furnishings and operation. Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
47
434
Income, Expenditures, and Wealth
No.
No. 702. Relation of GNP, Net National Product, National Income, Personal Income,
Disposable Personal Income, and Personal Saving: 1970 to 1989
(In billions of dollars. For definitions, see text, section 14]
TYPE OF INC
National Income
ITEM
1970
1975
1980
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
Compensation of employe
Gross national product
1,015.5
1,598.4
2,732.0
3,772.2
4,014.9
4,231.6
4,515.6
4,873.7
5,200.8
Wages and salaries
Less: Capital consumption allowances
1
88.8
161.8
303.8
415.5
437.2
460.1
487.0
514.3
Government and gov
554.4
Equals: Net national product
2
926.6
1,436.6
2,428.1
3,356.8
3,577.6
3,771.5
4,028.6
4,359.4
4,646.4
enterprises
Less: Indirect business tax and nontax
Other
liability
94.0
140.0
213.3
313.9
333.6
348.9
367.8
388.7
414.0
Supplements to wages
Plus: Subsidies 3.
2.9
2.4
5.7
9.9
7.2
12.8
17.4
16.2
Employer contribution
Equals: National Income
2
6.3
832.6
1,289.1
2,203.5
3,028.6
3,234.0
3,412.6
3,660.3
3,984.9
insurance
4,223.3
Less: Corporate profits
74.7
117.6
177.2
266.9
282.3
282.1
308.3
337.6
Other labor income
311.6
Net interest
41.2
83.8
200.9
304.8
319.0
325.5
328.6
371.8
445.1
Proprietors' income
Contributions for social insurance
62.2
118.5
216.5
324.9
354.1
379.2
400.1
442.6
476.8
Farm
Plus: Government transfer payments to
Nonfarm
persons
81.8
185.7
312.6
437.9
467.8
496.8
521.3
557.4
604.5
Rental income of persons
Personal interest income
69.3
122.5
271.9
444.7
478.0
493.2
501.3
547.9
643.2
Corporate profits
Personal dividend income
22.2
28.7
52.9
75.5
78.7
85.8
91.8
102.2
Corporate profits 3
114.4
Business transfer payments
4.1
7.4
12.1
18.7
22.0
24.6
28.5
30.3
Profits before tax.
32.4
Equals: Personal income
831.8
1,313.4
2,258.5
3,108.7
3,325.3
3,526.2
3,766.4
4,070.8
,384.3
Profits tax liability
Less: Personal tax and nontax payments
116.2
170.6
340.5
440.2
486.6
512.9
591.6
Profits after tax
571.6
658.8
Dividends.
Equals: Disposable personal Income
715.6
1,142.8
1,918.0
2,668.6
2,838.7
3,013.3
3,194.7
3,479.2
3,725.5
Less: Personal outlays
657.9
1,038.2
1,781.1
2,504.5
2,713.3
2,888.5
3,102.2
3,333.6
3,553.7
Undistributed pro
Equals: Personal saving
57.7
104.6
136.9
164.1
125.4
124.9
92.5
145.6
171.8
Inventory valuation ac
Capital consumption adj
1 With capital consumption adjustment. 2 Includes items not shown separately. 3 Less current surplus of government
Net interest
enterprises. With inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments.
Addenda:
Corporate profits 1 after ta
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, The National Income and Product Accounts of the United States, 1929-82, and
Net cash flow
Survey of Current Business, July issues.
Undistributed profits
Capital consumption
Less: Inventory valuat
No. 703. Selected Per Capita Income and Product Items: 1929 to 1989
Equals: Net cash flow
1 With inventory valua
[Based on Bureau of the Census estimated population including Armed Forces abroad; based on quarterly averages. Prior to
1960, excludes Alaska and Hawaii]
valuation adjustment.
Source: U.S. Bureau 0
CURRENT DOLLARS
CONSTANT (1982) DOLLARS
Survey of Current Business
Personal
Personal
YEAR
Gross
Dispos-
Personal
Gross
Dispos-
able
consump-
national
tion
national
able per-
consump-
tion
income
product
personal
sonal
income
expendi-
product
income
expendi-
tures
tures
1929
853
692
671
634
5,822
4,091
3,868
1930
740
613
593
568
5,218
3,727
3,569
1935
572
469
455
438
4,555
3,359
3,236
SECTOR
1940
760
587
568
538
5,850
4,017
3,804
1945
1,525
1,215
1,066
855
9,682
5,285
4,236
National income
Domestic business
1950
1,900
1,504
1,368
1,267
7,935
5,220
4,834
Corporate business.
1955
2,456
1,901
1,687
1,560
9,045
5,714
5,287
Compensation of empi
1960
2,851
2,265
1,986
1,829
9,213
6,036
5,561
Corporate profits
1965
3,628
2,840
2,505
2,268
10,741
7,027
6,362
Net interest
1970
4,951
4,056
3,489
3,121
11,781
8,134
7,275
Sole proprietorships and
Compensation of empi
1971
5,309
4,305
3,740
3,330
11,964
8,322
7,409
Proprietors' income
1972
5,777
4,676
4,000
3,609
12,426
8,562
7,726
Net interest
1973
6,414
5,198
4,481
3,950
12,948
9,042
7,972
Other private business 2
1974
6,886
5,657
4,855
4,285
12,760
8,867
7,826
Compensation of emplo
1975
7,401
6,081
5,291
4,689
12,478
8,944
7,926
Proprietors' income
Rental income of perso
1976
8,175
6,655
5,744
5,178
12,961
9,175
8,272
Net interest
1977
9,036
7,297
6,262
5,707
13,431
9,381
8,551
Government enterprises
1978
10,105
8,141
6,968
6,304
13,993
9,735
8,808
Households and institutions
4
1979
11,142
9,036
7,682
6,960
14,182
9,829
8,904
Government
1980
11,995
9,916
8,421
7,607
13,994
9,722
8,783
Rest of the world
1981
13,262
10,952
9,243
8,320
14,114
9,769
8,794
1 With inventory valuatic
1982
13,614
11,485
9,724
8,818
13,614
9,725
8,818
income tax return in Sche
1983
14,503
12,088
10,340
9,516
13,964
9,930
9,139
housing and buildings and e
1984
15,913
13,114
11,257
10,253
14,771
10,419
9,489
business activities selling th
5
1985
16,776
13,895
11,861
10,985
15,121
10,625
9,840
employees.
Compensati
nonprofit schools and hosp
1986
17,511
14,592
12,469
11,576
15,385
10,905
10,123
individuals.
1987
18,508
15,437
13,094
12,334
15,761
10,946
10,311
Source: U.S. Bureau of
1988
19,783
16,524
14,123
13,144
16,305
11,368
10,580
Survey of Current Business,
1989
20,903
17,621
14,973
13,866
16,550
11,531
10,678
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, The National Income and Product Accounts of the United States, 1929-82, and
Survey of Current Business, July issues.
438
Income, Expenditures, and Wealth
No. 708. Personal Income and Its Disposition: 1970 to 1989
[In millions of dollars, excep
annual percen
[In billions of dollars, except percent. For definition of personal income, see text, section 14]
ITEM
1970
1980
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
Personal Income
831.8
2,258.5
3,108.7
3,325.3
3,526.2
3,766.4
4,070.8
4,384.3
DIVISION AND STATE
Wage and salary disbursements
551.5
1,372.0
1,838.6
1,975.4
2,094.8
2,249.7
2,431.1
2,573.2
Commodity-producing industries
203.7
470.7
577.6
608.9
625.6
649.9
696.4
720.6
Manufacturing
158.4
355.6
439.1
460.9
473.2
490.3
524.0
541.8
United States
Distributive industries
2
131.2
335.5
442.8
473.2
498.8
531.8
572.0
604.7
Service industries
99.4
305.6
472.1
521.3
576.7
648.5
716.2
771.4
260.2
346.1
372.0
393.7
419.4
446.6
476.6
New England
Government and gov't enterprises
117.1
Other labor income
32.5
138.4
182.9
187.6
199.3
209.4
225.5
241.9
Maine
4
Proprietors' income
80.2
180.7
234.5
255.9
282.0
379.3
New Hampshire
323.4
354.2
Rental income of persons
5
18.2
6.6
8.5
9.2
11.6
13.7
8.2
Vermont
16.3
78.7
85.8
91.8
102.2
114.4
Massachusetts
Personal dividend income
22.2
52.9
75.5
Personal interest income
69.3
271.9
444.7
478.0
493.2
643.2
Rhode Island
501.3
547.9
Transfer payments
85.9
324.7
456.6
489.8
521.5
549.9
587.7
636.9
Connecticut
Old-age, survivors, disability, and
health insurance benefits
38.5
154.2
235.7
253.4
269.2
282.9
300.5
325.3
Middle Atlantic
16.3
14.5
13.4
14.7
New York
Gov't unemployment insurance benefits
4.0
16.1
15.8
15.7
Veterans benefits
7.7
15.0
16.4
16.7
16.7
16.6
16.9
17.3
New Jersey
Gov't employees retirement benefits
10.2
43.0
61.4
66.8
70.9
76.2
84.0
90.1
Pennsylvania
Other transfer payments
25.6
96.4
127.3
137.3
148.3
159.7
172.9
189.5
East North Central
Less: Personal contributions for
172.9
194.1
212.8
Ohio
social insurance
27.9
88.6
132.7
149.3
161.9
Less: Personal tax and nontax payments
116.2
340.5
440.2
486.6
512.9
571.6
591.6
658.8
Indiana
Illinois
Equals: Disposable personal Income
715.6
1,918.0
2,668.6
2,838.7
3,013.3
3,194.7
3,479.2
3,725.5
Less: Personal outlays
657.9
1,781.1
2,504.5
2,713.3
2,888.5
3,102.2
3,333.6
3,553.7
Michigan
3,009.4
3,238.2
3,450.1
Wisconsin
Personal consumption expenditures.
640.0
1,732.6
2,430.5
2,629.0
2,797.4
Interest paid by consumers to business
16.7
47.4
72.5
82.6
89.1
90.7
93.6
102.2
West North Central
Personal transfer payments to
foreigners (net)
1.2
1.1
1.5
1.7
1.9
2.2
1.9
1.4
Minnesota
Equals: Personal saving
57.7
136.9
164.1
125.4
124.9
92.5
145.6
171.8
lowa
4.2
4.6
Missouri
Percent of disposable personal 6 income
8.1
7.1
6.1
4.4
4.1
2.9
Real disposable personal income
1,668.1
2,214.3
2,469.8
2,542.8
2,635.3
2,670.7
2,800.5
2,869.0
North Dakota
Average annual percent change
4.1
2.9
2.8
3.0
3.6
1.3
4.9
2.4
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Personal income
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
South Atlantic
Wage and salary disbursements
66.3
60.7
59.1
59.4
59.4
59.7
59.7
58.7
Delaware
Other labor income
3.9
6.1
5.9
5.6
5.7
5.6
5.5
5.5
Maryland
4
Proprietors' income
9.6
8.0
7.5
7.7
8.0
8.6
8.7
8.7
District of Columbia
5
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.2
Virginia
Rental income of persons
2.2
Personal dividend income
2.7
2.3
2.4
2.4
2.4
2.4
2.5
2.6
West Virginia
North Carolina
Personal interest income
8.3
12.0
14.3
14.4
14.0
13.3
13.5
14.7
Transfer payments
10.3
14.4
14.7
14.7
14.8
14.6
14.5
South Carolina
14.4
Georgia
Less: Personal contributions for social
-4.5
-4.6
-4.6
-4.8
-4.9
Florida.
insurance
-3.4
-3.9
-4.3
1 Comprises agriculture, forestry, fisheries, mining, construction, and manufacturing. 2 Comprises transportation; commu-
East South Central
nication; electric, gas and sanitary services; and trade. 3 Comprises finance, insurance, and real estate; services; and 6 rest of
Kentucky
world. 4 With capital consumption and inventory valuation adjustments. 5 With capital consumption adjustment. 1982
Tennessee
Alabama
dollars. Represents average for period of intervals shown here; for 1970, change from 1965. For explanation of average annual
Mississippi
percent change, see Guide to Tabular Presentation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, The National Income and Product Accounts of the United States, 1929-82, and
West South Central.
Arkansas
Survey of Current Business, July issues.
Louisiana
Oklahoma
No. 709. Gross Saving and Investment: 1970 to 1989
Texas
Mountain
[In billions of dollars]
Montana
Idaho
ITEM
1970
1980
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
Wyoming
Colorado
Gross saving
154.7
445.0
446.4
463.6
568.5
533.5
525.3
555.5
656.1
691.5
New Mexico
Gross private saving
164.5
478.4
557.1
592.2
673.5
665.3
669.5
662.6
751.3
779.3
Arizona
Personal saving
57.7
136.9
153.9
130.6
164.1
125.4
124.9
92.5
145.6
171.8
Utah
1
Undistributed corporate profits
17.9
37.7
20.0
65.0
94.0
102.6
84.5
83.2
91.4
53.0
Nevada
Undistributed profits
19.2
97.6
39.6
58.9
67.0
44.6
24.0
50.2
70.5
49.1
Inventory valuation adjustment.
-6.6
-43.1
-10.4
-10.9
-5.8
-1.7
6.7
-19.4
-27.0
-21.7
Pacific
Capital consumption adjustment.
5.2
-16.8
-9.2
17.0
32.7
59.7
53.8
52.4
47.8
25.5
Washington
Corporate CCA
2
52.0
181.4
235.0
242.7
254.5
268.6
285.9
303.2
322.1
346.4
Oregon
Noncorporate CCA
36.9
122.4
148.2
153.9
160.9
168.7
174.2
183.8
192.2
208.0
California
Government surplus or deficit (-) 3
-10.6
-34.5
-110.8
-128.6
-105.0
-131.8
-144.1
-107.1
-95.3
-87.8
Alaska
Federal.
-12.4
-61.3
-145.9
-176.0
-169.6
-196.9
-206.9
-158.2
-141.7
-134.3
Hawaii
State and local
1.8
26.8
35.1
47.5
64.6
65.1
62.8
51.0
46.5
46.4
Capital grants received by the U.S. (net)
0.9
1.2
Source: U.S. Bureau
Gross Investment.
153.6
450.0
446.3
468.8
573.9
528.7
523.6
544.9
627.8
674.4
Gross private domestic investment
148.8
437.0
447.3
502.3
664.8
643.1
659.4
699.5
747.1
771.2
Net foreign investment
4.8
13.0
-1.0
-33.5
-90.9
-114.4
-135.8
-154.6
-119.2
-96.8
Statistical discrepancy
-1.1
4.9
-0.1
5.2
5.4
-4.8
-1.8
-10.6
-28.2
-17.0
Represents or rounds to zero. 1 With inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments. 2 Capital consumption
allowances with capital consumption adjustment. 3 National income and product accounts basis.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, The National Income and Product Accounts of the United States, 1929-82, and
Survey of Current Business, July issues.
ried through a tradi-
create ultrafast com-
t OMNI, we
selves, we arrived at
genes can manufac-
this month's dover
tional copper-cable
puters or tiny ma-
ture pharmaceuticals
spend a good
story-a casserole, if
telephone wire. Over
chines that can enter
in their milk. When
deal of time
the next few decades,
you will, of items
the body and de-
looking at science,
bovine drug "pharms"
we feel are interest-
as phone companies
liver drugs or perform
technology, and
are working full force,
the future, encoun-
ing, imaginative, and
replace copper wire
precise surgical
they'll eliminate the
with fiber-optic cable,
functions.
tering far more
important. Some
need for expensive
ideas innovations
we ve covered in
they will be able to
drug factories. What's
offer film libraries and
and insights than we
OMNI before; others
interactive information
8
more, the genetically
could ever cover in
may be new to you.
engineered COWS
the pages of a
Some are old; others
services. Fiber-optic
will reproduce them-
monthly magazine.
lie on the cutting
technologies are revolu-
HUMAN GENOME
selves with each new
tionizing medicine.
PROJECT: The mam-
In discussions with
edge of speculation.
generation.
scientists and lead
If you'd like to see us
Fiber-optic instru-
moth effort to identify
ers of technology,
cover any of these
ments, for instance,
and map the 100,000
wide reading, reflec
items in greater
allow physicians
10
to view and treat the
tion, and conver-
depth, please drop
sations among our-
us a line.
body internally with-
SUPER-
out surgery.
CONDUCTIVITY:
What do high-speed
some scientists split
computers and
the difference and
super-efficient pow-
1
say the universe is
er generation have
15 billion years old,
in common? They
based on evidence
are tantalizing prod-
SCIENCE is the or-
and research as
ucts promised by
derly arrangement
well as supposition
researchers working
of knowledge about
to develop supercon-
the universe and its
4
ductors-materials
workings, derived
that conduct electrici-
from careful observa-
individual genes with-
ty with almost no
tion, recording, analy-
ASTROLOGY: is not,
in the 46 chromo-
resistance and little
sis, and repeated
and never has been, a
somes of the human
loss of power. Until
testing of conclusions.
science.
6
body. Taking some $3
recently, the best
billion and 15 years to
superconductors re-
2
complete, the govern-
quired extremely cold
TOP TOMATO: Atha-
ment-sponsored pro-
temperatures. The dis-
nasios Theologis and
ject may prove even
covery of high-temper-
TECHNOLOGY is
5
colleagues at the
more ambitious-and
ature, ceramic-based
science put to practi-
Plant Gene Expres-
fruitful. Knowing the
superconductors in
cal use.
sion Center in Albany,
sequence of the 3
1986, however, made
FIBER OPTICS: More
California, have built a
billion base pairs of
the early promise of
3
than 20 years ago,
top tomato: Their new
the human genome
superconductivity a
Corning Glass Works
plants, produced via
DNA that contain our
real possibility for
introduced optical fi-
genetic engineering,
genetic heritage may
these and many other
THE AGE OF
bers-glass threads,
take more than twice
one day allow re-
applications.
THE UNI-
as long to ripen as
searchers to diagnose
VERSE: Most
ordinary tomatoes. As
and treat inherited
scientists today put
a result, the tomatoes
disorders as well as
the age of our uni-
will stay fresh on long
currently incurable dis-
verse at 10 to 20 bil-
journeys across the
eases such as cancer
lion years. However,
country or even
and AIDS.
EARTH The earth,
around the world.
entists generally.
7
9
agree is about 4.6
billion years old* or 10
billion or so years
PHARMACOW-
younger thanthe
NANOTECHNOLOGY
LOGY: We may soon
universe
TAKES JAPAN: The
be using bovine facto-
Japanese have a new
ries to manufacture
smaller than
rage: nanotechnolo-
drugs. Researchers
a human
gy, where technology
from Britain's Agricul-
hair, capa-
is built from molecular
tural and Food Re-
ble of carry-
parts. Building ma-
search Council, and a
ing per-
chines that have
company called Phar-
haps a thou-
working parts the size
maceutical Proteins,
sand times
of molecules, sci-
have shown that COWS
the data car-
entists will eventually
endowed with foreign
ac-
voluminous applica-
central computer that
the act. The giant
alternate ways of
als
12
tion to the U.S. Patent
will tell the weights
pharmaceutical firm
producing our food.
Office. Venter's mis-
how to respond in
Merck & Company
One possible solution
ns"
sion: patenting some
order to stabilize the
has decided to collab-
was recently suggest-
ce,
CHAOS: Chaos
348 new human
building. Before such
orate with scientists
ed by an expert panel
challenges the deter
genes. As we usher in
buildings become com-
from Cornell Universi-
of the National Re-
ministic notion, the
the new year, the U.S.
monplace, however,
ty to collect samples
search Council. In-
bedrock of West-
Patent Office is hold-
the world may experi-
of plant and inverte-
stead of full-sized
ern science that
ing its breath, expect-
ence disastrous trem-
brate species in the
livestock, the panel
one can predict
ing a gold gene rush
ors-some in our own
future events by
of scientists arriving to
backyards. An earth-
N
gathering enough
patent every manner
quake of magnitude 6
information Chaot-
of human gene. But
on the Richter scale,
ic systems, how
Maynard Olson, a
similar to the San
ever, appear to
Washington University
Francisco quake of
have an underly-
geneticist and mem-
1989, is likely to strike
ing, unexpected,
ber of the Human
along the Midwest's
order; when plotted
Genome Project's ad-
New Madrid fault-
graphically, they
visory panel, thinks
site of a series of
di
yield elegant geo
patenting human DNA
severe quakes in
metric patterns Sci
is a philosophically iffy
1811-by the year
W-
entists have taken
idea. "It's like patent-
2000.
ve
ey
d-
THINGS
g
YOU MUST
KNOW ABOUT
to the task of
finding order in
dynamic systems
SCIENCE,
once believed
to be random
TECHNOLOGY,
13
AND YOUR
FUTURE
THE GENE RACE:
On June 20, 1991, the
ARTICLE BY
National Institutes of
Health presented biol-
THE OMNI STAFF
ogist Craig Venter's
ing the periodic ta-
Costa Rican forest.
suggested, we should
ble," he says. Naked
The hope is that some
turn to "microlive-
DNA sequences be-
of the species will be
stock"-miniature ver-
long to all.
used to make new
sions of cattle, sheep,
drugs. Profits from the
goats, and pigs, and
14
drugs, in turn, will be
other diminutive spe-
poured back into a
cies, including the
fund for saving the
giant rat. "Like com-
EARTHQUAKE
rain forest.
puters, livestock for
PROTECTION: Using
use in developing
"smart" technology,
WORRIES
countries should be
future builders will
getting smaller and
fashion structures able
16
becoming more 'per-
to shake off earth-
quakes by incorporat-
15
sonal,'" the NRC
report said. "Con-
ing massive weights
DIET FOR A
ventional 'mainframes'
or braces that coun-
RAIN FOREST, INC.:
SMALL PLANET: As
such as cattle are too
teract the oscillations.
When it comes to
humans take up more
large for the world's
Sensors will transmit
saving the rain forest,
and more space on
poorest people; they
information about seis-
multinational corpora-
the planet, we may
require too much
mic vibrations to a
tions are getting into
have to come up with
space and expense."
19
Scientists are worried
17
that food production
or the earth's capacity
BIODIVER-
GREENHOUSE
to absorb waste may
not keep up with
SITY: Scattered
EFFECT: During the
demand. Moreover,
among hundreds of
summer drought of
with widespread de-
thousands of plant
1988, alarmed scien-
forestation, the need
species lies a wealth
tists sounded a dire
for firewood, the Third
of genetic information.
warning: The world is
World's principal fuel,
Many of the species
growing dangerously
will increasingly ex-
have never even been
warmer, due to the
ceed sustainable
identified, much less
greenhouse effect-
QUESTIONS KIDS ASK
beach is not miniscule
yields. Other forces
studied. Most of them
shavings of rock, as
never will be. Selec-
may serve to curb the
population crisis: Sci-
23
you might think. In-
tive breeding practic-
stead, it's the skele-
ence may develop
es of modern agricul-
tons of ancient plants
ways to accelerate
MOON IN MOTION:
and animals. Some of
ture and widespread
deforestation are kill-
food production, and
The moon has earth-
those organisms used
disease, already wreak-
ing them off at
quakes-or, more ac-
calcium, either as part
ing havoc in the Third
breakneck speed.
curately, moonquakes.
of their own skeletons
World, is sure to
With each dies a
Most of these very
or as a shelter. Others
library of genetic
devastate pockets of
weak quakes are
were literally made of
information, possibly
the earth's people.
caused by tidal forces
glass and absorbed
including the clues to
resulting from in-
silica, the main ingre-
kicking cancer or
21
creases in the Earth's
dient in glass, from
feeding a hungry
gravity as the moon
sea water and ocean-
moves closer to the
world.
floor clay. Over the
OZONE MADNESS:
Earth during part of its
years, water and other
18
Stratospheric ozone
orbit. Others most
organisms ground
levels over Antarctica
likely occur when
these plants and
the process by which
have reached the
carbon dioxide and
lowest levels ever
LEAD ON ICE: Green-
land's ice serves as
other gases from
recorded, according
power plants and
to recent satellite
an invaluable monitor
24
automobiles absorb
of lead pollution. Two
reports. In other
the sun's infrared
words, that ozone
decades ago, scien-,
THUNDER: is
rays, much like the
hole is now immense.
tists found that lead
walls of a greenhouse.
Watch out for an
caused by lightning;
concentration in Green-
The experts cautioned
increase in skin can-
the two are insepara-
land's ice had in-
that rising tempera-
cer worldwide.
ble. A lightning bolt
creased about 200-
heats the air around it
fold since ancient
tures from the buildup
of fossil-fuel gases
22
to 50,000°F, and this
times. The pollution
hot air does what
would in time flood
reflected the emis-
coastal areas and turn
every hot thing does
sions of lead-based
cropland to waste-
it expands. This
GAIA HYPOTHESIS:
gasoline. Based in
land. A worldwide
In 1972, British scien-
incredibly fast expan-
part on this research,
debate, however, is
tist James Lovelock
sion produces a
governmental bodies
sound akin to a sonic
also warming up.
had a vision: The
around the world
boom:
Other scientists have
began limiting the
earth was a giant
characterized the tem-
amount of lead added
living organism whose
perature increase as a
to fuel. It may work: In
bodily functions were
molten or partly mol-
animals down into the
typical climate shift.
a recent study of
the atmosphere, the
ten rock below the
granules of sand that
Greenland ice, lead
seas, life itself. Calling
moon's surface shifts.
concentration had
20
form our beaches. By
his theory Gaia ('guy-
Moonquakes last long-
the way, the grayish
decreased by a factor
ah') for the mother
er than earthquakes-
sand usually found
of 7.5.
Earth goddess, Love-
the landing of the
elsewhere, like in your
POPULATION
lock proposed that
Apollo 12 lunar mod-
backyard, did indeed
EXPLOSION: The
environment and life
ule set the moon
come from the erosion
world presently sup-
are two parts of a
vibrating for more than
of rocks.
ports more than 5
single system which
two hours.
billion people. Be-
interact in a self-
cause population
regulating and self-
growth is exponential,
correcting way. Critics
25
26
a staggering 10
say Gaia can't be
DON'T SUCK: Doc-
billion people will
proven and therefore
SKELETON BEACH:
tors now know that the
share the planet's
is more akin to
That soft, white sand
time-honored advice
diminishing resources
philosophy or religion,
you curl your toes in
for treating a snake
by the year 2025.
not science.
when you go to the
bite-making an inci-
sion at the bite and
victim is better off than
cortex is 10 times as
sucking out the ven-
if it was looking for
great as a monkey's;
om-doesn't really
food; it injects more
1000 times as great as
work and may do
venom into its prey to
a rat's.
more harm than good.
paralyze or kill it
The incision is prone
quickly.
to infection, and the
33
suction method has
been found to remove
27
ACME CELLS: One
at best just 18 percent
typical neuron, a
of the venom. Also,
ICE is denser than
pyramidal cell, has up
doctors recommend
room-temperature wa-
to 100,000 specific
trying to slow the
ter, and heat rises.
connections to other
circulation of blood
Sunlight should heat
cells. "The pyramidal
with something like an
the surface of
cell is the acme of
Ace bandage rather
water faster than
biochemical evolu-
than trying to stop it
water at the bottom.
tion."-Dominick Pur-
with ice or a tourni-
So why doesn't ice
pura, Dean, Albert
quet; the bitten area
form on the bottom,
Einstein College of
badly needs blood to
instead of the top of
Medicine, New York.
reduce potential tis-
bodies of water? It
together and expand,
takes its time to
sue damage. And if
turns out that water
remaining on the
revolve: 230 million
the snake attacked in
reaches its greatest
surface because of
years, known as one
34
self-defense, the bite
density before it freez-
their lower density.
galactic year. The
es-at 39.2° F heit.
Milky Way has only
MORE THAN SEE:
It then expands as it
freezes, so the water
28
been around for about
There are 125 million
52 galactic years,
rods and cones in the
between 39.2° and
or 12 billion years. Our
retina whose impulses
32° (the freezing
SALT in the oceans
sun, the earth, and
follow the pathway to
point) is less dense
comes from several
the other planets trek
the primary visual
and thus rises to the
sources: minerals
over a million
cortex, the size of a
surface. As water at
from eroded rocks
trillion miles each
postage stamp. In
the freezing point
that are carried into
galactic year.
monkeys, the primary
turns into ice, the
the ocean by rivers,
visual cortex is 15
various crystals bond
volcanic rock, and
GRAY MATTERS
percent of the whole
basalt that erupts up
Hail to Thee, 0 Isaac
one. Asimov's Bio-
from below the
Asimov!
graphical Encyclo-
ocean floor. The con-
How to pick the
pedia Of Science &
centration of salt
best out of Asimov's
Technology-The
has remained stable
science books?
women and men
at about 3.5 percent
Not easy. But those
behind the history.-
for about 1.5 billion
of us who have read
Asimov's Chronology
years.
and loved Isaac's
Of Science & Dis-
work have learned
covery-Who did
from him that the
what, and when. The
29
easy way is rarely
Human Body-How
the right or the best
we work. The Human
LIGHT WEIGHT: A
way.
Brain-How we
square mile of sunlight
surface of the cortex;
Here's my pick of
think. Understanding
weighs about three
pounds. Sunlight has
31
in humans, 3 percent,
the 10 best of Isaac
Physics-Hard sci-
meaning humans
Asimov's science
ence made simple.
weight because it
have five times as
books.-Keith Ferrell
Realm Of Numbers-
exerts pressure on
CONNECTED: There
much higher process-
Asimov's New
Trouble with arithme-
anything it encoun-
are 200 billion neu-
ing of initial visual
Guide To Science—
tic? Read this. Es-
ters. If all the sunlight
rons in the brain; 10 to
images.
Every home needs
says-Any of Isaac's
reaching Earth could
50 times that many
collections of suc-
be weighed, it would
glial, nutritional, and
cint articles and
tip the scales at more
"support" cells; mil-
35
essays. Our Angry
than 87,000 tons.
lions of trillions of
Planet-Written with
connections between
BRAIN GENES: Only
Frederik Pohl, this is
an eloquent exami-
30
these cells.
1 million genes are
necessary to encode
nation of the dam-
GALAXY IN
32
for the growth, devel-
age we're doing to
opment, and function
our world. Atom-A
MOTION: Like the plan-
of the brain through-
new book and a
ets, our galaxy,
ON THE SURFACE:
out life.
masterpiece.
the Milky Way, re-
The surface area of
volves. The galaxy
the human cerebral
CONTINUED ON PAGE 104
A person in a
promises to alter,
fending virus later
36
persistent vegetative
perhaps forever, the
than those in poorer
state has reflex func-
worlds of entertain-
families. That delayed
tions but is incapable
ment, education, sci-
exposure may trig-
HEADY WEIGHT:
of any thought, intel-
ence, and industry.
ger abnormal cell
The average brain
lect, memory, speech,
proliferation.
weighs about three
or awareness of self or
pounds. Lord Byron
environment. Cogni-
47
had one of the
tive death: Some
50
heaviest-5 pounds,
bioethicists, philoso-
COMPUTER VIRUS
2.25 ounces.
phers, and physicians
is a piece of computer
MOZART'S SKULL:
think the definition of
code that contains
It's long been thought
37
death should be
instructions to do at
that the body of the
expanded to include
consensus is that it is
least two things: Place
great composer
persistent vegetative
the fastest computer
a copy of itself in any
Wolfgang Amadeus
DISPROPORTION:
state.
in the world. The
other computer sys-
Mozart was lost in a
The brain makes up 2
fastest computer 20
tem it contacts (for
large communal
to 3 percent of body
42
years ago was much,
example, over a com-
grave. His skull, how-
weight but uses 20
much slower than the
puter network) and
ever, was said to
percent of all oxygen.
fastest computer to-
perform some task,
reside in Salzberg's
END: Disruption of
day, but both were
such as placing a
Mozarteum. Is it true?
38
blood flow to the brain
supercomputers. To-
particular message on
Apparently yes, ac-
for eight to ten
day, a supercom-
the screen. Specially
cording to a group of
seconds leads to
puter performs around
designed programs,
French researchers
PARTS: The limbic
dysfunction; three to
100 million floating-
often called vaccines,
who say they have
system, evolutionarily
five minutes leads to
point operations per
can find and neutral-
positively identified the
older than the cere-
permanent brain dam-
second.
ize viruses.
skull. The anthroplo-
bral cortex, is essen-
age; after five min-
gists, from the Univer-
tial for behavioral and
utes, death.
emotional expression.
45
OUR BODIES, OUR
sity of Provence,
CELLS
reconstructed the
The hippocampus, an
head in clay and
area of the limbic
ARTIFICIAL LIFE con-
sists of manmade
48
found it matched
system, is essential for
historical as well as
learning and memory
pieces of computer
contemporary portraits
processing.
code that behave
LEUKEMIA AND THE
of the composer.
much like living
RICH: A recent study
39
things: They repro-
from the British Office
AND FINALLY
duce, often producing
of Population Census-
varied offspring; they
es and Surveys shows
HEARTS AND
contract debilitating
that children from
51
BRAINS:
illnesses; they die.
wealthier families are
The brain uses 15
more likely to develop
THE FUTURE IS:
percent of all cardiac
output, three-quarters
46
leukemia. The reason,
a)beyond our control
43
researchers specu-
(NOT!), b) where we'll
of a quart to 1 quart of
late, is that children in
spend the rest of our
blood a minute.
VIRTUAL REALITY:
richer families may
lives, c) what we make
DEPRESSING
A computer hardware/
be exposed to an of-
of it.
40
FIGURES: At any
software technology
time in the U.S., 12.6
that persuades users
percent of the popula-
of the "reality" of
head of the research,
AT THE TOP: The
tion suffer from a
artificial environments.
brain is the enlarged
mental disorder. Over
49
suspects that pater-
Using optical devices,
nal cocaine abuse
end of the spine.
25 percent of the
very fast processors,
causes defects such
HITCHING A RIDE
population suffer a
and sensors and 1
as learning disabili-
41
ON SPERM: It's
mental disorder in
feedback devices at-
ties and memory
their lifetime.
tached to human
known that drugs
problems.
taken by pregnant
users, virtual reality
TWO DEFINITIONS
INFORMATION
allows practitioners to
women can damage
the fetus. Recent
AND A REVISION:
INFORMATION
move through simula-
research from the
Brain death: when no
tions of real environ-
part of the brain
Temple University
ments such as rooms
School of Medicine-
functions. Persistent
and houses, to
vegetative state: Part
achieve the illusion of
suggests that CO-
of the brain is
caine can hitch a
HOW SUPER?: Even
flight, to visit historical
destroyed. The brain
ride on sperm, enter
computer experts
antiquities or distant
stem, the most primi-
have a tough time
the egg, and dam-
worlds-all artificially
tive region, usually
defining a supercom-
age the developing
created by computer.
remains mostly intact.
puter. The general
Still in its infancy, VR
embryo. A. Yazigi,
20 DECEMBER 1991
SCiENCE
VOLUME 254
NUMBER 5039
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Molecule of the Year
Science serves its readers as a forum for the presentation and
discussion of important issues related to the advancement of
science, including the presentation of minority or conflicting
hen the robots of nanotechnology start playing soccer-football, they will have
points of view, rather than by publishing only material on which
W
the perfect molecule to kick around, a buckyball, and they will have no more fun
consensus has been reached. Accordingly, all articles
published a in Science-including editorials, news and comment,
than today's buckyball scientists.
and book reviews-are signed and reflect the individual views
The Molecule of the Year Award was initiated to highlight contributions in science to
of the authors and not official points of view adopted by the
AAAS or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated.
an improved quality of life and to emphasize that most scientific discoveries are the product
Publisher: Richard S. Nicholson
of many dedicated workers who lay the groundwork, design the experiments, recognize the
Editor: Daniel E. Koshland, Jr.
importance of the unexpected, and exploit breakthroughs. Sometimes these discoveries are
Deputy Editor: Ellis Rubinstein
Managing Editor: Monica M. Bradford
immediately applicable to practical products. In other cases they are recognized as major
International Editor: Alun Anderson
Deputy Editors: Philip H. Abelson (Engineering and Applied
turning points following on a historical tradition that a basic new understanding of nature
Sciences); John 1. Brauman (Physical Sciences); Thomas R.
inevitably leads to practical applications. Such is the case in this year's selection of the
Cech (Biological Sciences)
Molecule of the Year: the C₆₀ molecule, referred to as buckminsterfullerene, buckyballs, or
EDITORIAL STAFF
Assistant Managing Editor: Dawn Bennett
C₆₀. This molecule, and the family of fullerenes derived from it, were named after the
Senior Editors: Eleanore Butz, Martha Coleman, Barbara
architect whose geodesic dome provided a prophetic vision of its atomic counterpart and
Jasny, Katrina L. Kelner, Phillip D. Szuromi, David F. Voss
Associate Editors: R. Brooks Hanson, Pamela J. Hines, Kelly
who was a powerful evangelist for the relation of structure to function. C₆₀ burst into
LaMarco, Linda J. Miller, L. Bryan Ray
physics and chemistry only a few years ago and has captured the enthusiasm of experimen-
Letters: Christine Gilbert, Editor; Steven S. Lapham
Book Reviews: Katherine Livingston, Editor; Anne B. Isaacs
talists and theoreticians. It has incredible symmetry for such a large molecule, in which 60
Contributing Editor: Lawrence 1. Grossman
Chief Production Editor: Ellen E. Murphy
carbon atoms are joined with a mixture of single and double bonds arranged in 20 hexagons
Editing Department: Lois Schmitt, Head; Julie W. Albers,
and 12 pentagons. Its chemical versatility is astonishing, reacting with alkali metals such as
Denise Gipson, Steven Powell
Copy Desk: Douglas B. Casey, Joi S. Granger, Beverly
potassium and rubidium, halogens such as fluorine, free radicals, and Grignard reagents.
Shields
The molecule itself and many of its derivatives are readily soluble in organic solvents, but
Production: James Landry, Director; Wendy K. Shank,
Manager, Catherine S. Siskos, Assistant Manager; Scherraine
recently amino adducts have been added which make it soluble in water.
Mack, Associate; Linda C. Owens, Macintosh Operator
In addition to opening up new fields of chemistry, C₆₀ also is showing interesting
Art: Amy Decker Henry, Director, Julie Cherry, Assistant
Director; Diana DeFrancesco, Associate; Holly Bishop,
physical properties. It is so resistant to shock that it has been suggested as a lubricant, there
Graphics Assistant
Systems Analyst: William Carter
is evidence of superconductivity, and it may provide the added ingredient that makes
NEWS STAFF
diamond films more practical. There is no short step to a practical application of its
Managing News Editor: Colin Norman
superconducting properties, but the surprising finding that C₆₀ does exhibit superconduc-
Deputy News Editors: Tim Appenzeller, John M. Benditt,
Jean Marx
tivity opens up new theoretical avenues which may ultimately lead to a more profound
News and Comment/Research News: Ivan Amato, Faye
understanding of superconductivity in general.
Flam, Troy Gately (copy), Ann Gibbons, David P. Hamilton,
Constance Holden, Richard A. Kerr, Eliot Marshall, Joseph
Science has always believed that structure throws light on function and vice versa, and
Palca, Leslie Roberts, Richard Stone
Bureaus: Marcia Barinaga (West Coast), Michelle Hoffman
therefore the appearance of a new structure presages new ideas. As it is, in the short time
(Northeast), Anne Simon Moffat (Midwest)
since the discovery of C₆₀, the chemical and physical literature has been filled with novel
Contributing Correspondents: Joseph Alper, Jeremy
Cherfas, Barry A. Cipra, Robert Crease, Elizabeth Culotta, M.
reactions and properties, and there is added excitement from the expectation that this is only
Mitchell Waldrop, Karen Wright
the beginning. In a recent issue of Science highlighting new approaches to curing and
BUSINESS STAFF
preventing cancer, it was impressive that so many contributions came from developing a
Marketing Director: Beth Rosner
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general knowledge of biology, medicine, and chemistry. Understanding of growth factors,
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Financial: Deborah Rivera-Wienhold, Manager, Julie
of viruses, of mutations of DNA, of membrane receptors, and of metabolism was the
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forerunner of therapy and prevention of cancer. The findings in this example support the
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belief of scientists that basic research is almost invariably correlated with practical applica-
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tions. That correlation, which could be repeated in many other fields, is a particularly
ADVERTISING
important feature of the fullerene many-ring circus. The versatility of this molecule means
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not only that it is important in itself, but that the challenge to explain its unusual structure
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and properties will clarify understanding of molecules that do not look at all like a geodesic
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dome.
Advertising Assistant: Allison Pritchard
Send materials to Science Advertising, 1333 H Street, NW,
In the accompanying Molecule of the Year story, the properties of C₆₀ and the nine
Washington, DC 20005, or FAX 202-682-0816.
runners-up for Molecule of the Year are discussed, but at this moment, there seems little
SALES:Northeast/E Canada: Fred Dieffenbach, Rt. 30,
doubt that the new horizons opened by the fullerenes make them the best choice.
Dorset, VT 05251; 802-867-5581, FAX 802-867-4464 Mid-
Atlantic: Richard Teeling, 28 Kimberly Place, Wayne, NJ
Part of the exhilaration of the fullerenes is the shock that an old reliable friend, the
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Southeast: Mark
carbon atom, has for all these years been hiding a secret life-style. We were all familiar with
Anderson, 1915 Brickell Ave, Suite CC-1, Miami, FL 33129;
305-856-8567, FAX 305-856-1056 Midwest: Don Holbrook,
the charming versatility of carbon, the backbone of organic chemistry, and its infinite
1110 North Harvey, Oak Park, IL 60302; 708-386-6921, 708-
386-6950 West Coast/W. Canada: Neil Boylan, 828 Cowper,
variation in aromatic and aliphatic chemistry, but when you got it naked, we believed it
Ste. A, Palo Alto, CA 94301; 415-323-3302, FAX 415-323-
existed in two well-known forms, diamond and graphite. The finding that it could exist in
3312 Europe/Scandinavia: Nick Jones, UK; 44-647-52918,
FAX 44-647-52053
a shockingly new structure unleashes tantalizing new experimental and theoretical ideas.
Information for contributors appears on pages 35-37 of the
Perhaps the least surprising might be that improving life through science is a path that
4 January 1991 issue. Editorial correspondence, including re-
would see all the citizens of the world holding hands like carbon atoms in C₆₀ and like them,
quests for permission to reprint and reprint orders, should be
sent to 1333 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005.
welcoming any newcomer, no matter how different his or her skills or challenges.
Telephone: 202-326-6500. London office: 071-494-0062.
-DANIEL E. KOSHLAND, JR.
Subscription/Member Benefits Questions: 202-326-6417.
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Other AAAS Programs: 202-326-6400.
20 DECEMBER 1991
EDITORIAL 1705
MOLECULE OF THE
Buckyballs: Wide Open Playing
Field for Chemists
T
he roundest, most symmetrical large molecule found so far,
Playing ball in three dimensions. Just how do buckyballs
buckminsterfullerenc, continues to astonish with one amaz-
manage their chemical and physical feats? In C₆₀, hexagons and
ing property after another. Named for American architect R.
pentagons of carbon link together in a coordinated fashion to form
Buckminster Fuller, who designed a geodesic dome with the same
a hollow, geodesic dome with bonding strains equally distributed
fundamental symmetry, C₆₀ is the third major form of pure carbon;
among 60 carbon atoms. Some of the electrons are delocalized over
graphite and diamond are the other two.
the entire molecule, a feature even more pronounced in that
Buckyballs were discovered in 1985-the by-product of an ex-
workhorse of organic chemistry, benzene. But benzene is flat, and
periment on carbon molecules in space-but it was in 1991 that
many of its derivatives also tend to stack in flat sheets. Spherical
buckyball science came into its own. This year scientists flocked to
buckyballs literally add a new dimension to the chemistry of such
the buckyball court, entranced by the molecule's unusual bonding
aromatic compounds.
behavior, its hollow symmetry, and its amazing electronic proper-
The allure of C₆₀ goes beyond the beauty of its symmetrical
ties. Rarely has one molecule so swiftly opened the door to a new
shape. First considered a paragon of physical stability, it has turned
field of science.
out to be one of the most chemically versatile molecules known.
Papers hit top journals every week or so; scientists scramble to
This year, among other pioneering steps, chemists learned how to
keep up by fax and E-mail, and month-old information is probably
make fullerene derivatives, inflating the C₆₀ balloon by one or more
out of date.
carbons, in some cases still preserving its aromatic electron struc-
In the past year, properly doped C₆₀ was found to be both
ture. In the same week, it was reported that C₆₀ acts as a veritable
superconducting and magnetic, and the fullerene family expanded
sponge for free radicals, able to absorb dozens of these reactive
to include asymmetrical forms as well as cylindrical fibers nicknamed
chemical species. Free radicals with one unpaired electron are
buckytubes. In a steady stream of firsts, fullerenes were found in
crucial to the economical polymerization processes, and fullerene
flames, decorated with free radicals, hung with fluorine atoms,
compounds may one day be useful in such industrial processes.
inflated by carbon rings, and stuffed with metals. With potential
Superballs. A simple C₆₀ cage easily accepts electrons, so solid
applications in such commercial basics as catalysis and polymeriza-
fullerite doped with an alkali metal like potassium forms a stable
tion as well as the more distant realms of superconductivity and
compound of the family called fullerides with increasing amounts of
ferromagnetism, buckyball may soon become one of industry's
the alkali metal. Some fullerides become chameleons, changing
favorite sports.
from insulator to semiconductor to superconductor and back to
All-star teams. From the beginning, buckyballs have been the
insulator again. Pure C₆₀, for example, is an insulator. K₃C₆₀ is a
1
sport of physicists, materials scientists, and inorganic as well as
superconductor; K₆C₆₀ is an insulator. The superconductive prop-
P
organic chemists. At first physicists led the way, pointing out the
erties have unfolded at astonishing speed. In April, the critical
exceptional electronic properties of the fullerenes, but this year,
temperature was 18 K; by November, maybe 45 K, thanks to novel
with grams of C₆₀ available, chemists also have taken to the field in
dopings of C₆₀ and its rugby ball-shaped cousin, C₇₀, with metals
P
full force, and interdisciplinary teams of scientists are together
and alloys of rubidium, cesium, and thallium.
1
exploring the round world of buckyballs.
The fullerides can't yet run in the same league as the
In the fall of 1990, scientists found that heating a
traditionally hot candidates for high-temperature
a
rod of graphite in a helium atmosphere produced
superconductivity, the metallic copper oxides,
C₆₀. Labs around the country began cooking up
which have set the superconductive record at
bins of buckyballs, sparking an explosion of
about 125 K. But because the fulleride mate-
research. And in July, buckyball genesis was
rials are a much simpler system, they may
made potentially even easier by the discovery
offer a window into the still mysterious
burning benzene. Although C₆₀ is still rela-
tively expensive-at least $2,000 per gram in
purified form-many predict that fullerite (the
ous electronic property of certain materials.
pure, solid form of C₆₀) ultimately will be a bulk
J. BERNHOLC ET AL., NCSU/T. PALMER NC SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER
P:
B
that they are found in the sooting flames of
mechanisms of superconductivity.
Magnetic buckys. Ferromagnetism,
like superconductivity, remains a mysteri-
This year, buckyballs proved that they can
commodity, sold in local chemistry supply stores
play magnetic games too. Add an organic reduc-
for dollars per pound.
ing agent to fullerides and the totally unexpected
Marriage of the molecules. Last year, the bril-
result is a "soft" organic ferromagnet at temperatures
c
liance of synthetic diamonds as superhard materials beat out
up to 16 degrees K. The new material won't stay magnetic
buckyballs for Molecule of the Year. But one shadow dimmed
in the absence of an outside field, and so in itself may not have
a
diamond's luster: A polish of diamond itself was often required to
practical applications. But the ongoing quest for an organic ferro-
S
grow synthetic diamond film-an expensive and often impractical
magnet, which would be prized for its light weight and ability to be
o
beginning. This year, buckyballs came to the rescue. Researchers
polymerized, suddenly broadened its scope to include the fullerenes.
a
coated silicon with C₇₀, then grew diamond on top. Voilà! The
Cagey chemistry. For years chemists have been painstakingly
t
rugby ball-shaped fullerenes increased diamond formation by 10
building molecules with cavities, and fine-tuning the properties of
t
orders of magnitude over the untreated silicon.
those cavities in order to hold and transfer different atoms and
e
1706
SCIENCE, VOL. 254
2
ions. Now, with a naturally hollow molecule dropped into their
unexpected is expected. Eventually, the action will focus on a few
laps, chemists are eagerly discovering the rules for how buckyballs
promising research veins, and then practical applications will bloom.
can be filled. Eventually, by combining approaches, chemists may
For now, chemists, physicists, and materials scientists are simply
tailor-make stuffed buckyballs to serve as molecular containers,
having a ball.
shields for radioactive compounds, or drug-delivery agents. This
year, lanthanum atoms were stuffed inside buckyballs using the
And the Runners-Up Are...
ship-in-a-bottle trick: form the cage around the stuffing. The next
goal is to open a door into the fullerene cage, while still preserving
S
cientists hit homeruns in many fields this year, as they
that fragile electron structure, to allow direct movement of atoms
explored new territories ranging from planets to atoms.
or ions inside.
Science's nine runners-up for Molecule of the Year-exciting dis-
Twist and shout. Not all the fullerenes have the perfect symme-
coveries need only be "honorary" molecules-are described below.
try of C₆₀—but even a lopsided structure can be promising. C₇₆ and
C₈₄ have been found to have a helical form. C₇₈ also has a chiral
Microscopic manipulations. Extending human perceptions
form, explored on page 1768 of this issue. Starting with planar
into the atomic realm has been a scientists' dream for decades, but
graphite and ending with chiral carbon is surprising enough, but the
in 1991, that dream became a useful part of reality, thanks to the
asymmetrical forms may have fancy applications too, such as the
scanning tunneling microscope (STM). An STM initially offered
creation of nonlinear optical materials. When exposed to light of
the perception aspects at the atomic level, but recently the micro-
one frequency, such a material would emit light of another,
acting as an optical switch.
The first
Buckytubes. One of the year's most exciting developments
hand-built
turned up in the dirt piles of old fullerenes. In the soot on a
atomic
carbon electrode used to make fullerenes were found needles of
structure.
Seven Xe
carbon, composed of very thin nested tubes. Within each
atoms banded
individual rolled-up sheet, the carbon molecules were appar-
together to
ently arranged in a helical structure. Fullerene tubes may possess
form a linear
an amazing mix of properties-including great strength, since
chain on the
fibers of conventional forms of carbon are already the strongest
Ni (110)
known. Evidence is mounting that the higher fullerenes-such
surface. The
giant molecules as C₂₄₀—may not be symmetrical like the
image is
prototypes, C₆₀ and C₇₀. Rather, the larger molecules may be
50Å x 50Å.
asymmetrical and incorporate buckytubes in their structures.
Starting reactions. Carbon cages are likely to make good
scope has been shown to be able to pick up atoms and move them
catalysts, thanks to their bonding behavior and geometrical fea-
about. The scope works by inducing a tunneling current of elec-
tures, so industrial chemists are watching the buckyball play closely.
trons between its tungsten tip and the sample. If the current is kept
This year, the outside of carbon cages was decorated with com-
constant, the probe rises and falls, creating a map of the sample's
plexes of nickel, palladium, and platinum complexes, a feat that may
topography. Sharply increasing the current allows the tip to pick up
eventually offer more than just a pretty molecule.
atoms delicately and transport them. As an imaging tool, the STM
Injuries on the field? Many potentially useful organic com-
is available from about 20 commercial sources and is already a
pounds have a crippling fault: They tend to be intercalated into
workhorse of materials science. As an atomic forceps, STM applica-
DNA and thus promote cancer. But buckyballs suffer no such flaw.
tions are just beginning. For their first attempts at moving atoms,
They appear to be too big and round to be incorporated into DNA
scientists pulled stunts like writing "I love STM" in xenon atoms.
as are some of their planar cousins.
But in the past year, they systematically explored the tricks of atomic
Buckyballs face a potential red flag of their own, however. In the
manipulation. Atoms were dragged along a surface, picked up and
presence of light and oxygen, the C₆₀ molecule can pass its super-
set down somewhere else. A single atom can be induced to diffuse
fluous excitation energy onto nearby oxygen molecules, creating a
by applying a voltage between the surface and the STM tip. Practical
long-lived but very reactive form of oxygen called singlet oxygen.
applications are still years away, but the possibilities for atomic
Bucky boosters point out that even such a threat may hold promise.
assembly are endless, including creating new molecules or building
When not in an excited state, C₆₀ quenches the reactivity of other
synthetic versions of precious natural ones. Atomic switches, which
singlet oxygen species. Unmodified fullerenes are insoluble in
flip a current on and off by moving a single atom and which were
water, suggesting that they may react very little with biological
demonstrated for the first time this year, could theoretically shrink
tissue. Carcinogenicity tests are ongoing, but thus far buckyball
computers by several orders of magnitude-and allow readers to
looks like one of the safer games in town.
store a year's worth of Science on a disc the size of a penny.
As fullerene science takes off in all directions, speculations as to
Venusian visions. Planetary scientists have always had a basic
its uses abound. Will it be superconductivity that makes fullerenes
problem: Studies of active geologic and atmospheric processes on
commercially important? Super-strong fibers? Catalysts? Too soon
Earth-like planets were chiefly based on one planet-Earth. In
to say, but buckyball players aren't exactly worried about a lack of
1991, detailed information was obtained for another planet, thanks
applications. At this point, the heady atmosphere of discovery is too
to an interplanetary voyager called Magellan, which began to orbit
strong. After all, so far fullerene science exhibits the classic profile
Venus in August 1990. Despite some early problems, Magellan's
of a major scientific breakthrough. Buckyballs were found by
big radar antennae sent back eerily beautiful radar photos of the
accident by researchers asking a completely different question. Then
surface of Venus. The new photos (which Magellan gathered by
they were steadily explored-until they became widely available and
beaming microwaves to the surface through the clouds that shroud
the field exploded. Now, buckyball scientists are enjoying the
the planet, picking up the echoes and sending records back to Earth
exponential phase, in which almost everything is new and the
for processing) are a technological triumph, 10 times as sharp as any
20 DECEMBER 1991
MOLECULE OF THE YEAR 1707
MOLECULE OF THE YEAR
previous Venusian views. They show huge impact craters flooded
with radar-dark material, giant volcanic calderas, dramatic moun-
tain ranges, and evidence of Silica-rich volcanism, such as thick lava
puddles 25 km in diameter. Already it's clear that Venus is no twin
to Earth, bearing little evidence of Earth-like plate tectonics. One
other 1991 Venusian news flash: more proof that the planet's heavy
sulfuric clouds are sometimes pierced by lightning. The lightning's
telltale radio signals were picked up by a plasma wave instrument
SIMON FRASER/PHOTO RESEARCHERS, INC.
aboard the Galileo spacecraft, which enjoyed a brief rendezvous with
Venus in 1990. Meanwhile, Magellan's work was so successful that its
mission has been extended; a third mapping rotation begins in
January. For those who have seen Venus with new eyes, the twinkling
star of evening and morning will never look quite the same.
That sinking feeling. Stratospheric ozone, or rather the lack of
it, has been a scientific concern for several years, but in 1991 public
awareness reached a new high, as the ozone hole over Antarctica
expanded. This year, ozone losses hit home for denizens of the
Pediatric nurse adjusting an intravenous line being used to deliver
Northern Hemisphere too. The protective layer has thinned by
chemotherapy drugs to a young boy with leukemia.
about 3% over northern latitudes in the past decade. Even during
northern summers-typically a seasonal high for ozone as well as
Diederichs et al. on page 1779 of this issue. Theoretically, anyone
prime time for sunbathing-ozone has declined. As a consequence,
who suffers from impaired immunity may profit from CSFs; trials
human exposure to ultraviolet light is expected to increase. If ozone
with AIDS patients are under way. Trials are also under way on
drops by an average of 10%, the United Nations Environmental
people who have normal immune cell counts but are fighting
Program predicts that there will be 1.6 million new cataracts and
serious infections, like pneumonia, and could use an immune cell
300,000 skin cancers worldwide annually. On the positive side, the
boost. The CSFs are also pretty good at stimulating stock portfolios.
Montreal Protocol, which calls for phase-out of ozone-eating halons
Amgen stock rose by 180% this year. The two approved CSFs are
and chlorofluorocarbons by 2000, was implemented this year.
expected to garner $450 million in sales in 1992, and that's only the
Environmentalists say faster phase-out is needed, but even critics
tip of the iceberg, with more than a dozen CSFs and their cousins,
agree the protocol deserves
the interleukins, waiting in the wings.
respect as the first interna-
Cycling into cancer research. Like miners following their
tional treaty to tackle a glo-
separate veins of gold, basic scientists for years have explored the
bal environmental problem.
subtleties of the cell cycle while cancer researchers explored the
Meanwhile, using satellites
genetics and pathology of the disease. This year, both groups have
and aircraft, scientists con-
found themselves digging away at one promising vein, which could
tinue to explore the dynam-
lead to the motherlode: proteins called cyclins and their working
ics of ozone destruction. But
partners, the cdc kinases. Originally, researchers thought that one
even if ozone loss can be
or two cyclins paired up with a kinase (enzymes that modify proteins
slowed, how can the exist-
by phosphorylation) to trigger cell division. This year the cyclins
ing hole be filled? Some at-
and kinases have multiplied into a complex cast of characters,
mospheric scientists sug-
The volcano Sapas Mores on Venus
including five distinct families of cyclins and perhaps 10 cdc kinases.
erupts with molten lava 250 miles
gested one possibility this
Together, these proteins may regulate the cell cycle at a series of
across with some similarity to
year: break the ozone-de-
key points. For example, this year researchers looking for a gene
eruptions in Hawaii.
stroying chain reaction by
involved in a benign parathyroid tumor stumbled into cyclin re-
dumping 50,000 tons of
search, finding that the protein encoded by their tumor gene is a
ethane or propane into the Antarctic stratosphere to scavenge reactive
cyclin. Other groups (who were actually looking for cyclins) found
chlorine free radicals.
the same cyclin, now called cyclin D. Meanwhile, cyclins are
Growth factor. True to their name, colony stimulating factors
suspected of binding with the
(CSFs) spur colonies of immune cells to grow in Petri dishes. But
in 1991, CSFs swept into clinical medicine, with two factors
D. DEFRANCESCO
protein encoded by a well-
known tumor suppressor gene,
approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Naturally pro-
the retinoblastoma gene. There
duced in the human body, recombinant CSFs can be used to
cyclin 8
M
are even tantalizing hints that
stimulate production of key white blood cells, which destroy bacte-
Gf
cyclins are involved with the pro-
Start
cyclin
ria and viruses. Chemotherapy kills such cells, leaving patients
G2
destroyed
tein product of the p53 gene, a
vulnerable to infection and dependent upon antibiotics. To regain
S
tumor suppressor that is the most
their health, tens of thousands of patients getting chemotherapy
destroyed
frequently mutated gene in some
also receive granulocyte colony stimulating factor, (GCSF), which
kinese
human cancers. This year, the
allows more intense and frequent doses of chemotherapy. Patients
cell cycle picture became much
who receive GCSF need fewer antibiotics, recover earlier, and go
Cyclins and the kinases related
more complex and a little less
home sooner, making the medicine a cost-effective strategy. It's not
to them have key roles in
only cancer patients who benefit. GMCSF (for granulocyte-mac-
controlling the cell cycle.
mysterious. Eventually, resetting
the cellular clock could stop the
rophage colony stimulating factor) was approved for bone marrow
wild reproduction of cancer cells or nurture the regrowth of cells in
transplantation this year. Meanwhile, basic research on the factors
damaged organs.
continues; the molecular structure of GMCSF is presented by
Immunologists look inward. In the past few months, a series
1708
SCIENCE, VOL. 254
of fast-paced developments in immunology has begun to unravel
gists are working on creating mice to provide models for common
the story of the way antigens are processed into strips of peptide and
human diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and many types of cancer.
displayed for recognition by lymphocytes. For this internal process-
Before homologous recombination, geneticists working with
ing duty, the immune system has coopted existing cellular machin-
transgenic mammals could introduce a mutated gene into cells but
ery. In one antigen-processing pathway (class I) there are two
could not control where the gene went on a chromosome or how
steps-first, digesting the proteins and second, transporting the
many copies were inserted. Only in yeast could altered genes be
peptides to the binding site. The new genes were found in a small
inserted on target. But now mammalian geneticists can study living
area of the genome that contains other genes of the major histo-
mice with carefully targeted mutations, thanks to homologous
compatibility complex (MHC). Also in late 1990 and in 1991,
recombination and another relatively new technique, that of cultur-
several of the peptides bound to the MHC molecules (both class I
ing embryonic stem cells and reinserting them into the developing
and class II) were sequenced for the first time. Since vaccines mimic
mouse. The scientific rewards are rolling in. For example, in 1991
these peptides in order to arouse an immune response, knowing the
Yellow obese
detailed sequence is likely to lead to more potent vaccines. For
mouse. The mouse
example, MHC class I molecules incorporate surprisingly short
cines are generated by a much longer and therefore less effective
STANTON SHORT/JACKSON LABS
is heterozygous for
peptides, typically only nine amino acids long. Most current vac-
a gene that alters
coat color and
chain. Since the immune system sometimes attacks its own proteins
tumor suscep-
(the autoimmune diseases), knowledge of these peptides may also
tibility.
be the first step to creating drugs to block the unwanted response.
Market rules. For more than 70 years, the Soviet Union ran a
sweeping economic experiment on a scale so grand no social
several of the homeobox genes-key genes that regulate develop-
scientist would ever dare propose it. Spurning free markets, the
ment and have been conserved throughout evolution-were dis-
Soviets did their best to craft a planned economy, setting prices and
rupted by targeted mutagenesis and put back into mice. Most times
directing factory output for the entire nation. Meanwhile, from the
homologous genes have homologous effects in different species but
1930s to the '50s, Western economic journals hosted a fierce
sometimes the results are surprising. For example, mutated Dros-
debate. Could a centrally controlled economy run smoothly by
ophila show drastic effects if missing a homeobox gene called
mimicking a free market? Socialists argued that inventories could
engrailed, but knocking out the homologous gene in mice pro-
signal supply and demand just as well or better than prices. But
duced normal mice with only slight changes in brain tissue, suggest-
other economists insisted that nothing could match the wealth of
ing that there is more redundancy than expected in the mammalian
information about tastes and technologies that is contained in a
genetic plan. Meanwhile, the homologous recombination tech-
free market price. Those theoretical debates ended inconclusively,
nique continues to be refined, so that as of this year, the technique
and the journals turned to other issues. But in 1991 the Soviet
can be used extensively.
Union crumbled from within, offering strong support for the
Rousing receptors. As the most widespread neurotransmitter
Lenin's statue
in the brain, the simple amino acid L-glutamate has powerful and
comes falling
removes Lenin
from a pedestal
AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS
diverse effects, with roles in development, learning and memory,
down. A rope
and neurological diseases and stroke. This single molecule triggers
a variety of events because different receptors respond to glutamate
in very different ways. This year, the genes that code for several
in Lithuania as
receptor types were found, which marks a giant step toward under-
symbol of the
standing their detailed functions and providing therapy for mal-
collapse of his
functioning cells without interfering with normal brain processes.
economic
The elusive metabotropic receptor was cloned this year, as was the
system.
long-sought NMDA receptor (for N-methyl-D-aspartate, a syn-
thetic compound that activates this receptor). Finding the NMDA
receptor was a prize discovery, in part because this receptor, which
market econo-
allows calcium ions into the cell, is involved in the brain damage
mists. Econo-
left by a stroke. The damage is done when cells become
mists around the
overstimulated and calcium floods the cell, in a process called
world are now
excitotoxicity. Conventional wisdom held that only NMDA re-
concluding that
ceptors were permeable to calcium, but this year scientists revised
central planning does not motivate citizens and cannot transmit
their views: certain subunits of another class of receptor, the non-
information as efficiently as a free market. The demise of the USSR
NMDA Slutamate receptors called kainate-AMPA receptors, also
does not prove, of course, that every aspect of an economy should
can trigger the flow of calcium. And this summer two groups
be left to Adam Smith's famed invisible hand. But in the wake of the
independently found that the genes that code for these receptor
Soviet experience, the question is no longer market economy vs.
subunits differ by only one amino acid, which means calcium
central planning. Rather, it is how best to create a market economy
permeability is genetically controlled by one amino acid in these
while minimizing hardships.
receptors. These developments suggest that the non-NMDA re-
Genes on target. Homologous recombination, the act of slip-
ceptors also may have a role in calcium-dependent processes,
ping a mutated gene into the correct place on a chromosome, was
which are believed to include learning and memory. And they raise
first accomplished about 4 years ago. But in 1991 the technique's
the possibility that some day very specific drugs could turn off
chimeric offspring began to appear in large numbers. A zooful of
calcium permeability in a small subset of brain cells-without
altered mouse lines has now emerged, setting the stage for a new set
turning off the rest of the brain in the process.
of powerful mammalian model systems for human diseases. Biolo-
-ELIZABETH CULOTTA AND DANIEL E. KOSHLAND, JR.
20 DECEMBER 1991
MOLECULE OF THE YEAR 1709
2I DECEMBER 1990
SCIENCE
VOLUME 250
NUMBER 4988
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The Molecule of the Year
Science serves its readers as a forum for the presentation
and discussion of important issues related to the advance-
ment of science, including the presentation of minority or con-
D
iamonds may soon be everyone's best friend. According to enthusiasts, synthetic
flicting points of view, rather than by publishing only material
on which a consensus has been reached. Accordingly, all ar-
diamonds have already or will soon appear on watch crystals, eyeglasses, optical
ticles published in Science-including editorials, news and
instruments, audio speakers, fuel injection nozzles, turbine blades, scalpels, and
comment, and book reviews-are signed and reflect the indi-
vidual views of the authors and not official points of view
semiconductor wafers, to name only a few applications.
adopted by the AAAS or the institutions with which the au-
thors are affiliated.
The remarkable properties of diamond were recognized long ago. The name originates
from the Greek adamas, which means invincible. Diamonds, particularly large ones, are
Publisher: Richard S. Nicholson
among the most desirable gemstones, but the scientific and industrial value of diamond films
Editor: Daniel E. Koshland, Jr.
and small diamonds is perhaps even more striking. For hardness, for electrical resistance, for
Deputy Editor: Ellis Rubinstein
corrosion resistance, and for thermal conductivity, diamonds are at the extreme. Diamond
Managing Editor: Monica M. Bradford
also absorbs less light at most wavelengths, and also exhibits ten times greater thresholds to
Deputy Editors: Philip H. Abelson (Engineering and Applied
Sciences); John I. Brauman (Physical Sciences); Thomas R.
laser damage. Its thermal properties can be improved even further by making pure
Cech (Biological Sciences)
carbon-12 isotopic diamonds. Diamond circuits could be more stable and would remove
EDITORIAL STAFF
accumulated heat more rapidly than the silicon wafers that are the current core of the
Senior Editors: Eleanore Butz, Martha Coleman, Barbara
semiconductor industry.
Jasny, Katrina L. Kelner, Phillip D. Szuromi, David F. Voss
Associate Editors: R. Brooks Hanson, Pamela J. Hines, Kelly
Last year a new feature, the Molecule of the Year, was initiated by Science with the idea
LaMarco, Linda J. Miller, L. Bryan Ray
of honoring the scientific development of the year most likely to have a major impact on
Letters: Christine Gilbert, editor, Steven S. Lapham
Book Reviews: Katherine Livingston, editor, Teresa
scientific advances and societal benefits [Science 246, 1541 (1989)]. The condition for
Fryberger
Contributing Editor: Lawrence I. Grossman
selection was not that the development had to be discovered in the year of the choice, but
Chief Production Editor: Ellen E. Murphy
rather that in that year the accumulation of experience and expertise indicated that the
Editing Department: Lois Schmitt, head; Julianne Hunt,
Patricia L. Moe, Barbara P. Ordway
discovery was on a pathway of major importance: The polymerase chain reaction was picked
Copy Desk: Joi S. Granger, Margaret E. Gray, MaryBeth
as the Molecule of the Year for 1989, and the exponential increase in 1990 in its use in the
Shartle, Beverly Shields
Production Director: James Landry
laboratory, in industry, and in the courtroom supports that selection. Diamonds in 1990
Production Manager: Kathleen C. Fishback
Art Director: Yolanda M. Rook
seem to be at the equivalent stage. There are cost factors and theoretical problems to
Assistant Art Director: Julie Cherry
overcome, but the mounting excitement in conferences, journals, and industrial laboratories
Graphics and Production: Holly Bishop, Catherine S. Siskos
Systems Analyst: William Carter
indicates that the threshold in the development of a new technology has been passed. A
more detailed account of the diamond development, and of the runner-up candidates for
NEWS STAFF
Molecule of the Year, is given on page 1640 of this issue.
Managing News Editor: Colin Norman
Correspondent-at-Large: Barbara J. Culliton
One of the intriguing aspects of the synthetic diamond technology is its relation to the
Deputy News Editors: John M. Benditt, Jean Marx
News and Comment/Research News: Ann Gibbons, David
discipline of materials science. That area of modern science, a child of physics, engineering,
P. Hamilton, Constance Holden, Richard A. Kerr, Eliot
and chemistry, has flourished enormously in recent years, producing such practical
Marshall, Joseph Palca, Robert Pool, Leslie Roberts,
M. Mitchell Waldrop
applications as transistors, superconductors, and designer catalysts. Materials science has a
European Correspondent: Jeremy Cherfas
history of symbiosis between academe and industry and is driven by the interplay between
West Coast Correspondent: Marcia Barinaga
Contributing Correspondents: Barry A. Cipra, Robert
fundamental research and practical applications. Materials scientists constantly search for
Crease, Karen Wright
new phenomena and new combinations of existing properties. These discoveries can lead to
BUSINESS STAFF
previously unimaginable technologies or can decrease the cost of existing applications so
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that they become accessible to a wider range of problems. This is one of the reasons materials
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scientists are so excited about thin diamond films. They will now be able to exploit the
Business Staff Manager: Deborah Rivera-Wienhold
incredible properties of diamond in situations that were discarded as impractical in the past.
Classified Advertising Supervisor: Amie Charlene King
For example, electronic devices in which diamond forms the substrate, or backbone, for the
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES
device would be inconceivable without the ability to grow diamond as a film. Moreover,
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other promising materials, such as boron nitrides, will benefit from the new science revealed
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by diamond studies.
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As we watch the sudden rise in expectations and knowledge of diamonds, do we need
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to fear side effects of unknown consequence? No obvious difficulties are apparent, other than
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the economic readjustments usually accompanying any new technology. Electromagnetic
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radiation, antibiotics, and transistors are only a few of the scientific discoveries that have
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spawned new industries and enriched all our lives. That they have in turn created new
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societal problems should lead neither to cries of dismay nor shouts of alarm. Who really
wants to get rid of television sets, life-saving drugs, or computers? Synthetic diamonds may
Information for contributors appears on page XI of the
well create new problems requiring new science and new ingenuity, but the potentialities for
21 December 1990 issue. Editorial correspondence, including
requests for permission to reprint and reprint orders, should
new frontiers more than outweigh the possible adversities.
be sent to 1333 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005. Tele-
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diamonds, can be everybody's best friend.-DANIEL E. KOSHLAND, JR.
21 DECEMBER 1990
EDITORIAL
1637
Molecule of the Year
Bell Laboratories
Diamond: Glittering Prize for
Materials Science
I
ts combination of
hard-to-reach environments where high pressures and tempera-
properties, like its
tures, intense radiation, high salt content, and other adverse con-
appearance, is abso-
ditions can destroy materials (places like the ocean, space, engines,
lutely dazzling. Dia-
and nuclear reactors), fabrication of diamond materials and devices
mond is the hardest
may be justified already, even at the currently high costs of pro-
substance known. It
duction.
is inert to chemical
In both adverse and more standard settings, diamond substrates
corrosion and can
for semiconductors will be able to efficiently transport heat from
withstand compressive forces and radiation. It conducts heat better
electronic circuitry, obviating the need for cumbersome cooling
than any other material, has extremely high electrical resistance, and
systems. Because CVD diamond films have both high thermal
is transparent to visible light, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, and much
conductivity and high electrical resistivity, the jewel in the crown of
of the infrared spectrum. And, with respect to most of these
diamond film technology may well be superfast integrated diamond
features, diamond is superior to all other known materials.
circuits. Diamond diodes (the building blocks of transistors, which,
Because of these outstanding properties, synthetic diamond
in turn, are the building blocks of integrated circuits) have recently
materials-both crystals and thin films-that could be made cheaply
been made. If successful doping of diamond can be accomplished
would have great potential in research and commercial applications.
routinely, diamond devices could someday replace silicon semi-
Can they be produced? 1990 saw the start of the era in which this
conductors. Whereas silicon chips can withstand temperatures up to
possibility could become a reality.
300°C, one estimate is that diamond chips might be able to
Diamonds in the rough. Before it was feasible to make syn-
withstand temperatures as high as 5000°C.
thetic diamonds, diamonds could only be obtained through min-
Doped single-crystal diamond films are needed for diamond
ing, and never has there been what could be called a ready supply.
semiconductors; for other applications polycrystalline diamond
Today, less than 20 tons of natural diamonds are mined each year
films are adequate. For example, abrasion-resistant tools are coated
throughout the world. Brazil, India, and South Africa have been, at
with this type of film. Industry faces a different sort of challenge
different times, the world's major diamond-mining nations, though
with regard to these tools, namely determining what would be an
diamonds are also found in many other countries; today the
equitable price to charge for saws and knives that never need
Kaapvaal craton of southern Africa is one of the world's most
sharpening or replacement.
productive diamond-mining centers.
Diamond thin films can be put on windows and lenses to make
Natural diamonds form in the earth's mantle in regions of high
them scratch-proof, nonreflecting, and permeable to light. Because
temperature and high pressure. Volcanic eruptions that originate
diamond films are wear-resistant, they might be fashioned into
from such regions bring diamonds to upper portions of the earth's
efficient, low-friction, unlubricated bearings for machinery and
crust in rocks known as kimberlites. Diamonds are mined from the
prosthetic devices. A megaproject that may be in the offing is the
conduits of the volcanos and from nearby placer deposits in stream
production of diamond films for use as high-speed detectors for the
beds and beaches.
superconducting supercollider; it is predicted to involve more than
The switch to synthetic. As new technologies have been de-
a million carats of diamond film.
veloped for the production of artificial diamonds, the quest for
In addition to the production of diamond films and coatings,
diamonds has shifted more and more from the mine to the labora-
free-standing diamond materials are being fabricated. Diamond
tory. The number of potential uses for diamond-based materials
nozzles have been cast for use in diesel engines, and diamond
and the enormous profits anticipated have engendered an interna-
sheets, domes, and tubes have been prepared on metal preforms.
tional race for high-quality artificial diamond production. Techno-
Because the template is
logic breakthroughs for growing diamond materials and diamond
etched away, full advan-
films have come fast and furious in 1990. In addition, use of purer
tage can be taken of
starting materials made possible the production of isotopically pure
diamond's extreme
diamond films that have properties superior even to those of natural
properties in the free-
diamonds: the most exceptional of these is the extraordinary ability
standing constructs.
of the pure films to conduct heat. Although the cost of making
The technological
synthetic diamond films with state-of-the-art chemical vapor depo-
spadework. Interest in
sition (CVD) methods is still high-estimated at around $100 per
the production of artifi-
carat-the price could drop significantly with the optimization of
cial diamonds was ex-
Supplied by Don Kania, Lawrence Livermore Labs
CVD technology.
pressed at the turn of the
Applications. A few diamond-based and diamond-coated prod-
century, but it was not
ucts are already in use commercially--x-ray windows in electron
until 1958 that a method
microscopes, strong abrasion-resistant industrial tools, and dia-
was patented in the United States for preparing diamond materials
phragms for tweeters in stereo speakers-but these represent only
from methane at high pressures and high temperatures (1600 K and
a tiny fraction of the anticipated applications. For hard-to-service,
about 55 kilobars). However, as the methane burned, graphite was
1640
SCIENCE, VOL. 250
also deposited, severely limiting the speed of diamond deposition
means by which specific properties of films enhance their usefulness
and therefore the success of the process. (Both diamond and
for various applications. Most materials-metals, ceramics, plastics,
graphite are pure carbon materials, but the way that carbon atoms
polymers, and paper-are considered desirable substrates for some
are organized in them differs: diamond is a rigid, dense, and
application of diamond films, and so an understanding of what
essentially incompressible crystal in which tetrahedrally coordinated
promotes. bonding is critical. For some applications, epitaxial growth
carbon atoms are linked in a cubic crystal lattice by covalent bonds;
is required, whereas in other cases the substrate serves only as a form
graphite is a soft material in which two types of bonds form to create
on which a film is fabricated.
a macrostructure of parallel sheets with hexagonal symmetry.)
It has taken a quarter of a century for artificial diamond film
In 1977, researchers in the Soviet Union found that deposition
production to get under way, but, now that it has, the future for
of the troublesome graphite could be prevented if excess atomic
diamond-based materials is likely to be a gem.
hydrogen were added to the reaction chamber. Hydrogen may both
suppress formation of graphite nuclei and contribute to the creation
The Runners-up
of free radical sites. By 1981 the Russian scientists reported that
There were many scientific and technological developments in 1990
they were able to form both single-crystal diamond films on
that had their own exceptional sparkle. Science's top ten among
diamond substrates and multiple diamond crystals on metal sub-
these are described here.
strates.
Terrific tesselations. Distant cousins of diamonds, the 60-
The film industry runs fast-forward. With a solution to the
carbon buckminsterfullerenes or buckyballs, can now be synthe-
graphite problem at hand, Japanese and other researchers began in
sized in bulk. The availability of gram-per-
the early 1980s to develop low-pressure CVD methods; these
day quantities of these soccer ball-
methods yielded high-quality single-crystal and polycrystalline films.
shaped all-carbon molecules is a real
With CVD, hydrogen gas is heated with a simple hydrocarbon
kick for chemists: it has already
compound such as methane (referred to in some of the popular
made possible many analyses of
accounts of the achievement as swamp gas, vodka, and sake) to
the structure, spectral signature,
temperatures of 2200°C. The carbon atoms are atomized and
and properties of C₆₀ that had
ionized and then rearrange and condense out onto the substrate.
not been possible before. This
Diamond films made with CVD methods have proven to be both
handle on buckminsterfullerenes
smoother and larger than those that could be made under high-
should also facilitate measure-
pressure and high-temperature conditions.
ments of the abundance of C₆₀ in
In July of this year, scientists in the United States reported that
the cosmos. Such clusters are in-
isotopically pure diamond films (containing 99.9% carbon-12 and
credibly stable and, because candle
not the 1% carbon-13 that is present in natural diamonds) had been
burning, wood burning, and star burning
grown. The pure films not only conducted heat 50% better than the
all create the conditions that favor formation of C₆₀, the
best natural diamonds but also withstood damage by laser radiation
buckminsterfullerenes may turn out to be among the most abun-
ten times more effectively than natural diamond.
dant molecules in the universe. Buckminsterfullerenes have been
Vapor deposition methodology now appears to be in an exponen-
attracting attention for about 5 years, ever since they proved to be
tial phase of growth. Diamond films can be grown at pressures
surprisingly abundant vaporization products in experiments di-
ranging from tens of torrs to 1 atmosphere. Film growth rates of 1
rected at the production of long-chain carbon molecules. Why are
millimeter per hour are possible. Diverse volatilization methods
the buckyballs so much more stable than other poly-carbon mol-
have become available, including microwave discharges, hot fila-
ecules? All members of the fullerene family are stable because they
ments, plasma torches, and ion beams. The deposition of films at
have no dangling bonds; C₆₀ is the most stable of these complete
lower-than-normal temperatures (around 300°C instead of the
hollow shells, perhaps because the way it curves minimizes stress on
standard 700 to 1100°C) has been accomplished through the
carbon-carbon bonds. The shape of the C₆₀ molecule immediately
addition of halogens to reaction mixtures; this is an important step
brings to mind several possible applications-as catalytic surfaces
if diamond is to be deposited on temperature-sensitive substrates.
and as capsules for transporting small molecules through the body,
All of these variations on the basic CVD theme are making possible
as do vesicles and viruses which have similar shapes. Unmodified
faster production of better materials with diverse morphologies.
buckyballs react poorly with other substances and may, like their
For some purposes, diamond-like carbon films (which contain
precursor graphite, be effective lubricants; if their surfaces can be
less than 1% hydrogen) or diamond-like hydrocarbon films (those
modified (for example, with hydrocarbon chains), new forms of
with 20 to 60% hydrogen) may be as good or better than diamond
organic molecules could be created on buckyball frameworks.
films. In general, these films can be deposited at lower temperatures
Juggled genes. Gene therapy is in theory the way to attack
than can pure diamond films. The development of similar materials,
inherited defects head on: substitute a normal gene for one that is
such as the boron nitrides, may also benefit from the diamond
malfunctioning or missing. The first human gene therapy experi-
technology boom.
ments have now surmounted all political hurdles and are under way
The many facets of diamond film technology. Much has been
at the National Institutes of Health; how quickly enough of the
accomplished with CVD technology even in the absence of a clear
technologic challenges can be met to make this therapy effective
understanding of how and why this process transmutes hydrocar-
remains to be seen. Can the good gene be targeted to the right place
bon into diamond. Experimental and theoretical approaches are
and, in some cases, can the defective gene be removed at the same
now coming together to provide an understanding of the kinds of
time? Can the genetically engineered cells be kept alive and func-
intermediates that form during the deposition process, the specific
tioning, and can they be made to reproduce? Will enough of the
molecular species that promote the growth of the crystal lattice, the
needed gene product be produced? Can all this be done without
types of atoms that bind to the crystal's edges, the impurities
activation of "innocent bystander" oncogenes inside the therapeu-
(nitrogen, boron, and others) that disrupt the formation of dia-
tic cell? The genetic disease that was chosen for the prototype gene
mond crystals, the ways in which reaction conditions affect the
therapy triáls is the immunodeficiency caused by an adenosine
speed of film deposition and film thickness and shape, and the
deaminase (ADA) deficiency. The disease would appear to be a
21 DECEMBER 1990
MOLECULE OF THE YEAR 1641
perfect choice in which to evaluate and improve gene therapy
detect lower energy neutrinos and thus should be able to monitor
technology. It is caused by a simple genetic deficiency-one enzyme
the vast majority of neutrinos coming from the sun, those produced
is missing-and therefore might also be "simply" corrected. Al-
by proton-proton fusions. Measures of the sun's brightness and of the
though the disease affects perhaps no more than 50 people around
neutrino flux should jibe; if they do not, and so far they have not, new
the world, it is nonetheless widely known because of the poignant
neutrino physics will be in order. The new physics could include a
image projected by the "Boy in the Bubble." People born with an
mass for neutrinos and oscillations and transmutations between the
ADA deficiency cannot fight infectious diseases; they either live in
three different types of neutrinos-electron, muon, and tau-while
a sterile (bubble) environment or are continually sick, and they die
they are still inside the sun.
young from overwhelming infections. Cells carrying a functional
Alluring aerogels. Aerogels are strong, light, airy materials. The
gene for ADA have been given to the first few pioneer patients, but
most airy aerogel prepared to date consists of 99.8% air; the rest is
it is still too soon to evaluate the efficacy of these trials. Cystic
silicon dioxide. So
fibrosis is also high on the gene therapy list; it is the most common
far aerogels have
fatal genetic disease in Caucasians in North America. Last year the
been used only in
gene that is responsible for cystic fibrosis was identified. This year,
high energy phys-
the faulty cystic fibrosis genes in two types of cells in culture were
ics particle detec-
replaced with their normal counterparts; the substitution repaired
tors. However,
defects in the cells' membrane ion channels, preventing the cells
their properties-
from swelling. It remains to be seen whether cells repaired in this
they do not con-
fashion can reverse symptoms brought on by the build-up of dry
duct heat or sound
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
mucus in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients.
well, they refract
No-show neutrinos. Detection of solar neutrinos that are
light, and they are
produced by fusion reactions in the sun's core is the only direct way
almost transpar-
to confirm that nuclear fusion is what causes the sun to shine. About
ent-have sug-
2% of the sun's energy is thought to be emitted as neutrinos; the rest
gested uses for
as heat and light. The detection of solar neutrinos has not been a
them as insulators in refrigerators, buildings, and windows. Half an
simple matter because they are low in energy, have no charge and
inch of a silica aerogel can do what it takes 3½ inches of a fiberglass
little or no mass, move at the speed of light, and are not stopped by
insulator to do. Aerogels are being evaluated for use in space
trivial barriers (like the earth). Nonetheless, for the past 23 years, the
research to capture unharmed, fast-moving particles. The prepara-
interactions of the higher energy solar neutrinos with an isotope of
tion of an aerogel begins with the preparation of a gelatinous
chlorine have been monitored in a vat at the Homestake Gold Mine
polymer. High pressures combined with high temperatures are then
in South Dakota. From these underground measurements, the
used to remove the liquid from the gel in such a way that surface
"solar neutrino problem" has surfaced: only a third or a fourth of
tension is not created: the fluid enters a supercritical state (gas and
the number of neutrinos expected on the basis of standard solar
liquid are physically the same) and the gel does not collapse in on
models is detected. Is the shortfall due to a faulty detector, incorrect
itself. Air moves in as the fluid moves out and what remains is an airy
formulation of the physics of the sun, or a misunderstanding of
mesh, a kind of solid smoke.
Powerful pills. Well over half a million Americans are currently
taking the drug Prozac in order to control depression and other
Brookhaven National Laboratory
common psychological disorders, including anxiety, obsessive-
compulsive behaviors, and bulimia. So far, Prozac is acting as
something of a wonder drug; it is highly effective, causes few
dangerous side effects, and is already the most widely prescribed
antidepressant after just 4 years on the market. Prozac and earlier
generations of drugs for depression (the tricyclics and the mono-
amine oxidase inhibitors) are not only changing the clinical outlook
for depressed individuals but are providing valuable clues to the
electrochemical circuitry of the brain and to how such circuitry
might be modified in psychiatric diseases and in mental disorders.
Depression has been associated with abnormally low activity of
neurotransmitters, one of which, serotonin, appears to be Prozac's
target. Normally, serotonin is released by a nerve cell, crosses a
synapse to bind to a receptor on a second nerve cell, and then
activates the second cell; later, serotonin is released by the second
cell and is either degraded in the synaptic cleft or reabsorbed by the
cell that originally secreted it. Prozac seems to block the reuptake
of serotonin by the first cell. Because serotonin stays in the cleft
longer, it also can work longer. Many pharmaceuticals besides
Prozac have proved their worth in modulating neurologic function-
ing; two good examples are L-DOPA and Ritalin. Drug receptors
neutrino physics? Last year the Japanese Kamiokande II detector
can often be discovered with conventional biochemical techniques;
confirmed the neutrino deficit; it also tracked the path of the
thus, in addition to the therapy they provide, psychoactive drugs
neutrinos and showed that the neutrinos were indeed coming from
(like a range of imaging techniques) are of value for associating
the sun. This year, two gallium-based detectors (the joint Soviet-
activity with architecture and are helping to map specific mental
American SAGE detector and the Italian Gallex detector) are
activities to specific regions of the brain.
joining the search for solar neutrinos. The gallium detectors can
Twinkling tweezers. Sperm that are too weak to penetrate the
1642
SCIENCE, VOL. 250
protective coat around an egg may soon be helped by laser beams.
suppressors keep cells from engaging in runaway proliferation, but
Femtosecond laser pulses can make tiny puncture holes in the egg's
when they are mutated their hold on the cell is broken and tumors
zona, thereby permeabilizing this protective layer so that the sperm
can arise. The possible association of the NF-1 gene product with
can push their way through to the egg. Many advances in laser
tumor suppression has excited researchers studying all types of
technology during the past 30 years have contributed to the
human cancers, because the molecular mechanisms that trigger Von
production of the new precision lasers that act like mini-tweezers,
Recklinghausen disease may be similar to those that initiate other
mini-scissors, and mini-scalpels, catching, trapping, puncturing,
human tumors.
cutting, and splicing subcellular structures and pushing or pulling
Magical motifs. Molecular biologists have made significant
them from place to place. The new laser tools have been used for a
progress this year in clarifying some of the complex interactions of
number of biomedical and biological projects-clipping off regions
protein and DNA molecules that result in gene activation. Differ-
of chromosomes (followed by assessments of the consequences of
ential gene transcription, the turning on and off of specific genes,
the loss to the cell), cutting and splicing membranes, and moving
is what ensures that, for example, a developing heart cell will in fact
organelles around inside cells. Chemists and physicists are using the
grow and differentiate into a heart cell despite the presence of all the
advanced lasers to study molecular behavior by "pushing" mol-
genes necessary to make it a liver or stomach cell. Although many
ecules tiny distances within crystals; they have also harnessed the
different types of transcription factors have been identified and
energy of lasers for splitting and ionizing molecules that participate
studied in both simple and complex organisms, structural studies
in simple chemical reactions and have confirmed quantum mechani-
now indicate that the factors can be sorted into just a few categories
cal predictions of simple reaction dynamics.
on the basis of their conformations. Two distinct "motifs" are
Growth industry. Everyone's favorite bacterium, Escherichia
prevalent among the many transcription factors and appear to
coli, is now churning out bovine growth hormone in quantities that
mediate the formation of dimers that then bind to DNA. One motif
put the pituitary glands of cows to shame. "Bovine somatotropin"
is the leucine zipper; the other is a helix-loop-helix arrangement.
is expected to be one of the next products of recombinant DNA
Both are typically situated close to highly positively charged regions
technology to reach the marketplace; at the threshold, it is encoun-
of amino acids that interact with negatively charged DNA.
tering a variety of obstacles. The hormone has powerful effects on
"Partnering" has recently been observed to occur between dissimilar
lactation and can increase milk yields by as much as 25% per cow.
transcription factors. This increases the diversity of transcriptional
Dairy lobbies in both the United States and Europe are troubled
activating complexes that can be generated within a cell. Thus, from
that the already precarious existence of small farmers will be further
a relatively small number of transcription factors, many distinctive
jeopardized if this new product is approved and large producers
dimers can form; each can have a new specificity, new binding
garner an even greater share of the market than they already control.
affinity, and new effect on gene expression.
Two states, Minnesota and Wisconsin, have for the time being
Cosmic questions. The field of cosmology, which has long
banned the sale of the recombinant hormone; so has the European
been rich in theory, is now growing rich in data as well. A striking
Parliament. There are also safety issues involved. Is the hormone safe
example of the new wealth is the data returned this year by the
for treated animals? Bovine somatotropin causes organ enlargement
Cosmic Background Explorer satellite (COBE), which was launched
and lower reproductive rates
by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Novem-
in treated animals. Is there a
ber 1989. COBE is examining the "afterglow" of the Big Bang-
possibility that the hor-
the photons that were emitted within a few hundred thousand years
mone will be dangerous to
of the event. Ground-based observations of the cosmic background
human consumers? Avail-
radiation have shown it to be homogeneously distributed; in
able evidence (published in the 24
COBE's first few minutes of observation, its infrared absolute
August 1990 issue of Science) indicates
spectrophotometer confirmed at high resolution that the spectral
that the health risk to human consumers
signature of the
Cosmic Background Spectrum at the North Galactic Pole
is negligible. Sometime next year when all
afterglow was
1.2
the data are in from multi-year animal-
that of a perfect
1.0
The smooth curve is the best
safety studies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will decide
black body. The
fit blackbody spectrum
whether to approve the product for commercial use. Because of the
COBE measure-
0.8
continuing controversy, the National Institutes of Health also has
ments are ad-
0.6
convened a consensus panel to assess the animal and human safety
dressing two re-
FIRAS, North Galactic Pole
of bovine somatotropin.
lated cosmologic
0.4
Gigantic gene. In July, the gene for type 1 neurofibromatosis or
mysteries: why is
Von Recklinghausen disease was cloned. The disease affects about
the cosmos, over-
Brightness
0.2
1 person in 3000, so its incidence is less than that of cystic fibrosis
all, so homoge-
0.0
2
6
10
14
18
or sickle cell anemia in American blacks. The most common signs
neous, and how
Frequency (cycles/centimeter)
are benign but extremely disfiguring tumors (called neurofibromas),
did structure
cafe-au-lait (patchy) spots on the skin, and nodules on the iris. In
(stars, galaxies, clusters, superclusters) evolve out of the smooth
a number of cases, learning disabilities, malignancies, and various
background? The COBE instruments continue the search for the
neurologic manifestations also occur. The NF-1 gene is huge and is
tiny seeds of inhomogeneity that are thought to be the foci around
thought to have as many as two million base pairs. At least three
which the first stars would have formed; within a few months, these
other genes are embedded in NF-1, piquing interest in whether
measurements should reach a level of resolution of one part in 10⁵.
these passenger genes have a role in the disease process. NF-1 is
When the expected fluctuations are found, existing theories that
highly conserved, which suggests that under normal conditions it
account for the appearance of structure will need some refinement.
may have some important cellular function. When the sequence of
If the fluctuations do not appear, theorists will be back at square one
NF-1 was compared with sequences of 20,000 other genes, striking
looking for new energy sources to invoke along with the Big Bang
homology was found with portions of two others. Current thinking
to account for the formation of the universe.
is that the three homologs are tumor suppressor genes. Tumor
RUTH LEVY GUYER and DANIEL E. KOSHLAND, JR.
21 DECEMBER 1990
MOLECULE OF THE YEAR 1643
SCIENCE
22 DECEMBER 1989
VOLUME 246
NUMBER 4937
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The Molecule of the Year
Science serves its readers as a forum for the presentation
and discussion of important issues related to the advance-
ment of science, including the presentation of minority or con-
flicting points of view, rather than by publishing only material
on which a consensus has been reached. Accordingly, all ar-
H
istorians tend to personalize history. They use political leaders to symbolize war or
peace, freedom or slavery, abundance or starvation. Political systems represented
ticles published in Science-including editorials, news and
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Molecule of the Year. The molecule will symbolize a discovery or technique that may
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actually involve many molecules, but the award will be singular to force us to choose one
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This year's award goes to the DNA polymerase molecule and to the technique called
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polymerase chain reaction. PCR, as it is called, has developed into one of the most powerful
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burgeoning. One of its first applications allowed an Indian mother to establish the identity
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of her son for immigration purposes. It has this year served as the basis for making human
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antibodies in a bacterium. It is revolutionizing the approaches researchers are taking to
many problems in biology. Other properties and potentials of PCR are discussed in the
NEWS STAFF
section that follows, as are many other discoveries that could easily have been chosen in a
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Each widely adopted technical advance generates new problems that themselves cry out for
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technical solutions. The problems are real. So, is this progress?
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December 1989 issue. Editorial correspondence, including
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22 DECEMBER 1989
EDITORIAL I54I
Perspective
"target sequence," is a gene or segment of DNA. In a matter of
hours, this target sequence can be amplified a millionfold. How this
is accomplished is shown in the accompanying figure. The comple-
mentary strands of a double-stranded molecule of DNA are separat-
ed by heating. Two small pieces of synthetic DNA, each comple-
menting a specific sequence at one end of the target sequence, serve
as primers. Each primer binds to its complementary sequence.
Polymerases start at each primer and copy the sequence of that
The Molecule of
strand. Within a short time, exact replicas of the target sequence
have been produced. In subsequent cycles, double-stranded mole-
the Year
cules of both the original DNA and the copies are separated; primers
bind again to complementary sequences and the polymerase repli-
cates them. At the end of many cycles, the pool is greatly enriched in
the small pieces of DNA that have the target sequences, and this
RUTH LEVY GUYER AND
amplified genetic information is then available for further analysis.
DANIEL E. KOSHLAND, JR.
Evolving PCR. Many improvements on the original PCR meth-
od have been made. One of the first was the substitution of a heat-
stable enzyme for the original DNA polymerase, which was heat-
labile and had to be replenished after each cycle. The stable "Taq
S
cience HAS SELECTED THE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AS
the major scientific development of 1989 and has chosen for
polymerase," which comes from bacteria that live in hot springs,
its first "Molecule of the Year" the DNA polymerase molecule
continues working almost indefinitely despite the heating steps. Taq
that drives the reaction. The list from which the polymerase chain
polymerase improved the yield, generated more specific and longer
products, and facilitated automation.
reaction (PCR) was chosen included an impressive array of accom-
plishments in many areas of science and technology; additional
New strategies have also been devised for flanking unknown
kudos are therefore conferred below to 17 of the other big "stories"
sequences with defined primer sites. For standard PCR, the se-
that made 1989 an exciting year for scientists and for followers and
quences at both ends of a target sequence have to be known.
beneficiaries of science. Although the PCR procedure was intro-
"Inverse" PCR provides a way of sequencing DNA outside the
duced several years ago, use of the technique truly burgeoned in
primer sites rather than between two primer sites. Primer molecules
1989; in much the same way, the full potentials of many of the
are synthesized with their sequences reversed. The target DNA is cut
interesting "runner-up" scientific achievements of this year are likely
and circularized, and, when the polymerase extends the primer, it
to be realized sometime in the years to come.
does so around the circle in the direction opposite that which would
The first PCR papers were published in 1985. Since that time
have been taken by standard PCR primers. "Anchored" PCR was
PCR has grown into an increasingly powerful, versatile, and useful
developed for studying genes that encode proteins for which partial
technique. The PCR "explosion" of 1989 can be seen as the result of
sequences are known. For anchored PCR, only one defined primer
sequence is needed, not two.
a combination of improvements in and optimization of the method-
ology, introduction of new variations on the basic PCR theme, and
The implications of inverse and anchored PCR for DNA sequenc-
growing awareness by scientists of what PCR has to offer. With
ing are astounding: enormous stretches of DNA can be sequenced
PCR, tiny bits of embedded, often hidden, genetic information can
once a tiny bit of sequence is known. Both techniques make it
be amplified into large quantities of accessible, identifiable, and
possible to proceed along the DNA, continually redefining "ends"
to which synthetic primers can be bound and then extended.
analyzable material. A single cell provides enough material for
analysis; a single hair can be used to identify an individual.
Applications of PCR. The basic PCR procedure has been
The basic PCR reaction. The starting material for PCR, the
valuable in disease diagnosis because specific DNA sequences can be
amplified enormously (the needle in the haystack). One of the first
uses led to improved diagnosis of a genetic
disease (sickle cell anemia), because the PCR
technique depended on much less clinical
Double-stranded DNA
material than standard procedures. (Because
PCR is exquisitely sensitive, unusual care is
taken to avoid the amplification of contami-
nants.) PCR can also be used to amplify
trace amounts of genetic material of infec-
+
Strand separation
tious agents in blood, cells, water, food, and
other clinical and environmental samples.
PCR-based tests are especially valuable for
+
detecting pathogens that are difficult or
Primer
Primer binding
Primer
impossible to culture, such as the agents of
Lyme disease and AIDS. For cancer diagno-
sis and cancer research, PCR can indicate
+
Primer extension
what genes are expressed or turned off,
because the messenger RNA molecules asso-
Many cycles
ciated with such genes can be converted into
complementary DNA sequences that then
can be amplified.
Enrichment of target sequence
DNA samples in trace materials (semen,
22 DECEMBER 1989
PERSPECTIVE IS43
blood, hairs) found at the scene of a crime have been compared with
thus raising the spector of a black market in RU 486 sales.) The full
DNA samples from crime suspects; both acquittals and convictions
potential of RU 486 is only hinted at by available studies: in
have resulted from such comparisons. Missing persons have also
addition to terminating pregnancies, it facilitates problem deliveries,
been positively identified through PCR-based comparisons. The
and its steroid-like actions may be effective in the treatment of
resolution of paternity cases has been aided by comparing DNA
certain types of cancer, Cushing's disease (which is characterized by
from a child with that of the alleged father. And matches of
excess cortisone production), wound healing, and glaucoma.
transplant donors and recipients are facilitated with PCR. "Univer-
Most universal appeal. The year 1989 was a banner one for space
sal" primers are being used to determine the extent of homology in
exploration. The "Planet of the Year" was clearly Neptune and the
the sequences of conserved genes from different samples. Such
"Spacecraft of the Decade" was clearly Voyager 2. On 24 August,
comparisons, which help to establish evolutionary relations among
Voyager's Neptune flyby capped a more than 10-billion-kilometer
organisms, can even include extinct organisms, because DNA
Grand Tour of the solar system, and the final sets of dazzling images
samples extracted from mummies, bones, and other archival materi-
als can be used.
PCR may soon replace gene cloning as the amplification method
of choice for gene sequencing, for which large amounts of DNA are
needed. PCR is also providing new options in molecular genetics
studies for adding genetic information to target materials or for
altering what is already there.
The rate at which new PCR-based techniques have been devel-
oped suggests that this technology is proliferating as rapidly as its
Taq polymerase molecules replicate target sequences.
Other major scientific developments of 1989. The choice of the
PCR polymerase as the Molecule of the Year was not a simple one
because 1989 saw major developments in many areas of science and
technology. Some of these advances are the first steps to what may
develop into major discoveries but were "runners-up" because their
full applicability is not yet known. Some represent steady progress,
but not breakthroughs, in fields of major importance. Listed here
are the scientific developments of this year that, because of their
great potential, were close competitors of PCR.
Most mind-boggling synthesis. The correct synthesis of the
compound palytoxin, which has one sextillion (10²¹) possible
of planets, moons, and rings (of a total of 100,000 sent altogether)
isomers, was a major triumph of synthetic organic chemistry.
and bits of data (of 5 trillion sent) were beamed back to Earth. The
Palytoxin has the chemical formula C₁₂₉H₂₂₃N₃O₅₄; it has been
Voyager mission, which included two Voyager spacecraft, began in
described as a substance that gives "new meaning to the word
1977 and has been an unmitigated success. Voyager 1 visited Jupiter
macromolecule. Natural palytoxin is extracted from coral and is a
and Saturn; Voyager 2 visited the Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
potent toxin that once was used for poisoning spear tips. Its only
Neptune systems. Of the outer planets only Pluto was not in the
known source-coral that live in a 6 foot by 2 foot tidepool near
right place at the right time for a flyby. Another space highlight of
Hana, Maui-proved difficult to discover, because local lore had it
the year was the Soviet Phobos mission, which provided new
that those who collected palytoxin were cursed. The curse apparent-
information about Mars before contact with Earth was lost. And
ly did not apply to chemists: 8 years of strategic planning and
two important missions were begun: the Magellan spacecraft set out
experimental work culminated this year in the correct synthesis of
for a 1990 encounter with Venus, and the Gallileo spacecraft left for
this complex compound. The mammoth project has yielded many
Jupiter, which it should reach in 1995.
new procedures and strategies that can be applied to other difficult
Most likely to succeed. Various technologic advances have, over
organic syntheses.
the years, made possible the preparation of pure populations of
Most controversial. One world problem whose solution could
highly specific antibody molecules; such antibodies bind to target
solve many others is overpopulation. So the availability this year of
substances (antigens) and have many uses in vivo and in clinical and
RU 486, a pill that is effective at halting gestation and thereby at
laboratory tests. The latest advance, which was made this year, is
terminating pregnancies, has caused great excitement. RU 486 also
likely to revolutionize the antibody industry: it involves antibody
may be one of the most controversial drugs ever developed, with
production by genetically engineered bacteria. A complete "library"
politics and ethics, not efficacy, at the center of the controversy. The
of antibody genes from an animal can be introduced into bacteria
pill is a steroid hormone analog that blocks
and the binding regions of antibodies produced. The antibodies are
the action of progesterone during preg-
screened for the desired specific reactivities. The appropriate gene is
nancy. Since progesterone is essential
then amplified and antibodies churned out in quantity, and it is a
both for establishing and sustain-
comparatively easy job to screen a million molecules a day. This
ing a pregnancy, blockage by RU
procedure may generate antibodies with higher affinities than
486 causes miscarriage. In devel-
those induced in animals; immunization is not necessary, and
oping countries, some 200,000
therefore difficult immunizations-for example, where the ap-
women die each year from bun-
propriate antigen is not known or is toxic-no longer present a
gled abortions, and, for them, an
problem. This system should be useful for producing antibod-
antigestation pill would be lifesav-
ies that catalyze enzyme reactions, that bind to target antigens in
ing. (At present, however, RU 486 is
vivo or in diagnostic tests, that function as biosensors, and that
available only in France and China,
facilitate clinical and basic research.
I544
SCIENCE, VOL. 246
Most absorbing. The ability of scientists and engineers to depart
vaccine development. The search for effective drugs for treating
from and improve upon what nature has to offer is not unique to the
AIDS patients has intensified recently as the efficacy of AZT, the
biological sciences but has also been a goal of materials science
only currently approved AIDS drug, has begun to wane. AZTofren
research. The 1990s have in fact been designated by the National
works well for many
Research Council as the "Age of Materials.' Many novel materials
months; but after about
that are lighter, stronger, or harder than known substances or have
6 months, AIDS viruses
other exceptional features have been fashioned by materials scientists
begin showing reduced
by combining molecules and atoms in new and different ways. An
susceptibility to the
interesting example that was unveiled in 1989 was Stealth technolo-
drug, and by 18 months
gy; the goal of this technology is to evade radar detection, and the
the drug's clinical value
B2 Stealth bombers absorb, rather than reflect, radar signals. Along
is sharply reduced. In
with the advanced materials, advanced methods for fabricating
early summer, the drug
them, such as molecular beam epitaxy and laser vapor deposition,
ddI passed muster in
came into wide use this year.
preliminary clinical trials
Best supporting actor. An extremely potent new immunosup-
designed to determine its toxicity. A group of AIDS patients, some
pressive drug, FK506, was made available this year for experimental
of whom could not tolerate AZT, tolerated this purine analog for a
and clinical use. Immunosuppression is crucial to the success of
period of 42 weeks and had increased energy levels and some
tissue and organ transplants but, until now, only cyclosporin A has
improved immune functioning. This month the possibility was
been widely used for suppressing the immune system. FK506 and
raised that protective immunity against AIDS might be induced
cyclosporin A have entirely different structures; therefore, it was
with a vaccine: in a monkey model, vaccination against a simian
surprising that their actions were much the same. Each binds to an
immunodeficiency virus prevented AIDS-like disease when the
abundant (but different) protein inside target cells. Each inhibits the
macaques were later challenged with lethal viruses. The study raised
enzymatic activity of the target protein. The two target proteins
the possibility that protection might be achieved even if infection
appear to have the same enzymatic activity and to influence the
was not entirely prevented.
folding of cellular proteins, the transduction of signals in cells, and
Most fundamental. Physicists are no longer losing sleep trying to
the activation of certain lymphocytic cells. Comparisons of the
generate enough Zs. Z° bosons are the vectors of the weak nuclear
actions of these two different immunosuppressors may assist in
force. The standard model of high-energy physics posits that all
sorting out the molecular events that work together to bring about
immunosuppression.
elementary particles are members of distinct but parallel families.
Physicists have long thought that the number of such families is
Most refreshing. September brought some long-awaited good
three, but, in theory, more families are possible. This year at the
news for individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) and CF
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, the CERN European Center
carriers: the CF gene was identified. There is no
animal model for this disease, and the identification of
for Particle Physics, and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,
Z° bosons were for the first time produced in quantities that were
the gene was an important milestone in CF research.
sufficient for analyzing particle masses and lifetimes. The results
In CF, the lungs, the pancreas, and the sweat glands
from CERN and Stanford have narrowed the family number to
all malfunction; a thick mucus clogs the lungs and this
three, thus bolstering the validity of the standard model as well as
promotes opportunistic infections that destroy lung
the validity of the Big Bang theory for the origin of matter.
tissue; affected individuals usually die before they
Most heated discussion. The condition of the global environ-
reach the age of 30. The identification of the CF gene
ment, both present and future, was one of the biggest scientific
is expected to have immediate payoffs in screening for
topics last year, and still at issue this year are many of the same
carriers of the gene, in prenatal diagnosis, and for
questions. Has global warming from greenhouse gases been detect-
developing therapies based on improved understand-
ed, when might larger changes occur, and what should be done
ing of the consequences of the genetic defect. The
CF
about the situation? New measurements of the depletion of ozone in
predicted sequence of the protein product of the CF
the atmosphere and the expansion of the ozone hole suggest that
gene has been helpful in suggesting a function for this
protein in normal individuals and the nature of the
ozone losses are occurring outside the hole, although the specific
mechanisms of this type of loss are unclear. Clouds continue to be of
aberration in affected individuals.
interest because of their role in the earth's energy budget and
Most penetrating. Although the scanning tunneling microscope
because of the part played by polar stratospheric clouds in chemical
(STM) was developed some years ago, widespread use of this
reactions that lead to ozone depletion. Global climate models, which
technology really began in 1989. STM provides atomic-scale infor-
are undergoing steady improvement and have been used more and
mation about surface topography. Images of a surface's atomic peaks
more, should figure into the future environment-related decisions
and valleys are generated as a probe moves along the contours;
and actions of the international community.
electrons jump from the scanning probe to the surface, tunneling
into "forbidden" areas, when an electric field is applied. The atomic
Most productive. In June, a genetically engineered kidney hor-
mone was approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-
structures and electronic properties of semiconductors, high-tem-
perature superconductors, and biologic molecules in air and under
tion. This could turn out to be one of the biotechnology industry's
big commercial medical successes. Erythropoietin, known by the
water are now being almost routinely determined by STM and its
offshoot, atomic force microscopy. A recent innovation involves the
trade name Epogen, stimulates the production of red blood cells. In
use of the sharp tip of the scanner for drawing lines on and punching
normal individuals, the natural hormone is instrumental in replen-
holes in the surfaces of crystals; this application of the instruments
ishing the billion or more red blood cells that turn over each day; in
for a purpose other than scanning and tunneling surfaces may make
patients with kidney failure (of whom there are 95,000 in the
United States), there is a tremendous red blood cell deficit. These
it possible to generate nanometer-size patterns on electronic devices.
patients typically receive regular post-dialysis transfusions, because
Most scrutinized disease. AIDS continues to be elusive, but this
dialysis leaves them weak and anemic. However, with injections of
year some headway may have been made both in treatment and in
Epogen, red blood cell production resumes, the patients are ener-
22 DECEMBER 1989
PERSPECTIVE 1545
gized, and the need for transfusions is obviated. (Patients with
AIDS and certain cancers might also benefit from the boost to red
blood cell production provided by Epogen.) If, like Epogen, other
blood products can be made commercially by genetic engineering
procedures, reliance on transfusions might be lessened and the
incidence of transfusion-associated cases of AIDS and hepatitis
could be lowered. Already in the commercial pipeline are other
blood products like factor VIII.
Most original. RNA molecules, which once were thought to be
the middlemen in the process by which proteins were made from
DNA, have come into their own. RNA can cut, splice, and assemble
RNA sequences without help from any other types of molecules. It
is now clear that in RNA-protein complexes, the RNA segments do
the catalytic work while some of their partner proteins serve mainly
in structural capacities. Thus it may eventually be possible to block
gene expression inside cells or interfere with virus infections through
the use of catalytic RNA molecules. It is also becoming clear how
transfer RNA molecules, which take amino acids to the ribosome
where they are added to growing protein chains, get properly
"charged" by synthetase enzymes. The discovery that RNA can be
self-sufficient lends support to the hypothesis that the most primi-
Wide World
tive biotic world was an RNA-based world; it was into this world
that proteins came only later to specialize in some of the activities
theoretical considerations. New microanalytic techniques have in-
that RNA could already do.
creased understanding of reaction mechanisms and processes in the
Most tantalizing. If one science news event most excited the
earth, have improved dating accuracy, and should soon provide data
imaginations of the scientific community, the public, and the press it
on isotopic compositions of individual mineral grains.
was certainly the claim in March of
Most antithetical pair. There is increasing understanding of the
the achievement of cold nuclear fu-
types of genes that contribute to the development of cancer and how
sion in a jar. The prospect that a
they do it. A fruitful new approach for cancer therapy may someday
plentiful and cheap energy supply
involve intervention in the expression or loss of expression of cancer-
might become available for an ener-
associated genes. Two functionally opposite types of genes, both
gy-hungry world engendered great
active in normal cells, play a part in tumor development. Oncogenes
interest and excitement. As soon as
are cellular genes that affect normal growth, development, and the
the claim was made, laboratories all
transduction of signals in cells; disruption of the normal functioning
over the world scrambled to repeat
of oncogenes (for example, when they are picked up by tumor
the experiment, apparently to no
viruses or acted on by carcinogens) leads to abnormal growth of cells
avail. Yet some still believe some-
and the development of cancer. Other genes, the tumor suppressor
thing intriguing is going on in those
genes, act in a very different manner. They normally block tumor
jars, although what it is continues to
development and drive cells toward normality, but, when specific
elude explanation. Investigations of
mutations accumulate in a cell or when tumor suppressor gene
cold fusion continue but at lower
functions are lost, cancers can arise. The balance struck between
energy levels.
oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes appears key to whether cell
Most earthshaking. For some
behavior will be normal or aberrant.
time, structural engineers in Califor-
Most thought-provoking. Can a machine be taught to think like
nia have been devising ways to shore
a human? And, if the workings of the machine can be delineated,
up structures against earthquakes,
will the workings of the human mind also become clear? These twin
and a test of their work came this
questions are at the center of neural network, or connectionism,
year. On 17 October 1989, an
research, a fiercely competitive interdisciplinary field (combining
earthquake with a mainshock mag-
electrical engineering, neurophysiology, physics, behavioral psy-
nitude close to 7 rocked the San
chology, and others) that has gained new momentum in the past 2
Francisco Bay Area. In the city's hard-hit Marina district, artificial
years. (For example, the United States is reported to have close to
fill amplified the waves of the earthquake, and many buildings were
3000 researchers already working in this area, Japan has several
destroyed. Elsewhere the extent of damage varied, and altogether
hundred, and the European Economic Community has 1000.)
fewer than 100 people were killed. The experience pointed up the
Learning algorithms are being designed, circuits are being wired up
importance of reinforcing older structures and of attending closely
like neurons in the brain (each usually with many inputs but only
to new building design and city planning (on what types of soil
one output), and machines are learning such skills as how to
should buildings be built?). These are currently the best defensive
pronounce previously unencountered English words and how to
actions that can be taken against earthquakes, because consistently
calculate the curvature of an image from its shading patterns. The
accurate short-term predictions of earthquakes are still a long way
commercial potential of robots that can write, speak, and in other
off. Earth scientists have been gaining new insights into dynamic
ways interact with their environments appears to be limitless; what
features of the mantle and core through seismologic and experimen-
insights such machines will provide about how thinking occurs
tal studies (in particular, through use of the diamond anvil cell) and
remains to be seen.
I546
SCIENCE, VOL. 246
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
The United States showed the world how a government could foster the freedom required for
basic science research, the results of which can be negligible or earthshaking. That free-
dom-and America's technological lead-have eroded at the same time
MANAGING
THE UNMANAGEABLE
BY ROBERT P. CREASE AND NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS
N THE FALL OF 1942 J. ROBERT OP-
penheimer walked into the Presidio, in San Francisco, to undergo a physical. He was
about to be tapped by General Leslie Groves, the head of a top-secret Army project,
to establish and administer a classified laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, that
would investigate the possibility of developing an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer and
his bosses took it for granted, given the source of the money, the lab's directive, and
the need for security, that the facility would follow conventional practice and be mili-
tarized. Hence his trip to the Presidio; the physical
mission set up a string of national laboratories, it chose to
would be the first step toward being commissioned a
manage them according to a similar scheme, called
lieutenant colonel, which in turn would be the first step
administrative contracting, in which independent man-
toward taking command of the largest and most ambi-
agers were hired, often universities or similar nonprofit
tious scientific project yet attempted.
organizations. The system was viewed as essential to the
But Oppenheimer never went through officer training.
special environment needed for basic research, which,
He never needed to. Key scientists refused to come to
unlike applied research, seeks an understanding of the
Los Alamos under conditions of military hierarchy and
structures of nature for its own sake. Partly as a result, the
bureaucracy, which, they said, were antithetical to the
United States forged ahead of other nations in postwar
spirit of science. Scientists thrived when they were
science and in the technology that derived from it.
judged according to competence, not rank. Under pres-
Today that innovative and unique system is in jeopar-
sure, Groves relented. On February 25, 1943, he sent
dy, threatened by a tendency to manage federal under-
Oppenheimer a letter promising that although the mili-
takings of all kinds, including scientific projects, as
tary would provide resources and general direction, for at
though they were businesses-constrained by business
least the time being Los Alamos would remain civilian,
procedures and requirements and responsive to busi-
managed by contract with the University of California.
ness incentives and pressures. Although we will focus
Even Groves would come to recognize that this arrange-
on the problems of the national laboratories, owing to our
ment worked far more effectively than the original, con-
familiarity with them, we believe that similar manage-
ventional one would have.
ment problems are or soon will be experienced in con-
The letter set a momentous precedent for relations be-
nection with large government-sponsored scientific proj-
tween the U.S. government and its scientists. When,
ects in other branches of science. The impact on science
after the war, the newly founded Atomic Energy Com-
has gone virtually unnoticed by the public, because it has
80
ILLUSTRATION BY BILL NELSON
JANUARY 1991
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
occurred in a series of tiny steps, no single one of which
danity of unforeseen consequences in discoveries of
has been large enough to attract attention. But it is op-
genuinely new structures of nature.
pressively evident to those who work inside the national
Improving medical techniques was hardly on the mind
laboratories. The attempt to treat basic research as a
of the German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen as he tin-
business has slowly changed the structure and spirit of
kered with cathode-ray tubes in November of 1895. But
these laboratories, and begun to strip away the special
when he explored the curious fact that a fluorescent
protection this country once accorded them and to taint
screen near his apparatus was glowing, contrary to all ex-
the fragile atmosphere needed for them to thrive. At a
pectations, he ended up discovering a wholly new phe-
time of widespread lamentations about the loss of U.S.
nomenon of nature, which he called x-rays. Within three
technological competitiveness, it is ironic that we are de-
months they had been used to examine bone fractures.
stroying one of the most important means by which we
His discovery triggered a series of other important scien-
established that technological competitiveness in the
tific discoveries, such as that of radioactivity.
first place.
"I don't think the idea of helping suffering humanity
ever entered our minds," Howard Florey, of Oxford's
Changing the World by Chance
Dunn School of Pathology, once recalled of the momert
in the late 1930s when he and his colleague Ernest Chain
LTHOUGH BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH ARE OF-
began a survey of antibacterial mechanisms. But on their
A
ten intertwined in practice, their intellectual
list of microbes to study was penicillin, which had been
missions are distinct. Basic research aims to rec-
discovered accidentally only a few years before but
ognize previously unknown structures of na-
whose antibacterial properties had been neglected.
ture, whereas applied research aims to make some al-
Much of modern medicine is based on a substance whose
ready known process possible or more effective. The
discovery and development were matters of sheer chance
structures of nature recognized in basic research may
and disinterested academic research.
have practical applications, but whether they do or not,
"Moonshine," responded the British scientist Ernst
and if so of what type, are generally not the professional
Rutherford, who discovered the nucleus in 1911, to the
concern of the basic researcher. At the beginning of this
suggestion that energy might be obtained from it. Atomic
century a popular postprandial toast around the Caven-
energy was equally far from the thoughts of the Italian
dish Laboratory of Cambridge University, in England,
physicist Enrico Fermi when, in 1934, he began bom-
was, "The electron: may it never be of any use to any-
barding the nuclei of all known elements with neutrons,
body!" That wish, as the physicist Abraham Pais once
and was puzzled by the results he achieved with the
wryly remarked, was unfulfilled. A few decades earlier,
heaviest known element, uranium. The German scien-
during an inspection of the Royal Institution, in London,
tists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann were trying to make
a skeptical William Gladstone questioned the potential
sense of Fermi's odd results when, at the end of 1938,
value of electricity. "Sir," came the waggish riposte,
they announced that barium was a by-product of such
"someday you will tax it!"
bombardments. A month later two other German research-
The American sociologist Robert Merton once devot-
ers, Otto Frisch and Lise Meitner, were only trying to ex-
ed an essay to what he called "the unanticipated conse-
plain that puzzling result when they suggested that urani-
quences of purposive social action." Human action, he
um nuclei could split, or "fission," with a concomitant
wrote, often brings about processes or results that are un-
release of energy. The outcome of all this puzzle-solving,
intended by the actors, and these can affect either the ac-
it hardly needs mentioning, transformed the world.
tors or society as a whole, and can be beneficial or not. Al-
The unintended consequences of scientific research
though Merton was specifically discussing social action,
can reach far beyond science and technology, to have a
his point is equally true of scientific research. But where-
cultural impact as well. One remarkable and well-docu-
as most human action seeks to avoid unanticipated con-
mented example is the profound effect that telescopic as-
sequences, basic research courts them. Many discoveries
tronomy had on Milton's poetry, and in particular on his
are unsurprising, expected outcomes of deliberate re-
imaginative depiction of the space of the universe in
search programs. Nevertheless, basic researchers are al-
Paradise Lost. Some three hundred years later one might
ways aware of the possibility of-and often hope for-
consider how x-rays, CAT scans, and radio telescopes
novel developments. The British theoretical physicist
have further altered human perception and imagination.
P.A.M. Dirac, who devised the "Dirac equation," which
It is unfortunate that the beneficial effects of scientific
accounts in a comprehensive way for the behavior of the
discoveries often become so thoroughly integrated into
electron, used to say that his equation was smarter than
the world that they are taken for granted, as part of its
he was, because it contained solutions to problems of
warp and woof, whereas the pernicious applications of
which he was unaware. Moreover, historical illustrations
scientific discoveries are often portrayed as representa-
of unintended practical consequences of discoveries are
tive of scientific activity itself. Pessimists anticipate that
legion. We will cite a few examples to illustrate the mun-
basic research will deliver new forms of power to be so-
82
JANUARY 1991
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
cially abused; optimists anticipate a reform of social
condition of basic science is a laboratory environment
structures which will eliminate such abuses.
that facilitates such freedom of inquiry. A laboratory is
Temperamentally, scientists tend to be optimists, and
more than a collection of equipment and the space to
if pressed will defend their work by saying that in the
house it. It is a theater in which experiments are per-
long run, at least, the effects of science are beneficial.
formed and witnessed, and like theaters of the more fa-
But arguments about the value of basic research that are
miliar kind, it is specially built for that purpose. Provid-
based on anticipations of either social utility or harm are
ing such environments was less complicated in the first
weak, because they are based on analogy: the future will
few decades of this century, when scientists worked
be like the past. A deeper motive for basic research is
alone or in groups of twos and threes, when important
that it ultimately leads not just to understanding of the
laboratory skills were glassblowing and carpentry, and
structure of nature but to self-understanding as well.
when one required no more than an ordinary room in
What is nature? and Who are we? are not distinguishable
which to perform an experiment. At that time laboratory
questions. "Whatever nature has in store for mankind,
equipment was workbench-sized and relatively inexpen-
unpleasant as it may be," Fermi once said, "men must ac-
sive, and much of it was built by the researchers them-
cept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge."
selves; until the 1930s the first morning task for a physi-
cist who needed power supplies often was to build batter-
ies. With the Manhattan Project and the postwar establish-
An Odd System That Worked
ment of the national laboratory system, however, all that
HE PHRASE "MANAGING BASIC SCIENCE" MIGHT
changed. "Little Science" became "Big Science," in the
T
at first seem oxymoronic, like the oft-repeated
words of Alvin Weinberg, a former director of Oak Ridge
jest about "military intelligence." Manage-
National Laboratory, in Tennessee. Researchers might
ment is the effective coordination of resources
work in teams not of twos or threes but of dozens and
and personnel toward a particular end; how can one coor-
even hundreds; the cost of experiments reached not tens
dinate an activity whose end is unforeseen and unfore-
of thousands but hundreds of millions of dollars. Making
seeable? Nevertheless, basic science stagnates when it is
equipment was subcontracted to industry, and the space
not effectively supervised. Salaries of basic scientists, for
to house it might require hangar-sized buildings.
instance, are lower than those of ap-
Today Weinberg's phrase is unfortunately associated
plied scientists. Basic scientists
with an unproductive debate about science fund-
cannot be paid competitive
ing policy in which "Big Science" often carries
connotations similar to those of "Big Busi-
salaries, because there is
no guarantee that their
ness." The suggestion is that large scien-
work is marketable;
tific projects unfairly monopolize scien-
and even when it
tific capital, squeezing out the little
eventually happens
to be so, the re-
them. Neverthe-
less, many ex-
RESEARCH = Is $1510 VIEHEO NOT VEHICLES As A BUT OF SOCIAL As AS AND
guy who might make valuable innova-
tions if given a chance. But the anal-
turns are usual-
ogy is false. Knowledge generated by
1y too far in the
large scientific projects, unlike the
future to affect
profits of large corporations, be-
comes the property of the entire com-
munity and restructures the scientific
tremely bright peo-
background against which research
ple find that the
AN
teams large and small plan and execute
relative freedom to fol-
NATURE.
new ventures. Moreover, "Big Science" is
low one's nose in prepar-
a general term whose meaning varies from
one branch of science to another. It can refer to
ing a research program, col-
laborating and competing with
the construction of large instruments used by only
smart and dedicated colleagues, and
a small fraction of the community at once, as in astron-
the thrill of the prospect of making fundamental discov-
omy; large equipment complexes serving many individ-
eries are ample compensation for unequal pay.
uals simultaneously; as in materials science; or the co-
Creating and maintaining a healthy scientific culture is
ordination of the work of numerous small research teams.
the aim of science management, and it involves tending
as in biology. In each case the funding needs, the size
to both the intellectual and the institutional conditions of
and role of research groups, and the information flow be-
basic research. The intellectual condition is freedom of
tween project users and the wider scientific community
inquiry-allowing and even encouraging scientists to fol-
is different. It is thus meaningless to debate the value
low new paths should they open up, to risk dead ends, to
of Big Science in general; projects must be judged on
shift direction abruptly on a hunch. The institutional
an individual basis.
83
JANUARY 1991
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
Nevertheless, the management problems of such large-
When the contractor was a university or similar nonprofit
scale projects are similar, and therefore the experience of
organization, it received a management fee to cover its
high-energy physics, in which such problems were first
costs. Commercial companies came, to receive an "award
felt, is likely to be emblematic. Big Science meant that
fee" along with reimbursement for their costs, in an
high-energy physics outgrew the environment single uni-
amount depending on a judgment about the effective-
versities could provide. The national laboratories had a
ness of the management in any given year. The commer-
special mission: to provide favorable environments in
cial companies participated not for the money but partly
which such science could continue to grow. But the new
in order to contribute to the good of the country, partly to
scientific theaters had vastly different requirements from
provide a training ground for employees, and partly to
those of just a decade or so earlier. It was not simply a
benefit from the transfer of new technology. The Sandia
matter of bigger equipment, along with the need for
Corporation, for instance, has managed the Sandia Labo-
more-extensive construction and planning. The new lab-
ratories for forty years without any award fee.
oratories also required things like offices for procure-
The arrangement worked so well that when a group of
ment, maintenance, health and safety, security, architec-
European nations founded CERN, a laboratory in Gene-
tural planning, and budget. They needed departments
va, in 1953, its management was patterned after the ad-
for photography, technical information, public informa-
ministrative contracts of the Atomic Energy Commission
tion, and legal counsel. The commitment to maintaining
(AEC). "It is the desire of the Commission," a typical
such a large organization inevitably posed a threat to
contract stated at the outset, "to procure for the Govern-
the freedom and flexibility of the basic research that was
ment managerial skill and responsibility which will per-
supposed to be carried out. Science management had
mit flexibility in administrative controls and freedom
become a problem-one that grew with the size of the
from detailed supervision." Many of these contracts car-
laboratories.
ried what became known as the sweetness-and-light
The solution adopted was the administrative contract.
clause: "It is the intent of the Commission and the Con-
Administrative contracts date from the era of the Atomic
tractor that this agreement shall be carried on in a spirit of
Energy Act of 1946, and the historic compromise it ef-
partnership and friendly cooperation with a maximum of
fected between the U.S. government and the U.S. phys-
effort and common sense in achieving their common
ics community. The government was trying to balance its
objectives."
desire for a first-class scientific program with its desire for
The special character of administrative contracts can
secrecy and control of the direction of nuclear-reactor
best be seen by comparing them with the two most com-
technology. The physics community wanted the nuclear
mon types of government contracts, fixed-price and cost-
reactors and particle accelerators that were soon to be-
plus-fixed-fee. Suppose, for instance, that the govern-
come fundamental tools of Big Science, but also wanted
ment wants to buy Army hats. It draws up specifications,
to work independent of the government, which was the
determines which sizes and colors it wants, and then so-
only conceivable source of funds. Administrative con-
licits bids. If the winner of the contract, a fixed-price
tracts permitted the government to participate in science
one, cannot produce the specified hats on budget, it
while preserving the atmosphere of university
must bear the additional cost itself or renegotiate the
laboratories.
contract. Cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts cover situations
Administrative contracts were soon written establish-
where the scope of the work precludes a basis for deter-
ing several national laboratories, some through the reor-
mining a fixed price. Suppose the government wants a
ganization of existing labs: Brookhaven National Labora-
series of metals to be evaluated for use in space vehicles.
tory, on Long Island, New York (the contractor was
It might produce a detailed description of the tests it
Associated Universities, Inc., a nonprofit group of uni-
wants done, prescribing how long the process is to take,
versities in the region); Berkeley Radiation Laboratory,
how often it will want to receive reports, and so on, and
in Berkeley, California (University of California), now
invite interested parties to negotiate a contract in which
called Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory; Argonne National
the government agrees to pay whatever costs are incurred
Laboratory, outside Chicago (University of Chicago); and
plus a fixed fee. In both kinds of contracts the aim is to
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (built largely by Du Pont
pin the contractor down to as many specifics as possible.
and now run by Martin Marietta). In addition to these ba-
Both presuppose a conventional buyer-seller relationship.
sic-research facilities, a string of laboratories oriented to-
Administrative contracts envision an entirely different
ward military projects were also set up under administra-
relationship between contractee and contractor, one that
tive contract. Besides Los Alamos (University of
is essentially collaborative. It is taken for granted, for in-
California), these included Livermore Laboratory, in
stance, that the relationship will be long-term; contrac-
Livermore, California (also the University of California),
tors are formally reviewed after five years but do not nec-
now called Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory;
essarily have to undergo a competitive rebidding process.
and Sandia Laboratories, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Although the AEC determined its laboratories' basic di-
(AT&T. through a subsidiary, the Sandia Corporation).
rection, approved long-range plans, and played an impor-
84
JANUARY 1991
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
tant role in health and safety policies, other management
flow-downs came through the AEC, which wrote pro-
issues were the responsibility of the contractor, who was
curement regulations into its standard contracts. It was
allowed maximum flexibility in deciding them.
often unclear both to the laboratories and to their Wash-
ington contract supervisors which of the AEC regulations
The Intrusion of Bureaucracy and Politics
had to be followed by the laboratories in subcontracting.
The problem was exacerbated by the fact that the ulti-
DMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS WERE CREATED IN
mate court of appeal for contract disputes with the gov-
A
the knowledge that special management meth-
ernment is the General Accounting Office, which had the
ods are required by the special environment in
right to examine all AEC contracts and subcontracts to
which basic research thrives. Yet the fruits of ba-
evaluate their legality.
sic research-and their obvious ability to transform soci-
Over time the GAO's authority grew, as did the num-
ety-have made it tempting for the government to think
ber of its regulations and the penalties for breaking its
that basic research can and should be managed for social
rules. Inevitably contractors began to play it safe and
ends, and that therefore conventional management mod-
adopt the conventional contracting practices even when
els and methods can and should be applied to it. Little by
not technically necessary.
little the government has succumbed to this temptation,
AEC procurement regulations were but one source of
and has come to adopt the perspective that basic-research
flow-down. Around 1960 a second source appeared with
facilities can be operated just like other corporate enti-
the creation of a set of federal procurement regulations.
ties. The result has been to erode two fundamental kinds
Once again, it was frequently unclear both to the labora-
of independence originally granted to contractors: the
tory managers and to contract administrators which regu-
relative independence from bureaucratic restrictions ap-
lations were to be applied to the administrative contracts;
plied to other federal agencies, and the relative indepen-
once again, the fact that the GAO had the final say dis-
dence from political pressures.
couraged the laboratories from making aggressive and
The federal government long ago established a system
flexible contracting decisions.
of regulations to cover the contracting and purchasing
In 1975 the AEC ceased to be, and most of its func-
functions of its agencies and any subcontracting carried
tions were taken over by the short-lived Energy Re-
out by those agencies. The reasons for doing so include
search and Development Administration, which in turn
the government's interest in preventing collusion, fraud,
was superseded by the Department of Energy, in 1977.
incompetence, and inefficiency, and its interest in pro-,
The flow-down now became a torrent, thanks to a change
moting certain social ends.
in the character of the agency overseeing the laborato-
The first administrative contracts, however, exempted
ries. The AEC staff had always included a number of sci-
the laboratories from such provisions. The promotion
entists who engaged in basic research, and the agency's
rules, salary structures, and personnel regulations of civil
five commissioners had always included at least one basic
service were considered inappropriate to the laboratory
scientist. The professional staff of the AEC, like those of
environment. Because scientists on the research frontier
the Tennessee Valley Authority, the FBI, and a few other
need to be able to respond quickly to new developments,
agencies, was exempt from civil-service requirements,
the elaborate accounting and procurement practices re-
meaning that it had a great deal of flexibility in selecting
quired of government agencies were also thought inap-
and assigning laboratory personnel. The Department of
propriate. For such reasons, the contractors who managed
Energy, however, has never had a basic scientist at its
the labs were bound by few of the restrictions that were
helm, and is staffed largely by officials with little or no fa-
standard in other government contracts, except for basic
miliarity with basic research and its particular require-
health and safety provisions. That is not to say that the
ments. People arrived at the new agency with no aware-
contractors were given carte blanche; they were account-
ness of the reason why administrative contracts had been
able for their work through periodic reviews whose con-
established in the first place and no experience in han-
clusions were made available in publicly released re-
dling them, and expected that the contractors who ran
ports. But the contractors were freed of the ordinary
the national labs would follow the same regulations as ev-
bureaucratic burdens placed on federal agencies.
eryone else.
That freedom did not last long. Within a few years of
In 1982 an advisory panel reported to the DOE that
the signing of the first administrative contracts many of
"the laboratories have become grossly overburdened
the boiler-plate provisions of standard government con-
with detailed reporting and other paperwork require-
tracts were being written into administrative contracts.
ments, the utility of which frequently is not apparent and
These were not unreasonable, and contractors did not
which unnecessarily divert resources from their research
find them burdensome. But severer restrictions were ap-
and development missions"; nothing, however, was done
plied, through a process known in the jargon as "flow-
in response to the complaint. Similar conclusions were
down," by which restrictive requirements and regula-
reached in subsequent years, with similar outcomes, by a
tions in one contract tend to flow into others. The first
presidential commission and a second advisory panel.
86
JANUARY 1991
THE ATLANTIC MONTH
The result is that the national laboratories have to di-
vert an increasing portion of their resources in order
to satisfy federal bureaucratic provisions from which
they were meant to be exempt. It is a question not
of science administration having to grow in scale
with the size of scientific projects but of the
breakdown of the independence that the admin-
istrative-contract system was designed to safe-
WIDESPREAD.S. OF IT IS ONE WHICH THE MOST
guard. Three decades ago the procurement reg-
ulations that bound laboratories were available
in a small booklet. Today each lab has several
TIME ABOUT OF the LOSS PETITIVENESS, DESTROYING BY TECHNOLOGY IN
feet of "DOE orders," with additional ones arriv-
ing weekly. In the past ten years alone the budget
ARE
departments at the national laboratories have dou-
an
bled-not because they need additional help in pre-
THAT
paring the budgets but because of the DOE's never-
ESTABLISHED
ETITIVENESS IN
FIRST
ending requests for information. Whereas agreements
WE
between contractors and the government aimed at a rela-
tionship of "sweetness and light" forty years ago, today
the relationship is described as "at arm's length." Some
examples:
prohib-
The DOE requires laboratory directors to approve each
iting such a co-
request for international-travel funds, and if the requests
operative venture because of certain restrictions on sub-
are filed within thirty days of the start of the proposed
mitting a purchase order to private industry. The
trip, they must be approved by the appropriate DOE of-
laboratory spent a year tinkering with the agreement to
fices in Washington. This regulation is absurd. Given the
make it valid, only then determining that the officials
international character of contemporary science, interna-
were merely playing it safe with the DOE requirements.
tional conferences are necessarily one of its important
Before the matter was straightened out, several major
tools. Brookhaven scientists, for instance, make about
projects ground to a halt.
300 foreign-travel applications a year. DOE regulations
require so much reporting and follow-up that the Brook-
Revitalizing Scientific Culture
haven administration includes two people who work full-
time to process applications.
T WAS ONE INTENTION OF THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT
Following a recommendation of the 1982 advisory pan-
I
to keep political hands off the basic-research budget
el, the DOE established a program to provide lab direc-
as much as possible. One part of the act, for in-
tors with seed money for promoting new initiatives. The
stance, provided for the evaluation and selection of
program has led to a number of important new research
research proposals by independent panels of scientists.
efforts that otherwise would have been delayed or aban-
Another sought to insulate the selected proposals and ex-
doned. Last year, however, some scientists at Lawrence
pedite the budgetary approval needed from Congress by
Livermore National Laboratory attempted to use the
the creation of a single congressional committee to over-
program to develop an idea to visit Mars using inflatable
see the basic-research budget, the Joint Committee on
spacecraft. The plan completely bypassed input from
Atomic Energy-the only permanent joint committee
NASA. Angered, Congress retaliated by eliminating the
with continuing legislative responsibility ever created.
new-initiatives program. Ultimately it was restored, but
Many in and out of Congress were jealous of the joint
with additional procedures and restrictions. Whatever one's
committee's tremendous power. But throughout its ten-
opinion of space exploration, the story illustrates a bu-
ure the joint committee respected the independence of
reaucratic tendency to punish all labs for an action at one.
the laboratories in conveying to the scientific community
Last year Brookhaven couldn't get its integrated cir-
merely general areas of government concern, and insist-
cuits made. Custom semiconductor chips are a compo-
ing on the peer review of programs meant to address
nent of experimental devices and instrumentation of all
these concerns.
sorts. For a laboratory to have no new chips is something
The demise of the AEC meant the eventual dissolu-
akin to a hospital's running out of penicillin. Integrated
tion of the joint committee, which left the basic-research
circuits are prohibitively expensive for a laboratory un-
budget to be parceled out by a complex network of com-
less bought jointly with other institutions. When Brook-
mittees with overlapping jurisdictions. The absence of a
haven joined a consortium of others to acquire chips,
single committee with a continuing vision exposed the
however, some officials read the DOE requirements as
basic-research budget to the political whims of succes-
JANUARY 1991
87
THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
sive presidential administrations. Laboratory programs
War. But we may be riding on past accomplishments.
established by one administration have been axed by the
The 1990 Nobel in physics was won by three Americans
next.
for work done two decades ago, the 1989 prize by an
Moreover, the parceling out of the basic-research bud-
American for work done in the 1940s, the 1988 prize by
get also meant a growing vulnerability to pork-barreling,
three Americans for work done a quarter century ago. In
which can be defined as any non-peer-reviewed and -ap-
the past decade most of the physics Nobels awarded for
proved project. During the lifespan of the joint commit-
recent efforts have gone to Europeans.
tee a few minor pork projects had made it into the bud-
Recently the Department of Energy has taken some
get, but the committee had aggressively kept the lid on.
promising steps. In the current year's budget, for in-
The lid opened, however, during the Reagan Adminis-
stance, it has recognized basic research in science as a
tration. In 1982 George Keyworth, the presidential sci-
category in its own right, which it calls "Fortifying Foun-
ence adviser, apparently at the request of certain Califor-
dations"; in previous years the budget for basic research
nia constituents, attempted to bypass the peer-review
in science was classified under "Energy Research & De-
process and insert funds for a National Center for Ad-
velopment." But much more needs to be done. We pro-
vanced Materials (NCAM, but soon referred to as NSCAM)
pose the following steps:
directly into the DOE budget as a "presidential initia-
Return to the original administrative-contract idea of
tive." A $140 million project, it would have been the
flexibility and independence. For instance, the number
largest undertaking ever in materials science. A storm of
of congressional committees through which the basic-re-
protest led Congress to defer the project temporarily, but
search budget has to pass should be limited, and many
much of it has been reinstated.
accounting and procurement requirements eliminated.
After that episode Congress lost the restraint with
One cannot run science as a procurement activity.
which it had traditionally approached the basic-research
Establish a long-term science policy for basic research,
budget. If presidential initiatives were possible, it was ar-
identifying areas of interest and opportunity, and couple
gued, so were congressional initiatives, and universities
this with a two-year funding plan. The long-term policy
began to lobby Congress directly for them. In 1983 Cas-
would prevent the basic-research budget from fluctuat-
sidy & Associates, a lobbying firm, succeeded in getting
ing and make programs more effective by buffering them
Congress to earmark $5 million of the DOE budget for a
against the whims of Congress and of new administra-
chemistry building for one of its clients, Columbia Uni-
tions. A mechanism for establishing such a policy already
versity. The same year the firm snagged another $5 mil-
exists, in the form of national science advisory and DOE
lion for a vitreous-state research laboratory at Catholic
committees; their mandate should be extended. Two
University, in Washington, D.C. Cassidy has become the
years of funding cannot be guaranteed, since Congress
lobbyist of choice for universities. It is estimated that in
makes only one-year appropriations; nevertheless, plan-
the four-year period from 1982 to 1986 the funds ear-
ning funding according to that time frame would be an
marked for pork projects bypassing the peer-review pro-
improvement over the present system. Since congres-
cess soared from $2 million to $236 million.
sional project additions are a way of life, they will contin-
Behind the proliferation of bureaucracy and politics is
ue. However, they should be budgetary add-ons and not
a deep misunderstanding of the scientific process, in
come at the expense of ongoing programs.
which basic research is viewed as essentially a corporate
Reduce the number of DOE orders to laboratories, and
undertaking and hence something that can be manipulat-
end the bureaucratic mentality that formulates a new rule
ed for profit or social ends. Basic research flourishes—
following every offense. Much more effective would be
and society reaps the greatest benefits-when it is
to treat the individual case first. Each DOE institution-
viewed not as a profit-making venture or as an instrument
and, indeed, each of the national laboratories-is
of social change but as an exploration of nature. To pro-
unique. Each has different facilities, skills, styles, per-
vide basic research with the special conditions appropri-
sonnel, problems, and goals. A solution to a problem at
ate to its execution amounts not to granting it a special
one lab may not work and may even be harmful at an-
status but simply to recognizing what it is and what are
other.
the conditions under which it should be done.
Genuine scientific culture, like all human culture, is
The hidden cost of imposing on basic research the
achieved through organic growth rather than the execu-
same procurement procedures, budgetary constraints,
tion of a plan. One cannot suddenly decide to buy a fore-
and general regulations imposed on other areas of the
front scientific program and then go out and exploit it.
federal bureaucracy is the sharp reduction of that flexibil-
Do we demand of basic research that it be of potential so-
ity which keeps basic research vital. We appear to be los-
cial or military use? Do we insist that it pay for itself? Or
ing our technological leadership, and if we are not care-
do we try to foster in those who do science the ability to
ful, we may lose our scientific leadership as well. It is
follow their intuitions about how the world works? On
true that the United States still holds the lion's share of
the answers we give to such questions depends the future
science Nobel Prizes awarded since the Second World
of science in the United States.
88
JANUARY 1991
&
11912 11912.56 .56
13
84.58
1094,98 41.31
1053.67
20
20
ONE 0 2 6 5 5 16 17 14 19 19 4 И 8
21
22
(9
SCIENTIFIC
AMERICAN
November 1990
Volume 263
Number 5
Science, Technology
and the Western Miracle
Close links between the growth of scientific knowledge
and the rise of technology have permitted the market economies
of the Western nations to achieve unprecedented prosperity
by Nathan Rosenberg and L. E. Birdzell, Jr.
E
conomic inequality between na-
unique period of long-term economic
adequate understanding of how the
tions is to a considerable degree
growth, which has made the West con-
West had achieved its affluence. Very
an invention of the past two and
spicuously richer and more powerful
recently, the apparent determination of
a half centuries. In the mid-1700s the
than the rest of the world, "the West-
the Soviet Union and the Eastern Euro-
average inhabitant of western Europe
ern miracle."
pean countries to close the large gaps
had a material welfare not too different
To describe this phenomenon simply
between their income levels and those
from that of someone in China or, for
as long-term economic growth fails to
of the West has given fresh urgency to
that matter, in ancient Greece or Rome.
convey its true dimensions. Between
the question: What are the sources of
Only a minority of the population en-
the mid-1700s and the present, per
Western growth that have eluded the
joyed an income appreciably in excess
capita income increased tenfold. The
less developed and socialist countries?
of the minimum required to sustain
population of Europe grew fivefold and
life, and the elites of one nation had lit-
that of the U.S. 80-fold. Infant mor-
tle reason to envy those of another.
tality declined drastically, and the av-
A
variety of popular explanations
for the Western miracle have
By about 1800, however, it became
erage life span doubled. Famine was
been proposed. Some attribute
apparent that the minority in Europe
banished, and plagues disappeared.
it to imperialism, even though many of
with incomes above the subsistence
Food production, which in some coun-
the most economically successful coun-
level was growing, at least in part be-
tries had occupied as much as 90 per-
tries grew prosperous before resorting
cause European science and technology
cent of the working population, even-
to imperialism and such highly affluent
were progressing faster than science
tually came to occupy less than 5 per-
countries as Norway and Switzerland
and technology elsewhere. The increase
cent. Nineteenth-century urbanization
never adopted imperialist policies at
in the number of factories and in the
marched in step with developing tech-
all. Conversely, several of the most for-
use of mechanically powered machin-
nologies for improved sanitation, con-
midable imperialist powers, such as
ery came to be called the Industrial
struction, communication, power dis-
Spain and Portugal, rapidly deteriorat-
Revolution. The process of growth and
tribution and other services. Urbaniza-
ed into economic stagnation.
change accelerated during the 19th
tion and rising incomes led to changes
Other theories link wealth to the pos-
century and has continued through the
in health and living standards, work
session of natural resources. Those re-
20th. Historians sometimes call this
patterns, values and other aspects of
sources do not become economic as-
personal, family and community life.
sets, however, until the knowledge and
One might suppose that economic
means of using them become available.
NATHAN ROSENBERG and L.E. BIRD-
historians would have long since set-
The pre-Columbian peoples of North
ZELL, JR., have previously examined the
tled on the reasons for the Western
America had about the same resources
subject of the Western miracle in How
miracle, but the phenomenon has not
as the present inhabitants do. Japan,
the West Grew Rich. Rosenberg is an
received the scrutiny it deserves. Con-
which has far fewer natural resources
economist at Stanford University and
sequently, when the less developed
than Indonesia, Mexico or the Soviet
the author of several books about tech-
countries of the Third World turned to
Union, has been far more successful in
nology and economic growth. Birdzell is
the West 40 years ago for help in rais-
achieving growth. The modern histo-
an attorney and legal scholar in Rhode
ing their per capita incomes, much of
ries of the city-states of Hong Kong and
Island.
the advice they received reflected an in-
Singapore-not to mention that of Ven-
42
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
ice, which had only a swamp for its
been created primarily by people work-
nomic sphere, during the 20th centu-
natural resources-belie the natural re-
ing in industry, with little contribution
ry its advance has become inseparable
sources explanation.
from people whom we would call sci-
from that of industrial technology and
These hypotheses have had an unfor-
entists today. The mechanical skill and
Western economies.
tunate effect on government policies in
ingenuity that produced the precision
the developing countries. By focusing
machinery and instruments of 18th-
T
0 explain the Western econom-
on factors of questionable relevance,
and 19th-century factories and labora-
ic miracle and its relation to
they have distracted attention from
tories came more from the crafts of
science, we must first consider
institutional changes that might have
clock making and lens grinding than
some of the reasons for the great suc-
provided avenues to growth, especially
from science.
cess of Western science-an achieve-
ones that might have given access to
Since about 1880, however, industri-
ment with its own claims to the title
superior technologies.
al technology has come to owe a more
"miracle." One reason is that Western
Western technology developed pri-
substantial debt to scientific sources
science has made a better organized at-
marily within the economic sphere, and
outside industry. With the success of
tack on the secrets of nature and used
it has often been regarded as merely
efforts to fit natural phenomena to the-
greater resources in the assault than
an outgrowth of economic needs and
oretical structures inaccessible without
science in other cultures.
institutions. Science, in contrast, had
special training, industrial engineers
For a long time after the printing
more complicated origins and could
with that training have become trans-
press was introduced in the late 15th
hardly be dismissed as an automatic
mitters and users of scientific knowl-
century, scientific research remained
response to economic conditions. For a
edge and methods. More than that, dur-
chiefly a decentralized-or even indi-
long time, science contributed little to
ing the past century industry has cre-
vidualized-activity, in which isolat-
economic growth and industrial tech-
ated research laboratories capable of
ed scientists occasionally communicat-
nology. When Karl Marx was writing in
extending the theoretical structures of
ed their discoveries to one another in
the mid-19th century, the "colossal
science. Although Western science orig-
print or in longhand. Early Western sci-
productive forces" he saw at work had
inated as an institution outside the eco-
ence was clearly not a localized phe-
SOHO MANUFACTORY near Birmingham, England, produced
Society of Birmingham, a group of businessmen, inventors
parts for steam engines in the 18th century. The partners
and scientists. Throughout the Western world, similar asso-
in the enterprise, James Watt (the father of efficient steam
ciations between scientists and entrepreneurs fostered sci-
engines) and Matthew Boulton, were members of the Lunar
entific, technological and economic progress simultaneously.
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
43
nomenon: its venues ranged from the
These societies, and the journals
Prince Henry the Navigator of Portu-
Poland of Copernicus to the Denmark
they published, both disseminated new
gal, it came into common practice only
of Tycho Brahe to the northern Italy of
research and screened it for admission
in the early 19th century. In London
Galileo to the Bohemia of Kepler to the
to the scientific canon. Their discus-
Sir Joseph Banks, Count Rumford and
France of Descartes and Lavoisier to
sions set an agenda for the time and
some other fellows of the Royal Society
the England of Boyle and Newton.
served as a pointer to new research
formed the Royal Institution in 1799 to
The early achievements of Western
that might bring recognition and ac-
serve as a laboratory where scientists
science centered on astronomy. The
claim from other scientists. What they
could work together and teach. Michael
development of a significant scientif-
did not offer was a means of earning
Faraday, working a century after New-
ic community in Europe with interests
a living. In 1695, for example, Isaac
ton, found a full career at the Royal In-
beyond astronomy dates from the 17th
Newton faced limited academic ad-
stitution, where he discovered electro-
century. In 1660 the Royal Society of
vancement at Cambridge because he
magnetic induction.
London for Improving Natural Knowl-
had not taken holy orders. To reward
Similar institutions sprang up else-
edge (almost always called simply
him for his scientific contributions
where. In 1795 the French established
the Royal Society) was formed to dis-
with a livelihood, the British govern-
the École Polytechnique. In the U.S.,
cuss reports from the many individuals
ment had to name Newton to a post
Yale University established the Shef-
who were by then conducting scientific
outside the scientific community, as
field scientific school in 1847, and the
investigations. Many other such societ-
warden of the Mint.
Massachusetts Institute of Technolo-
ies formed in the 17th and 18th cen-
gy opened in 1865. Science thus grad-
turies, setting up a network of scien-
lthough the idea of bringing sci-
ually developed its own research and
tists in Europe who exchanged informa-
A
entists together for directed re-
teaching institutions, and successful
tion not only with one another but also
search in an institute equipped
researchers could be rewarded with
with a distant American named Ben-
with laboratory instruments and a suit-
staff appointments and promotions.
jamin Franklin, whose experiments had
able library was tried successfully in
By the early 19th century, Western
shown that lightning was electricity.
the first half of the 15th century by
science had divided into specialized
departments: mathematics, astronomy,
physics, chemistry, geology, botany, zo-
ology and the medical studies of anat-
omy and physiology. Some of them,
such as physics, were divided into still
finer specialties.
Western science had become an insti-
tution with a broad general goal (to ex-
plain natural phenomena), a division
of labor into specialized departments
with their own subsidiary goals, an in-
formation network that kept its mem-
bers informed of progress, a peer re-
view system for evaluating new work
and settling conflicts, formal centers
for teaching and research, and a set
of rewards for work rated favorably by
the profession.
A fundamental factor holding the en-
terprise together was its adoption of
a single standard of scientific truth
based on observation, reason, experi-
ment and replicability. The standard
enabled scientists to make use of find-
ings from other laboratories, even from
those in other disciplines. It also per-
mitted artisans, merchants, manufac-
turers and the rest of the working pop-
ulation to apply scientific discoveries
to everyday labors.
Its organization and scope are, of
course, not the only reasons Western
science flourished. It also fell heir to the
vast intellectual estate of earlier civili-
zations: a phonetic alphabet, an Arabic
(or possibly Indian) counting system
that included zero as a number, mathe-
matics that included geometry and al-
gebra, and religions that freed nature
ILLUSTRIOUS SCIENTISTS throughout Europe contributed to the growth of basic
of animism. But the West was no idle
knowledge that spurred technological and economic progress. Among them were
heir, for by the beginning of the 18th
(clockwise from upper left) Nicolaus Copernicus of Poland, Johannes Kepler of
century it had added some intellectual
Bohemia, Galileo Galilei of northern Italy and Sir Isaac Newton of Great Britain.
monuments of its own.
44
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
VENETIAN SENATORS peer at the moons of Jupiter through a
the 17th century, Europe began to have a sizable scientific
telescope under the direction of Galileo. Astronomy was one
community interested in physics, medical science and other
of the first interests of Western science, but before the end of
fields. Science slowly became a less individualized endeavor.
Calculus, for example, was clearly
soils. Concrete was known to the an-
entists were so engaged that they ac-
a landmark contribution. Another, and
cient Romans, but it was little used as a
complished so much.
perhaps the most fundamental, West-
building material until late in the 19th
ern contribution was the development
century, when chemists experimentally
T
hird World and Eastern European
of the scientific method, which from
investigated its suitability for structur-
countries trail the West economi-
the time of Galileo included a refined
al applications by systematically vary-
cally, despite having access to the
form of systematic experimentation.
ing the mix of its ingredients. Within a
world's stock of scientific knowledge.
Hellenistic, Islamic and Chinese scien-
few decades, concrete, including rein-
Indeed, the Soviet Union has made sub-
tists and inventors understood the use
forced concrete, became the most wide-
stantial contributions to that stock.
of experiments for testing and confirm-
ly used (by weight) of Western building
What those countries seem to lack is
ing ideas, but they do not seem to have
materials.
the West's capacity to translate scien-
achieved anything like Galileo's inclined
Perhaps the most important point
tific knowledge into economic produc-
plane experiments, in which conditions
about Western science and technol-
tivity-a capacity that depends on the
were systematically varied as a way of
ogy is that they were linked at all. In
individual and institutional character-
exploring how nature works. Nor did
other civilizations, economically useful
istics of a nation. In many ways, tech-
they anticipate Newton's thought exper-
technologies depended minimally, if at
nology, which is intermediate between
iments, in which idealized phenomena
all, on the wisdom of astronomers (or
scientific knowledge and economic ac-
(for example, motion in a vacuum) are
astrologers), philosophers, mathemati-
tivity, grows out of local needs and in-
used to explain real phenomena.
cians and other sages. These thinkers
stitutions, and its economically success-
Without systematic experimentation,
had little to offer to farmers, sailors,
ful transfer involves more than a teach-
progress can be slow and fitful in sci-
smiths and other artisans who had de-
ing process.
ence and in technology. Improvements
veloped their technologies within their
One clear requirement for economic
in the design of the plow, for example,
craft traditions. In fact, the thinkers
growth is the ability to shape produc-
were inventions of great significance
often- confined themselves to an ab-
tive technology to local needs. Whatev-
in predominantly agricultural societies,
stract world of ideas as an escape from
er the origins of a technology, the peo-
but they took place hundreds of years
the transient and imperfect, real world.
ple and institutions using it must be
apart. Before the age of science, no one
For Western scientists, however, there
able to understand it, experiment with
seems to have tried to improve plow
was no escape. Their empirical meth-
it and evaluate the economic repercus-
designs by comparing the effectiveness
ods required them to engage the real
sions of its use.
of different blade designs in various
world. It is precisely because the sci-
Japan, usually regarded as the first
48
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
non-Western country to match the eco-
labor-intensive ways. Textile mills, for
criticized Americans for wasting nat-
example, added extra work shifts and
ural resources. U.S. agricultural tech-
nomic achievement of the West, offers
an instructive example of institutions
expended more labor on maintaining
niques did frequently lead to rapid de-
and repairing machinery to prolong its
clines in soil fertility, but more land
appropriately applying technologies.
life. When the Japanese constructed a
was always available, so the losses were
The first stages of Japanese moderni-
zation, beginning in the late 1860s, em-
railway system, they used more than
supportable: Americans invented wood-
phasized agricultural improvements.
two and a half times as many workers
working machinery that appeared ex-
The technologies initially borrowed
per mile of track as the Americans did.
tremely wasteful to the British. At the
time, however, it made good economic
from North America were capital inten-
sive and tended to maximize output
arallels between the development
sense in a country so richly endowed
per worker. The Japanese soon real-
P
of industry in Japan and in the
with forests.
ized, however, that techniques suitable
U.S., where it began several dec-
Late in the 19th century, private busi-
for the land-abundant U.S. were inap-
ades earlier, are often overlooked. Like
ness firms in Germany and the U.S.
propriate in an economy that had am-
Japan, the U.S. at first borrowed tech-
founded industrial research laborato-
ple labor but was seriously short of
nology, primarily from England. Indus-
ries for developing new products and
arable land. They then shifted to other
trialization began in New England, New
production methods. In 1856 the En-
technologies, borrowed this time pri-
York, Pennsylvania and Delaware-re-
glish chemist William Henry Perkin dis-
marily from western Europe, that were
gions where, as in Japan, literacy and
covered aniline purple, the first of the
formal education were already valued.
industrially useful coal-tar derivative
more labor intensive and that maxi-
mized the productivity of the scarcest
The U.S. also had to adapt its borrowed
dyes, and the next year he established
Japanese resource-land.
technologies to the country's special
a factory for its production. This work
In manufacturing, too, Japan adapt-
circumstances, as Japan did.
marked the beginning of both a major
Because the U.S. had abundant natu-
branch of chemistry and a major chem-
ed Western technology to its labor-rich,
ral resources, however, its adaptations
ical industry. Perkin went on to make
capital-poor economy. Japanese facto-
involved making the industrial tech-
further contributions, but no one indi-
ries often purchased secondhand rath-
er than new machinery. Wherever pos-
nologies more resource intensive and
vidual could ring all the changes on the
sible, they substituted labor for capital
less labor intensive. Europeans visiting
chemistry of coal-tar derivatives. That
and used foreign technologies in more
the U.S. in the mid-19th century often
accomplishment required institutional
ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON for Improving Natural Knowl-
for advancing the communication of scientific information.
edge, founded in 1660, was one of the earliest associations
Such societies evaluated discoveries and disseminated them.
50
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
invention. Only after German chemical
Nevertheless, the economies' open-
population to trade its manufactured
manufacturers established several re-
ended diffusion of authority to start
products for meat from Argentina, Aus-
search laboratories for systematic, or-
innovative projects would be unwork-
tralia and the U.S. More recently the in-
ganized investigations did an impor-
able if decision makers' hopes of high
creased size of international markets
tant industry arise around the coal-tar
rewards were not tempered by their ex-
has made it economical for manufac-
dyes between 1890 and 1914.
posure to the risk of severe losses. Pub-
turers to furnish products in greater
The accomplishments of the German
lic attention commonly goes to the oc-
variety, more closely adapted to the
laboratories inspired the establishment
casionally sensational rewards of inno-
local needs of particular countries or
of the General Electric Company's re-
vation, but the prudent investor keeps
groups of customers. This trend can be
search laboratory in the U.S. When GE
in mind the institutional role of the
observed in markets as diverse as auto-
was formed in 1892, it relied at first on
bankruptcy courts in Western innova-
mobiles, clothing, processed foods and
Charles Steinmetz, a talented political
tion: burying the failures.
electronics.
refugee from Germany, as its resident
In the West, although innovative con-
In recent years the importance of in-
inventor. In 1900, however, after the
tributions often originate with long-es-
ternational trade has been highlighted
new German laboratories produced su-
tablished firms, many of the most im-
by the differences between the growth
perior materials for electric-lamp fila-
portant inventions have been commer-
performances of countries that have
ments, GE engaged Willis R. Whitney,
cialized by new firms formed for that
actively competed in international mar-
a professor of chemistry at the Mas-
purpose or by completely redeployed
kets and of countries that have adopt-
sachusetts Institute of Technology, to
old firms. The role of new firms in in-
ed policies of import substitution (pro-
organize a formal laboratory. During
novation is important not only for its
tectionism) or closely regulated trade,
the first half of the 20th century, the
direct contribution but for its implicit
as in the socialist countries. There is
number of research laboratories affili-
threat to older firms, which might not
no consensus about why active par-
ated with private firms multiplied, cre-
otherwise feel impelled to take the
ticipation in international trade seems
ating major new institutions that sig-
risks of innovation. Yet freedom to or-
so closely associated with economic
nificantly contributed to the growth of
ganize new firms is narrowly restricted
growth. Possible explanations include
basic scientific knowledge as well as to
in socialist countries and severely ham-
some combination of scale economies,
technology.
pered in some less developed coun-
keener competitive incentives, econo-
tries, where permission from scores of
mies of specialization and abstention
he best road to technological
government agencies may be required
from counterproductive impositions on
T
progress is often poorly marked.
to launch a business enterprise.
the part of governments of successful
The great virtue of private busi-
In addition to corporate research and
exporting countries.
nesses in market economies is that
development, Western countries have
In Western manufacturing, a particu-
they become independent sources of
developed several other sources of eco-
larly interesting example of specializa-
decision making for exploring the fron-
nomically useful knowledge during the
tion has been the rise of manufacturers
tiers of technology. No single individ-
20th century, especially in areas where
who make only component parts and
ual or institution has the authority to
markets have not provided adequate
subassemblies, particularly for the au-
veto an exploratory undertaking unilat-
incentives. Government funding has
tomobile, electric and electronics indus-
erally. The importance of diffusing de-
become particularly important for re-
tries. Brand name manufacturers often
cision making is illustrated by the suc-
search that has grown fearfully ex-
specialize in the design, the market-
cess of the personal computer, which is
pensive, as it has in particle physics.
ing and sometimes the assembly of fin-
said to have been turned down by the
Governments also support research in
ished products, with the component
principal U.S. computer manufactur-
such fields as public health, preventive
parts made by subcontractors. Techno-
er. Similarly, the export of Japanese
medicine, the treatment of rare diseas-
logical advances conceived by Ameri-
automobiles to the U.S. was initiated
es and safety-fields in which the goals
can, German or Japanese engineers can
by a Japanese company against the ad-
are universally desired but there is lit-
therefore create employment through
vice of the Japanese government. To
tle prospect of reward for private firms.
subcontracted manufacturing not only
be sure, the government was right,
Government-sponsored research is con-
at home but also in Mexico, South Ko-
because the first cars exported were
ducted in both government and private
rea, Taiwan, Singapore and elsewhere.
designed for Japanese use and per-
laboratories. To an increasing extent
Modern subcontracting networks are
formed poorly in the hands of early
since World War II, universities also
also international trading networks,
U.S. customers. The exporter nonethe-
have become centers of tax-supported
with operations that depend critically
less learned what was required for the
research activities, technological as well
on transportation, communication and
U.S. market and took the necessary
as scientific.
data-processing facilities that were un-
corrective action. It was soon followed
imaginable in 1800.
profitably by other companies.
E
conomic growth in the West has
Because trading networks in market
Given the scientific, technological and
been marked by an increase in
economies do not have a central source
commercial uncertainties of innovation,
trade and in the sizes of markets.
of authority, their power for efficient-
an efficient economy has to strike a bal-
Part of the increase in trade was tied
ly organizing activities went unnoticed
ance between undertaking only the saf-
to technological improvements in ships
until long after the Western miracle
est of projects and pursuing every idea
and to the introduction of railroads-
had begun. In its lack of central au-
that comes along, too often persisting
innovations that lowered the costs and
thority, the remarkably successful or-
long after realistic hope of success has
risks of transportation. As trade in
ganization of Western economies par-
vanished. With their rewards and pen-
regional specialties became possible,
alleled that of Western science, which
alties, market economies have so far
manufacturers could reach markets
also lacked a supreme authority and
been most successful in striking the re-
large enough to justify investing in
yet became an effective enterprise co-
quired balance and transforming scien-
mass-production technologies. The in-
ordinating the work of thousands of
tific and technological knowledge into
troduction of refrigerated ships, for
specialized scientists and a wide vari-
useful goods and services.
example, enabled a growing European
ety of research institutions. Decentral-
52
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
ization is especially relevant to econom-
not begin to be widely appreciated until
ment, trade unions, consumers, inves-
ic growth, but Western societies have
Adam Smith studied them in the latter
tors or any other groups or individu-
also had a comparable degree of auton-
part of the 18th century. The most visi-
als. In Western history, however, the in-
omy from political control in art, litera-
ble organizations of those times were
troduction of market trading resulted
ture, music, religion and other impor-
governments, armies and the Catholic
from the efforts of merchants operat-
tant social spheres.
Church-all hierarchies. For many ob-
ing within the framework of a peculiar-
servers, the very idea of organization
ly Western institution, the trading and
T
he basic control problem of any
implied a hierarchy of authority, and its
manufacturing firm. What seems to be
economic system is to make and
absence was equated with chaos. People
peculiarly Western about these institu-
enforce a changing flow of inter-
failed to see that through decentralized
tions is that they have often competed
dependent decisions about production
mechanisms, Western economies were
through innovations in products, man-
and consumption that will optimize hu-
achieving new patterns of specializa-
ufacturing and distribution. The suc-
man welfare. Beginning no later than
tion and a size and efficiency of organi-
cess of Western economies in assimi-
the 12th century, unregulated market
zation without historical precedent.
lating Western technology is not a con-
trading was gradually insinuated into
By the time the great German soci-
sequence of unregulated markets alone
western European economies tradition-
ologist Max Weber wrote his pioneer-
but of markets in which there are pro-
ally controlled by governments, guilds
ing work on organization in the early
ductive firms that can gain much by
and the Catholic Church. The centuries-
20th century, the organizing power of
commercializing new ideas more quick-
long process was partly one of creating
markets was widely recognized among
ly than their rivals can.
new branches of trade (including inter-
social scientists. Yet bureaucracy was
As we have already observed, inno-
national trade) outside the jurisdiction
looked on by some as an entirely via-
vation is a risky way to compete, and
C
of authorities and partly one of out-
ble alternative that seemed to offer a
firms that live or perish by the uncer-
right evasion. Traditionally, Western au-
possible return to the long-lost world
tain irregularities of innovation's re-
thorities had overtly regulated prices
of "just" prices and "just" wages that
wards and losses are very different in-
and wages to keep them fair according
socialists and many others found at-
stitutions from administrative agencies
to inevitably subjective criteria.
tractive. The comparative performance
of government. The point is especially
The slow growth of unregulated mar-
of socialist and Western economies
significant today for the Soviet Union
ket trading gradually reorganized more
over the past seven decades, culminat-
and Eastern Europe, which, having out-
and more of these economies by trans-
ing in the recent upheavals in the Sovi-
lawed the types of entities through
muting prices and wages into ethically
et Union and Eastern Europe, suggests
which the West conducted commercial
neutral devices for keeping supply and
that the judgment of equivalence over-
innovation, now confront an awesome
demand synchronized, with consequen-
looked something important.
need for rapid innovation in prod-
ces for the organization and develop-
Market trading, considered by itself,
ucts, manufacturing and organization
ment of Western economies that did
can be conducted by agents of govern-
if they are to narrow the economic gap
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD was completed at Promon-
ogy fueled economic growth by opening and expanding mar-
tory Point, Utah, in 1869. Advances in transportation technol-
kets, in turn allowing greater manufacturing specialization.
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
53
more active part in economic affairs
than Adam Smith might have pre-
scribed. This handful included Taiwan,
South Korea, Hong Kong and Singa-
pore-some of the great economic suc-
cess stories of this century.
No one can guarantee that other
countries would do equally well with a
similar policy of imitation. But as we
survey 40 years of experience with so-
cialist and populist regimes in Eastern
Europe, Asia, Africa and South Ameri-
ca, we believe that it requires a victory
of faith over experience to see much
chance of success without imitation.
Science, no longer solely Western, is
pushing back the frontiers of knowl-
edge at what seems an accelerating
pace. Because knowledge creates eco-
nomic resources and because knowl-
edge generally grows at an exponential
rate, future advances in human wel-
fare can be at least as striking as those
of the past 200 years. Science can also
play a much larger role in dealing with
such deep-rooted problems as envi-
ronmental pollution and population
growth but only in the context of more
effective institutions and personal in-
centives. Disclosures from Eastern Eu-
rope indicate that industrial pollution
there has been worse than in the West.
Given the strong prospects for the
continued growth of international trade
and markets, further Western growth
may continue to widen the econom-
ic gap between countries that follow
the West's example and those that do
not. Economic gaps are already creat-
ing severe political and social pressures
in the developing countries, especially
since some of them have demonstrated
WILLIS R. WHITNEY, the first director of the General Electric Research Laboratory
that the gaps can be closed. Unless
(left), and Irving Langmuir, the Nobel prize-winning industrial chemist (center),
these nations take effective action, the
demonstrate a high-vacuum apparatus to Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of radio
consequences could be even less satis-
(right). Corporate laboratories closely linked technology to scientific knowledge.
factory than those of the past 40 years.
between themselves and the Western
cause of economic growth or growth
FURTHER READING
countries. Although recognition of the
the cause of technological advance. An
UNBOUND PROMETHEUS: TECHNOLOGI-
need for greater reliance on markets
expansion in the size of markets can
CAL CHANGE AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOP-
has been increasing, there has so far
make a more efficient division of labor
MENT IN WESTERN EUROPE FROM 1750
been less awareness of the critical need
and specialization possible without in-
TO THE PRESENT. David Landes. Cam-
to allow Soviet and Eastern Europe-
troducing any appreciable technologi-
bridge University Press, 1969.
an firms to make innovations in prod-
cal novelties. The interplay of people,
PHASES OF CAPITALIST DEVELOPMENT.
ucts, production methods and organi-
economic institutions, growing mar-
Angus Maddison. Oxford University
zation and to reap the resulting bene-
kets and technology is the key.
Press, 1982.
fits and losses.
At the end of World War II, many
INSIDE THE BLACK Box: TECHNOLOGY
scholars and policymakers believed
AND ECONOMICS. Nathan Rosenberg.
Cambridge University Press, 1983.
n seeking explanations for the West-
that the future of all nations lay with
I
How THE WEST GREW RICH: THE Eco-
ern miracle, we have proposed that
socialism-or at least with some oth-
NOMIC TRANSFORMATION OF THE IN-
long-term economic expansion and
er form of planned economy. The old-
DUSTRIAL WORLD. Nathan Rosenberg
technological expansion go together, in
er Western market institutions were
and L. E. Birdzell, Jr. Basic Books, 1986.
that neither has occurred for very long
additionally tainted by associations
THE EUROPEAN MIRACLE: ENVIRONMENTS,
without the other. But although tech-
with colonialism. Consequently, only a
ECONOMIES, AND GEOPOLITICS IN THE
handful of developing countries then
HISTORY OF EUROPE AND ASIA. Second
nological and economic expansion are
chose to imitate the Western nations,
Edition. Edited by E. L. Jones. Cam-
interwoven and inseparable, no sim-
bridge University Press, 1987.
ple law of nature makes technology the
and even their governments took a
54
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN November 1990
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 2, 1990
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
AND INITIATIVES OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
FACT SHEET
The President announced today the appointment of the members of
the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
(PCAST). This distinguished panel of scientists, engineers and
industry leaders will provide high-level advice directly to the
President on a wide range of important issues concerning science
and technology.
Advances in science and technology are a key to increased
economic competitiveness and improving our quality of life. The
President's action today caps a year of vigorous activity by the
Administration to advance science and technology issues on a
broad front. The three broad areas of activity are summarized
below:
I.
Strengthening Federal Science and Technology Policy
II. Enhancing Federal Research and Development Activities
III. Encouraging Increased Private Sector Research and
Development Investment
I.
Strengthening Federal Science and Technology Policy
Establishing the National Space Council. -- The
President issued an Executive Order on April 20, 1989,
establishing the National Space Council, chaired by the
Vice President. The Space Council provides advice and
assistance to the President on space policy and
strategy and monitors and coordinates the
implementation of space policy among the civil,
national security and commercial space sectors.
Establishing the Administration's Council on
Competitiveness. -- The President established the
Council on Competitiveness, chaired by the Vice
President, to oversee regulatory and other
competitiveness issues, such as reform of product
- more -
3
The President has also proposed to allocate $12
billion for basic research, an increase of $1
billion, or 8 percent, over FY 1990. Basic
research is an essential investment in the
nation's scientific and technological future,
including its future scientists and engineers.
B.
Science and Technology Education
The President has moved aggressively to address the
shortcomings in the nation's science and technology
education enterprise. He has set goals for the
nation's schools and students in science and math, and
the FY 1991 budget will provide over $1 billion in
direct spending in five agencies for science,
mathematics and engineering education.
National Science Foundation (NSF) -- NSF will
allocate $463 million in FY 1991, a 30 percent
increase over FY 1990, for a wide variety of
education activities to improve the quality of
teachers and students, the numbers of students
choosing science, math, or engineering careers,
and the numbers staying in those fields,
particularly those in traditionally under-
represented groups.
Department of Education. -- The Department will
continue to build on its strong relationships with
State educational entities. The FY 1991 budget
proposes $230 million, an increase of 69 percent,
for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and
Science program, which provides funds to States to
implement improved programs for teaching math and
science. In addition, five million is requested
for the new National Science Scholars program to
recognize outstanding high school students by
providing fellowship support for them to study in
the fields of mathematics and science in college.
The Department will also launch an initiative
under its Upward Bound program to provide academic
assistance and encouragement to help disadvantaged
students pursue study in mathematics and science.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) -- NASA will allocate $51 million in FY
1991, an increase of 21 percent, for education
activities including the "Spacemobile" program,
teacher and student workshops and research
experiences at NASA laboratories, and special
efforts to increase minority participation in
science and engineering.
- more -
5
budget will expand an important environmental,
safety, and health initiative in the Antarctic to
ensure that this world scientific resource is
preserved and that the safety and health of
scientists working on the continent are assured.
D.
Understanding and Exploring Space
The President is committed to a continuing, active and
exciting American presence in space -- indeed, to
America's leadership in space science and exploration.
Overall, the FY 1991 budget proposes $15.2 billion for
NASA, an increase of $2.9 billion, or 24 percent.
NASA's budget has increased by almost 40 percent over
FY 1989.
O
Space Shuttle. -- The current fleet of three Space
Shuttles are the world's most versatile launch
vehicles. In FY 1989, the Space Shuttle fleet
completed four successful flights. The Space
Shuttle Columbia recently accomplished the
spectacular retrieval of the Long Duration
Exposure Facility. The FY 1991 budget proposes
$4.2 billion, an increase of 22 percent, for Space
Shuttle production and operations. This funding
will allow for a safe build-up to 10 Shuttle
flights, the delivery of the fourth Shuttle,
Endeavor, and enhancements such as the Advanced
Solid Rocket Motor and the Extended Duration
Orbiter capability.
Space Station Freedom. -- Space Station Freedom is
the largest international R&D project ever
undertaken. In FY 1989, the program underwent a
reevaluation that has resulted in a more
achievable program and funding profile. The FY
1991 budget continues the President's commitment
to the Space Station by proposing a total of $2.6
billion, an increase of 36 percent. This will
provide for the critical transition from design to
actual fabrication.
Moon/Mars Exploration. -- On July 20, 1989, the
President proposed that America undertake an
ambitious mission of manned exploration of the
solar system. This journey will begin with the
first step in the FY 1991 budget towards this new
goal -- nearly $1.3 billion, an increase of 47
percent -- to support robotic science missions and
to develop the pacing and innovative technologies
that will be needed. of particular interest is
the continued commitment of the Administration to
- more -
7
President announced U.S. support for a worldwide
phaseout of chloroflurocarbon (CFC) production to
the extent safe substitutes are available. In
1990, the U.S. will host the Plenary Session of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) in February; a meeting of the world's
economic, scientific, and environmental officials
to discuss global environmental issues in the
Spring; and the first negotiation session on the
Framework Convention on Climate Change in late
Fall.
F.
Environment
Clean Air Act. -- The President demonstrated his
commitment to clean air by transmitting Clean Air
Act Amendments to Congress in July 1989. The
President's plan allows for both environmental
protection and economic development and is based
on a commitment to using the best science
available. In support of his Clean Air proposals,
the FY 1991 air research budget of the
Environmental Protection Agency will increase by
$8 million to a total of $95 million.
G.
The Superconducting Super Collider and High Energy
Physics
The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) -- The
SSC will provide an enormous advance in the
capability to explore the secrets of matter and
energy. Over the past year, the Department of
Energy has established the SSC laboratory at a
site near Dallas, Texas. The new laboratory team
is conducting a thorough reevaluation of all
technical systems with particular attention to
magnet design and technical performance of the
accelerator. In FY 1989, research continued on
the design and testing of magnets. Approximately
8,000 magnets will be used in the 53-mile SSC
tunnel. In addition, during FY 1989, DOE
continued work on the site-specific Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS is necessary
before DOE makes a decision on the "footprint" of
the SSC and starts acquiring land for the project.
High Energy and Nuclear Physics. -- The President
supports a robust program of research in the areas
of high-energy and nuclear physics, which offer
the prospects of increasing our knowledge of the
basic constituents of matter. Last year,
- more -
9
will spur further advances, as will initiatives
that improve payoffs on investments. The FY 1991
budget proposes $3.6 billion for biotechnology
R&D, an increase of 6 percent over 1990.
Agricultural Research Initiative. -- American
farmers are among the most productive in the
world. New techniques in genetics, molecular and
cell biology have led to innovative approaches
that will enhance our ability to produce food,
while addressing concerns of safety, nutrition and
the environment. The FY 1991 budget will launch a
National Research Initiative to more than double
the size of USDA's competitive grants program.
This will expand funds for plant and animal
biotechnology to $50 million, with a particular
emphasis on mapping the genome of important crop
plants. Like the Human Genome Initiative, this
effort will create new opportunities to explore
the genetic potential of plants.
I.
Energy
National Energy Strategy. -- The President has
directed Secretary of Energy Watkins to develop a
National Energy Strategy to guide the
Administration's energy policies and programs.
The Department has held two rounds of public
hearings and plans to issue a draft document in
April. A key element of the strategy will be a
blueprint for future energy R&D programs and
activities.
Clean Coal Technology. -- The Administration is
committed to a $2.5 billion program to demonstrate
emerging clean coal technologies. This program
will provide additional cost-effective
alternatives for reducing acid rain.
Solar/Renewables and Energy Conservation R&D. --
The President is committed to assisting the
development of emerging technologies that offer
the potential to provide new sources of energy as
well as new ways to use it more efficiently, while
protecting the environment. On January 26, 1990,
the Department of Energy announced a new 11-point
initiative in this area. The FY 1991 budget
provides an increase of 8 percent in funding for
conservation, solar and other renewable energy
technology R&D.
- more -
11
emerging technology, an increase of almost 400
percent. These efforts are being carried out by
both the Department of Transportation (about $6
million) and the Army Corps of Engineers (almost
$4 million) Each agency is pursuing a public-
private partnership designed to facilitate private
development of an operational maglev system in the
U.S.
K.
National Security
DOD Technology Base. -- The President supports a
strong technology base to develop options for
future weapons systems and to guard against
technological surprise by adversaries. The FY
1991 budget includes $3.4 billion for the
technology base (basic and applied research)
funded through the Department of Defense. This
will support programs ranging from basic research
in the physical sciences to development of high-
speed semiconductors for use in advanced
communications systems and computers.
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) -- The SDI
program remains a high priority of the President.
The FY 1991 budget requests $4.5 billion for SDI,
an increase of $0.9 billion over 1990. The SDI
program is developing options for strategic
defenses based on advanced technologies.
Particular emphasis is being placed on promising
new concepts such as the "Brilliant Pebbles" small
space-based interceptor missiles.
III. Encouraging Increased Private Sector R&D Investment
Private sector investment accounts for about 50 percent
of the total national investment in R&D. In addition,
the private sector is the principal performer for R&D
and is ultimately responsible for transforming R&D
results into useful new products and processes. The
Administration has taken a number of steps to encourage
increased private sector R&D investment and
technological innovation.
Encouraging Savings and Investment. -- The
President is proposing the Family Savings Account
to stimulate increased savings that provide the
resources needed for investments in the future.
In addition, the President is proposing to lower
the tax on capital gains in order to promote
increased entrepreneurial activity and investment.
- more -
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT:
OU'RE A FAR-SIGHTED EXECUTIVE.
You believe in R&D. While you know that
the phenomenally successful break-
THE MORE YOU RESEARCH,
throughs-instant photography, xerogra-
phy, the transistor-come only as fre-
quently as Halley's Comet, you invest in
THE BETTER YOU DO
research and development anyway. Even little
advances help, you reason, and, well, it just
seems a smart thing to do. Still, when
the crunch comes, you always ask
yourself: Is all that money be-
ing spent by those maver-
icks in the lab really
worth it? Does it actually
make sense to spare them and
their toys when you're cutting back on
marketing and laying off in production?
A statistical analysis that BUSINESS WEEK
commissioned of historical data from its R&D
Scoreboards suggests the answer is an unquali-
fied "Yes." The study, done to improve the for-
mat for the Scoreboard, demonstrated beyond
any doubt that the companies with the strongest
performance in their markets are also the
PAYS
TOTAL INDUSTRY SPENDING:
$59.4 Billion
CHANGE
FROM
1987:
+11%
R&D
R&D AS A PERCENT OF SALES
3.4%
CHANGE FROM 1987:
None
R&D ASA PERCENT 39.4%
-2.3
PERCE
IN
OF PRETAX. PROFITS:
CHANGE FROM 1987:
POINTS
INDUSTRIES THAT INCREASED R&D
INDUSTRIES THAT INCREASED R&D
THE MOST:
THE LEAST:
1. HONBANK FINANCIAL
27%
1. METALS & MINING
-2%
1988
2. HEALTH CARE
19
2. HOUSING & CONSTRUCTION
0
3. OFFICE EQUIP. & COMPUTERS
18
3. AEROSPACE
1
4. ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS
13
4. CONGLOMERATES
2
5. AUTOMOTIVE
12
5. FOOD
3
THE TOP COMPANIES IN 1988 R&D SPENDING
The parentheses after the company names show the industry group in which the company appears in the Scoreboard tables that start on page 180.
In Total Dollars (millions)
As a Percent of Sales
In Dollars Per Employee
1. GENERAL MOTORS (2a)
$4,754
1. AMGEN (10a)
89.5%
1. AMGEN (10a)
$112,269
2. IBM (16c)
4,419
2. CENTOCOR (10a)
61.3
2. CENTOCOR (10a)
78,658.
STATISTICS
3. FORD MOTOR (2a)
2,930
3. ALZA (10a)
39.7
3. GENENTECH (10a)
64,037
4. AT&T (19)
2,572
4. GENENTECH (10a)
34.6
4. CHIPS & TECHNOLOGIES (7d) 60,828
5. DU PONT (3)
1,319
5. CONTINUUM (16g)
29.0
5. WEITEK (16f)
45,717
6. DIGITAL EQUIPMENT (16c)
1,307
6. EVANS & SUTHERLAND (16g)
28.6
6. ALZA (10a)
45,578
7. GENERAL ELECTRIC (4)
1,155
7. HOGAN SYSTEMS (16g)
27.2
7. BMC SOFTWARE (16g)
42,622
8. EASTMAN KODAK (12)
1,147
8. BMC SOFTWARE (16g)
26.9
8. BOLAR (10a)
41,273
9. HEWLETT-PACKARD (16c)
1,019
9. CYPRESS (7d)
24.2
9. ALLIANT COMPUTER (16c)
36,638
10. UNITED TECHNOLOGIES (1)
932
10. CULLINET SOFTWARE (16g)
24.2
10. ASHTON-TATE (16g)
36,208
DATA: STANDARD & POOR'S COMPUSTAT SERVICES INC
ones that spend the most, pound for pound, on
pany performance (profit margins, return on as-
R&D. So, for the first time, the tables rank the
sets, and sales per employee) and two measures
companies within their industry subgroups by a
of R&D spending (per dollar of sales and per
key variable for indicating future corporate
employee). To approximate the real-world lag be-
performance: R&D spending per employee.
tween R&D outlays and results, he was asked to
Although earlier studies have suggested a tie
compare company performance in 1987 with aver-
between R&D spending and performance, proba-
age R&D spending from 1983 through 1986.
bly none was based on as broad a sample as is
represented by the BUSINESS WEEK R&D Score-
HE RESULT FOR ONE PAIR OF THESE VARI-
board. This year's tables, which begin on page
180, include 897 companies in 40 industry groups
and subgroups. The grand total of R&D spending
T
ables was eye-popping: "The rank correla-
tion between R&D per employee and sales
per employee is off the scale," states
in 1988 by all the companies covered was almost
Reithner in his report. The statistical sig-
$59.4 billion, an 11% increase over the compara-
nificance that he calculated for the correla-
ble 1987 number. Even adjusted for the inflation
tion between the two sets of rankings was
in nonresidential capital investments, the in-
well beyond 99.9%. Although he found no signifi-
crease was more than 6%.
cant correlation between R&D spending per em-
The statistical analysis that led to the new
ployee and return on assets, the correlation with
ranking system was done by mathematician and
corporate profit margins was also undeniable: a
computer consultant Robert Reithner, based in
statistical significance in excess of 99.5%.
Hoboken, N.J. Working with data provided by
With that, the decision to include rankings in
Standard & Poor's Compustat Services Inc.,
the Scoreboard came easily. In addition to plac-
Reithner was asked to gauge what, if any, corre-
ing the companies in each subgroup by their
lation he found between three measures of com-
1988 R&D spending per employee, the tables also
BUSINESS WEEK
178
INNOVATION 1989
THE
rank them by average R&D spending
per employee for the five-year period
The following companies not only spent a lot on R&D per employee but also a lot more than their com-
from 1984 through 1988. And along
petitors. To arrive at this list of the companies most committed to research, BUSINESS WEEK first split off
with the customary listings of R&D
the three companies with the greatest R&D spending per employee in each of the 40 industry sub-
as a percent of profits and as a per-
groups covered by the Scoreboard. We then calculated the percentage by which their spending per
cent of sales, the tables now give
employee exceeded the composite figure for the group. We did this for 1988 spending and for spend-
ing from 1984 through 1988. These percentages determined the rankings. The parentheses after
each company's sales per employee.
each company's name indicate the subgroup in which that company appears in the Scoreboard tables.
S WITH ANY SET OF STATIS-
Based On Spending In 1988
And For The Last Five Years
tics, it's important to keep
some limitations in mind. The
1. DEKALB GENETICS (8)
1, 152%
1. DEKALB GENETICS (8)
626%
first is that you can't com-
2. PIONEER HI-BRED (8)
1,088
2. CHIPS & TECHNOLOGIES (7d)
586
pare R&D spending per em-
3. LAM RESEARCH (13c)
776
3.
PIONEER HI-BRED (8)
534
ployee of companies in differ-
ent industries, or even
4. AMGEN (10a)
729
4. LAM RESEARCH (13c)
464
different subgroups within a given in-
5. CHIPS & TECHNOLOGIES (7d)
715
5. APPLIED MATERIALS (13c)
449
dustry. This can be especially mis-
6. APPLIED MATERIALS (13c)
664
6. AMGEN (10a)
448
leading when you are comparing a
7. GRADCO SYSTEMS (16a)
560
company in a high-tech industry with
7. GALOOB (LEWIS) TOYS (12)
403
one in a mature old-line business. The
8. FILENET (16a)
545
8. WEITEK (16f)
388
$36,638 in R&D that Alliant Computer
9. WEITEK (16f)
522
9. DIGITAL MICROWAVE (7b)
354
Systems Corp. spent per employee in
10. QUANTUM (16e)
495
10. TORO (5a)
344
1988 actually tells you little when
stacked against the $2,878 per em-
11. CENTOCOR (10a)
481
11. GRADCO SYSTEMS (16a)
333
ployee spent by fabric maker Concord
12. SILICON VALLEY (13c)
469
12. CENTOCOR (10a)
327
Fabrics Inc. It's only after you notice
13. FRANKLIN COMPUTER (16a)
431
13. EARTH TECHNOLOGY (18)
297
that Concord spends fives times the
average for its group, VS. less than
14. SEI (15)
393
14. SILICON VALLEY (13c)
292
3½ times for Alliant, that you can
15. CONCORD FABRICS (13d)
385
15. FILENET (16a)
287
appreciate how aggressive Concord is
16. GENENTECH (10a)
373
16. VARCO (9b)
286
about research. Relative to the envi-
17. VARCO (9b)
367
ronment in which it operates, Concord
17. ALTERA (7d)
275
actually outspends Alliant.
18. SYMBOLICS (16f)
350
18. VIPONT (5b)
259
That's why the tables on this page
19. PLAYTEX (5c)
316
19. ACUSON (10b)
232
list some of the companies that
20. TORO (5a)
315
spend significantly more on R&D per
20. PHEONIX TECHNOLOGIES (16h)
228
employee than the other companies
21. DIGITAL MICROWAVE (7b)
306
21. FRANKLIN COMPUTER (16a)
224
in their respective subgroups. In the-
22. ARITECH (18)
302
22. 3M (13a)
220
ory, these numbers should be compa-
23. DST SYSTEMS (15)
299
23. VARITRONIC (13a)
217
rable across industry groups. Even
these, however, must be read in per-
24. LTX (7c)
293
24. GENENTECH (10a)
209
spective. DeKalb Genetics Corp., for
25. CALGON CARBON (18)
291
25. POLAROID (12)
207
example, leads all 897 companies in
DATA: STANDARD & POOR'S COMPUSTAT SERVICES INC.
the Scoreboard by this measure. One
reason is that, although DeKalb is grouped with
food companies, it also has a large bioengineer-
there simply is no way to establish statistically
ing operation-where especially heavy research
that it's R&D spending that results in greater
sales per employee-and not the reverse. Al-
spending is typical. But because DeKalb is one
of the leading suppliers of hybrid corn seed, it's
though BUSINESS WEEK built a lag into the com-
parisons when it had the historical data ana-
ranked as a food company in the government's
standard industrial classifications.
lyzed, this ad hoc refinement to the exercise is,
in itself, hardly conclusive. "Statistics can nev-
Another caveat to keep in mind when inter-
er establish causality," notes Reithner. "You
preting the data: Usually, a company's ranking
for R&D spending per employee in 1988 corre-
have to bring your own theory to the figures to
lates quite well with its ranking for the aver-
do that." He offers this analogy: If you charted
age spent per employee for 1984 through
the use of air conditioning vs. temperature, you
1988-but not always. Triton Energy Corp., for
would no doubt see that the hotter it gets, the
example, leads the Oil, Gas & Coal group with
more that people turn on their cooling units.
$5,945 spent per employee in 1988. In contrast,
But that correlation, no matter how close,
Chevron Corp.'s ratio of $3,875 placed it eighth
doesn't tell you which caused which. Common
sense does.
out of 14. But Chevron ranks No. 1 in spending
for the past five years, while Triton ranks
And what does common sense suggest about
ninth. What's more, Chevron leads the group in
R&D spending per employee vs. sales per em-
five-year spending by a wider margin than Tri-
ployee or profit margins? Which came first?
ton leads those in the one-year grouping. Is
Reithner doesn't hesitate: "From my observa-
Triton on its way to becoming the group's new
tions of high-tech companies, it seems pretty
P&D star? Or was this year's ratio just a fluke?
clear to me that R&D drives sales and profits-
The most critical caution, however, is that
not the other way around."
By Anthony J. Parisi in New York
BUSINESS WEEK
179
INNOVATION 1989
A Conversation with
Bush has said he will sit in on some of the
council's meetings.
What are the most important issues on
D. Allan Bromley
OSTP's agenda?
Fresh back from the "education summit"
at which the President and the nation's 51
state governors spent 2 days setting goals for
America's schools, Bromley put education
The President's science adviser is determined to bring science and
first on his list. "The decisions to set nation-
technology into a broad range of national policy issues
al performance goals and to give the class-
room back to the teacher are terribly impor-
tant," said Bromley, adding that "in a great
ALL SCIENCE is not created equal.
many cases, precollege education in the past
That's the way D. Allan Bromley sees
decade has been literally perpetrating a fraud
the world and that's what he says will
on the younger generation" by turning out
define his role as science adviser to
students who cannot add and cannot read.
George Bush. "Quite frankly, some
Bromley sees a shortage of "technicians"
research is better than others. If the
as one of the country's major challenges in
President of the United States is go-
education. "We still lead the world in basic
ing to use scientific information for
research, but we fall apart when it comes to
policy-making, I have to help him
manufacturing. We focus on revolutionary
judge how reliable it is," Bromley
developments, where the Japanese focus on
declared in a recent interview with
evolutionary improvements. With even a
Science. "My job
is to be an honest
small advance in manufacturing techniques,
broker."
they can capture the market." Why? "Japan
Just 2 months after taking over as
produces bachelor's graduates who are good
head of the White House Office of
at synthesizing materials, for instance; peo-
Science and Technology Policy
ple very good in a narrow range. We're not
(OSTP), Bromley has settled into his
educating enough of those people."
job with the air of a man who is intent
Ken Heinen
Bromley looks to the private sector to play
on making his mark on Washington.
a greater role in educating the work force.
In stark contrast to William Graham,
his nearly invisible predecessor in the
Allan Bromley: "Science is not an afterthought," in
"We can't just rely on the school system," he
the Bush White House.
observes, and suggests that industry take a
Reagan Administration, Bromley is
lesson from the military, which has long
taking a visible role as President George
As assistant to the President, Bromley has
experience in training people "who are not
Bush's man for science.
a seat on à number of White House bodies,
notably motivated." For instance, "The mili-
"The President has really bent over back-
including the economic policy council, the
tary uses computers extensively and effec-
wards to be supportive," said Bromley, who
domestic policy council, the space council,
tively to teach people routine things. That
was named an "assistant to the President."
and the competitiveness council. "It means
expertise should be exploited."
In title-conscious Washington, that ranking
that I routinely sit in on a full range of
In recent years, OSTP's greatest activity
elevates the status of the OSTP directorship
meetings," says Bromley, "and expect to
has been in military affairs. Former science
and puts Bromley on a par with the National
bring science to the table before policies are
adviser George Keyworth, for example, de-
Security Adviser. During a long talk in his
otherwise worked out. In this White House,
voted enormous effort in promoting the
office in the Old Executive Office Building,
science is not an afterthought."
much criticized Star Wars defense system.
Bromley also said he has good relations with
Clearly, Bromley is in his element. The
Will the Bromley OSTP play a major role in
White House Chief of Staff John Sununu.
63-year-old professor from Yale has spent
military affairs? "Certainly, OSTP will be
Bromley, who was not named science
years preparing for this role as an author of
active in certain areas but we'll have to be
adviser until the Administration had been in
science policy papers, as president of the
selective if we're not to be swamped by
office for 4 months, was initially concerned
AAAS, and as a member of the White
military issues." Bromley's first substantive
that he would have a hard time fitting into a
House science council since 1981-an insti-
meeting with Defense Secretary Richard
White House staff that was already in place.
tution that will be reincarnated as the Presi-
Cheney is scheduled for this week.
But he reports that, from his point of view,
dent's Council of Advisers on Science and
What else is on the OSTP agenda? "The
this has not been a problem.
Technology (PCAST). A list of candidates
global environment," says Bromley, who has
Bromley, who describes himself as both
for the council was agreed upon before
discussed this issue personally with Presi-
physicist and engineer, is comfortable with
Bromley officially took office but, as yet, no
dent Bush. "The environment has moved to
the engineer in Sununu, who was a profes-
one has been named. This, Bromley savs, is
the world stage politically. Science and tech-
sor at Tufts before moving into politics.
because of generic conflict-of-interest issues
nology input are critical to policy here. This
"Sununu has an instinct for asking the right
that were raised recently regarding scientists
is an area where we really need solid infor-
question," Bromley observes. "He has an
on federal advisory panels (7 July, P. 20
mation on the assumptions behind various
engineer's ability to approximate and to
Science). "We've spent a lot of time talking
environmental initiatives-a place where
rapidly calculate orders of magnitude-to
with our lawyers about the rules governing
OSTP's role in evaluating the 'reliability' of
ask, 'Is this reasonable?' It is an important
advisers and think we have things worked
data will be vital."
quality in policy-making where you don't
out. I expect we'll be able to announce
Bromley cites drugs-"There is a lot we
always need a scientist's precision."
PCAST appointments very soon." President
don't know about addiction"-and AIDS as
13 OCTOBER 1989
NEWS & COMMENT 203
saence
obvious areas of concern to his office, but he
also expects OSTP to play a role in what he
Plan for Genome Centers
sees as one of the greatest crises of the next
decade-life-extending technology. "We are
rapidly approaching the time when we are
Sparks a Controversy
going to have to withhold technology from
some of the dying," Bromley told Science.
"And we don't even have a fully developed
NIH is planning to set up targeted research centers to map and
value system for even beginning to figure
out how to do that ethically." This, Bromley
sequence the genome-a move that is setting off alarms among
argues, is an area in which basic science and
biologists
technology must "make common cause"
with the "social sciences, with humanists,
and with religion."
San Diego
groups (especially if yours is not among
Before taking office Bromley recognized
IN JULY, the genome office at the National
them).
that if OSTP is going to be in a position to
Institutes of Health took its first, halting
The complaints seem unlikely to deter
influence national policy, let alone take the
step into the era of "big" biology. It an-
institutions from lining up for a piece of the
lead, he would have to have staff and re-
nounced that it would create special labs or
pie. Some 20 teams showed up at the recent
sources that surpassed those of his predeces-
centers, each with perhaps 25 investigators,
NIH workshop for grant applicants, sug-
sors. In that he appears to be successful.
to puruse the task of mapping and sequenc-
gesting that competition for the first three
Bromley has turned to senior hands to staff
ing the human genome. What that means is
grants for next year will be fierce.
three of the four "associate director" posi-
that a good share of the genome project's
Watson cites both Cold Spring Harbor
tions he has created.
budget-eventually half, predicts James
Laboratory, where he remains as director,
To fill the biomedical post-a long ne-
Watson, the project's director-won't go to
and MIT's Whitehead Institute as evidence
glected area in OSTP-Bromley has recruit-
investigator-initiated science but to these
that centers can work. But he acknowledges
ed James B. Wyngaarden, former director of
new centers.
that some units set up to fight the war on
the National Institutes of Health. J. Thomas
That's enough to send shivers throughout
Ratchford, associate executive officer of the
much of the biological community.
AAAS for the past dozen years, is slated to
"Jim Watson is trying to change the social
be Bromley's right-hand man for policy and
fabric of science. It's World War II and
international affairs. And the word around
directed science all over again," grumbled
town is that Berkeley engineer Eugene
one participant at a recent NIH workshop
Wong will be nominated as associate direc-
on centers.
tor for physical sciences and engineering.
Not so, responds Watson, who says he is
That leaves just one top post vacant and
simply trying to get the job done. The "job"
Bromley acknowledges that he is having a
is to map the chromosomes within 5 years
tough time finding a seasoned researcher/
and to decipher the full nucleotide sequence,
administrator from industry to head activi-
all 3 billion base pairs, within 15 years-and
ties related to industrial technology. "The
at a total cost of no more than $3 billion. "If
problem is not comparatively low federal
we go along the way NIH usually does, it
salaries," Bromley says. "People who want
could easily take 100 years to get the se-
to perform government service can live with
quence," said Watson, who outlined NIH's
that. But the new financial disclosure and
plans in San Diego last week at the Human
divestiture requirements make it very hard
Genome 1 meeting sponsored by Science.
to attract the best people. It will just take
Moreover, the cost of doing business as
time," he says.
usual would be prohibitive. "We really owe
Margot Bennett
Meanwhile, Bromley is busy going about
it to the scientific community to keep the
his business of getting to know everyone he
cost down," he said.
James Watson: "We all know how fraudulent
can in Washington and letting them know
"People want to do this with a cottage
most centers are."
he wants to hear from them. A series of
industry approach," Watson told Science,
breakfast meetings with members of Con-
"but I don't think it will work. I'm not
cancer have poor reputations. With his char-
gress has gotten under way, with help from
trying to take away ROls [investigator-
acteristic bluntness, he told the workshop
the "science" members of the Senate-Al
initiated grants] but to create something
attendees: "We all know how fraudulent
Gore, Jay Rockefeller, John Danforth, Jeff
new."
most centers are."
Bingafnan, and others. Bromley has met
Many scientists aren't impressed. Since
Norton Zinder of Rockefeller University,
with congressional staff members and he
NIH issued its request for applications,
who chairs the NIH genome advisory
meets regularly with Richard Darman, di-
Watson and his staff have been inundated
board, matched Watson's outspokenness:
rector of the Office of Management and
with complaints. Some investigators oppose
The issue, he told Science, is how to avoid
Budget, so that "OSTP is part of the budget
centers outright. Others agree with Watson
creating a monster-and how to kill it if you
process from the start of the cycle."
that something different is needed for the
do. "In the past, centers were like were-
All in all, one of Bromley's main tasks
genome project, but don't believe that these
wolves-you couldn't kill them. And a lot of
right now is "building bridges," and he is
centers, at least as originally proposed, are it.
them go bad."
going about it with a will.
And there is lots of grumbling about wheth-
That makes decisions on how to structure
BARBARA J. CULLITON
er it is wise to invest all that money in a few
these centers and ensure accountability ex-
204
SCIENCE, VOL. 246
ANALYSIS
BUSINESS
BANKREFORM
HITTING THE WALL IN DETROIT
There are at least 130,000 reasons
Even good news from Detroit cannot hide the fact that 1991 is shaping up as a
why the Bush administration's
dismal year for American auto companies. In a rare surprise, Chrysler reported that
sweeping plan to reform U.S. bank-
it netted $31 million on $7.6 billion in sales in the fourth quarter of 1990. But bad
ing, unveiled last week, will run into
days lie ahead. Chrysler said sales of its
RICHARD SHEINWALD-
trouble when it hits Capitol Hill lat-
very profitable minivans plunged 60 per-
er this month. America's indepen-
cent in January. Worse still, Consumer
dent insurance agents, who number
Reports warned that an automatic trans-
about that many, will battle Presi-
mission used in many minivans is a lem-
dent Bush's proposal to let national
on. The article, says Chairman Lee Ia-
banks compete with agents by sell-
cocca, "could drive us out of business."
ing insurance products in states that
Standard & Poor's has added injury to
allow it. The agents make up just
insult by downgrading Chrysler bonds to
one of the numerous interest
junk status. The good news from Gener-
groups-including many small
al Motors- its European operations
banks, some securities firms, pen-
outsold Ford for the first time ever-was
Mixed signals. Chrysler's Lee Iacocca
sion funds and even bank regula-
overshadowed by the word that GM will
tors-opposed to portions of the
cut its white-collar staff by 15,000 and its dividend by 47 percent. Ford and Chrysler
plan, which would be banking's
have retained their dividends, but analysts question the wisdom of payouts to
broadest overhaul in half a century.
stockholders when no profits are likely in the months ahead.
-Despite the objections, Congress
could still pass many provisions of
the proposal after what is expected
THE DOLLAR TAKES A DIVE
to be up to a year of haggling over
The precipitous drop of the American dollar against major foreign currencies is
the details. Problem loans and
not necessarily bad news for the recession-wracked economy. The record lows the
mounting bank failures have high-
dollar hit last week against the German mark and the Swiss franc and its lost ground
lighted the need to reform deposit
to the Japanese yen promised to give domestic exports a boost. "American
insurance, attract new capital into
manufacturers are now hypercompetitive compared to those in Europe," declares
banking and create a smaller, stron-
David Rolley, senior financial economist at DRI/McGraw-Hill. Ordinarily, an
ger industry. That should make it
anemic dollar would feed inflation by increasing the cost of imports. But because of
easier to dismantle anachronistic
the recession, foreign companies are either unable or unwilling to boost prices on
barriers to full interstate banking.
cars, TVs and other items. Overall, says Shafiqul Islam, senior fellow at the Council
Lingering opposition to allowing af-
on Foreign Relations, "this is not a bad time for the currency to fall."
filiations among banks, securities
firms and commercial companies
MONEY CLIP
might also be squelched. To avoid a
repeat of the S&L fiasco, however,
120
Congress will demand safeguards to
115
prevent banks from using insured
America is getting
110
Manufacturing in-
deposits to fund risky nonbanking
less production from
dustries with great-
its workers, but the
105
ventures. Lawmakers also want to
est productivity in-
move fast to replenish the strained
manufacturing sec-
100
creases in 1989:
Bank Insurance Fund and forestall a
tor is holding up
95
Metal-cutting ma-
well.
PRODUCTIVITY ARM BUSINESS
chine tools: 25.8%
taxpayer bailout of failing banks.
90
Rice milling: 21.7%
For all the carping, many bankers
Change in manufac-
(1982=100)
85
Greatest decreases:
think the Bush plan could go a long
turing output:
Copper rolling:
way toward curing much of what ails
1990: + 0.8%
0
'89 90
-5.5%
'86
'87
'88
the troubled industry. "I'm not go-
1982: -6.5%
'84
'85
'82
'83
Wood office furni-
ing to sit here until the perfect bill
Overall (nonfarm) out-
1980
'81
ture; lawn equip-
is available 10 years from now, when
put, 1990: + 0.2%
ment: -5.2% each
there's not going to be any Ameri-
USN&WR-Basic data: U.S. Dept. of Labor
can bank left," says Thomas Theo-
Manufacturing
Manufacturing
output as a percent-
PRODUCTIVITY PLUNGE
bald, chairman of Chicago-based
productivity:
age of GNP:
The percentage decline in
1980, U.S.: -0.7%
Continental Bank.
1990: 23.3
output per employee hour
Japan: +6.9%
1982: 20.0 (post-
mirrors the 1982 recession.
1989, U.S.: + 3.3%
BY SUSAN DENTZER
World War II low)
Japan: +5.8%
12
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, FEBRUARY 18, 1991
where
dispensing without prescription.
BUSINESS
" tablets for oral administration. Each tablet
Tablets also contain. as inactive ingredients: corn
love Insure / stearate, and sodium bicarbonate.
PHOTOFEST
the what of symptoms associated with seasonal allergic
pruntus, and lacrimation.
than patients with a known hypersensitivity to terfena-
/
- cirrhosis, hepatitis). or on ketoconazole or
extensive metabolism in the liver. Patients with
having conditions leading to QT prolongation (e.g.
xyndrome) may experience QT prolongation and/or
the incommended dose. The effect of terfenadine in
- which alter the QT interval is not known. These
consulty
under
patients The on events macrolide may antibiotics, be related to including altered
discholyte taking Seldane should receive the following
imbalance.
or
both.
the Antihistamines are prescribed to reduce allergic
instructions showld be questioned about pregnancy or lactation before
ssing the drug should be used in pregnancy or lacta-
and 1 justines Heldane the only potential as needed risk and to fetus not to or exceed baby.
should to take also dry be place, instructed away from to store heat this or medication direct sun-
a
cool,
exists that concurrent ketoconazole or
STATE STATE metabolism of terfenadine.
troleandomycin is not recom-
be approached with caution.
in the recommended human daily dose, in mice for 18
******* of fertility: Oral doses of terfenadine,
The revealed no evidence of tumorigenicity. Micro-
Everybody knows their name. A scene from residual-rich "Cheers"
- with tertenadine have revealed no evidence of
studies III rats showed no effects on male or female
times the significant human reduction daily dose. in At implants 63 times and the at
I June small reduced implants and increased postimplanta-
but
THE NETWORK-STUDIO RERUN RUNAROUND
which were judged to be secondary to maternal
It is one of the longest running soaps-but you won't see it on television. It has
was no evidence of animal teratogenicity. Repro-
stormed in rats at doses 63 times and 125 times
been playing at the Federal Communications Commission for more than 20 years.
revealed throughout decreased pregnancy pup weight and gain lactation. and survival There
CONNECTION studies potential in pregnant benefit justifies women. the Seldane potential should risk
The plot pits the three major TV networks against the film studios in a battle over
the
who gets to cash in on the bonanzas from syndication of hit series. (Rerun rights for
- weight gain and survival in rats given doses 63
is not recommended for nursing women. The
"The Bill Cosby Show," for example, brought a record $600 million.) The dispute
dose throughout pregnancy and lactation.
only during lactation are not known, and
could determine how much free vs. fee programming will appear on television.
well controlled Seldane studies in in children women during below the lactation. age of
of
12
The networks-largely cut out of the resale action since 1970, when the so-called
financial interest and syndication rules were passed-have tried to get these rules
/ including both who controlled received Seldane, and uncontrolled provides
patients
incidence
for
periods
of
a
few
repealed. The production companies claim that giving the networks the right to
days
up
to
six
studies
was
60
mg
twice
daily,
but
in
a
small
low
as
20
mg
twice
a
day,
or
as
high
as
600
make, own and resell shows would kill off Hollywood's independent producers.
3
waing the recommended dose of 60 mg b.i.d., the
Last week the FCC, in effect, cut the baby in half in a 3 to 2 ruling that left both
- - ements placebo in patients (See receiving Table below.) Seldane was similar
sides crying foul and threatening to ask for a rehearing. The networks got more-
1 EVENTS REPORTED IN CLINICAL TRIALS
liberal syndication rights, but they were hedged with new restrictions, which still left
Persent of Patients Reporting
the studios sitting pretty. Fox Broadcasting emerged the only clear-cut winner; the
Controlled Studies*
All Clinical Studies**
Schlene
Placebo
Control
Seldane Placebo
-
N-685
N=626*
N=2462
N=1478
FCC said the fledgling fourth network was free to produce, broadcast and syndicate
shows with almost none of the limitations constraining CBS, NBC and ABC.
8.1
18.1
8.5
8.2
74
3.8
15.8
11.2
09
5.8
4.5
3.0
1.1
1.0
1.5
1.2
MONEY CLIP
02
0.6
1.7
1.0
06
0.2
0.6
0.5
0.0
0.0
0.5
0.0
3.0
2.7
7.6
5.4
INFLATION
7%
U.S. CATCHING
18
3.5
4.8
3.1
GNP
U.S.
6
Fourth quarter
02
0.5
2.5
1.7
03
0.5
3.2
1.6
UP WITH
5
1990:
0.8
0.2
0.7
0.4
RIVALS
GERMANY
JAPAN
GERMANY
4
$1.00
=
131
yen
10
17
1.4
1.6
2.0
JAPAN
Projected 1991
3
$1.00 = 1.5 marks
FLAVINOLED STUDIES" was usually 7-14 DAYS.
long-term interest
U.S.
2
Projected fourth
STUDIES was up to 6 months.
(291 patients). d-Chlorpheniramine (189
1
quarter 1991:
-
rates:
acherse effects have been received which
torsades
de
pointes,
ventricu-
U.S.A.: 9.2%
0
$1.00 = 145 yen
/
and
syncope.
In
controlled
clinical
$1.00 = 1.75 marks
ininitis.
at
doses
of
60
mg
b.i.d.
small
Germany: 8.8%
-1
Changes
of
this
magnitude
in
a
normal
However,
in
another
study
(N=20
Japan: 6.8%
-2
Projected 1991 un-
in
QTc
of
10%
(range
4%
to
+30%)
without clinical signs or symptoms.
Trade balance, in
employment rates:
reported
in
clinical
trials
(See
Table),
1991
(projected)
lower
incidence
in
clinical
trials
and/or
U.S. billions:
1990
Germany: 8.3%
Signature
that
warrant
listing
as
possibly
(hair
loss
or
thin-
1990 actual
Figures
are
U.S.A.: 7.5%
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< STATES <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (including depression, dysmenorrhea). galac-
Germany: $51.9
annual
rates.
are
adjusted
for
inflation.
Japan: 2.2%
paresthesia.
photosensitivity,
seiz-
USN&WR Basic data: Merrill Lynch
important
tremor.
urinary
frequency.
and
visual
Japan: $35.8
Average amount
-
in
case.
moderate
transamin-
U.S.A.: -$94.9
Comparisons of projected 1991
mid.
or
one
workers save for ev-
-
receiving
Seldane.
Mild
elevations
were
-
Marketing
experiences
include
isolated
1991 projected
GNP and inflation rates show
- / / and hepatitis. In most cases available
ery $1.00 earned:
Japan: $27.1
the U.S. improving its position
Japan: 16€
- / and its treatment appears in Full
Germany: $25.0
in the international arena.
Germany: 10c
U.S.A.: -$25.5
U.S.A.: 5c
-
with
and
children
12
years
and
older.
SELAE 301/A1895
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, APRIL 22, 1991
6131B1
CALENDAR
U.S. NEWS
Rain man
On October 8, the artist
Christo will coordinate the popping
ONE JUDGE AND A SPLIT SENATE
open of $26 million worth of giant
umbrellas-1,340 blue ones 75 miles
Crucial Senate votes have a way of approximating public opinion, and the judgment
north of Tokyo and 1,760 yellow
on Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court nomination seems headed that way: narrow
ones 70 miles north of Los Angeles.
approval. Spirited debate over the black conservative's credentials and philosophy
resulted last week in a 7-to-7 tie on the Senate
The 28-foot-wide umbrellas, which
will remain up for three weeks, are
Judiciary Committee. Republicans hailed the
positioned in topographically similar
judge's rise from poverty while Democrats castigat-
JUDGE THOMAS, REST
ed his refusal to state his views on abortion and
ASSURED THAT NO PRIOR
landscapes to evoke the parallels be-
OPINION OF YOU HAS BEEN
other legal issues. His fate on the
FORMED BY THIS BORK,
tween the two countries.
Senate floor lies with Southern
I MEAN, BOARD!
Financial times
On October 15, the
International Monetary Fund and
Democrats, who provided the
the World Bank will kick off their
margin against Robert Bork in
1987. Louisiana's John Breaux an-
annual meeting in Bangkok. The
main topics for the 3,000 delegates
nounced support for Thomas, but
Alabama's Howell Heflin came
from 159 countries will range from
world economic forecasts to loans
out against him, citing a "lack of
for the Soviet Union.
conviction and instability."
Lucky lotto
From October 14 to 20,
Most senators agree on one
thing: Court confirmations have be-
the U.S. State Department will hold
a mail-in lottery to award 40,000
come unseemly spectacles. Wyo-
SUPREME COURT 9/91
permanent visas to natives of 34
ming Republican Alan Simpson suggested the panel meet privately with future
countries, mostly in Europe. As part
nominees to avoid acrimony that would create a "free fall into mediocrity."
of an effort to counteract bias from
Democrat Joseph Biden, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, agreed that the
a 1965 immigration law, Irish appli-
"cycle of politicization and skepticism" should be broken. He added that George
cants will get 16,000 of the visas.
Bush, when he chooses judges, could help by pursuing a "course of moderation."
MAYBE MONEY DOES HELP
The mountain of money the nation spent on education in the '80s, the White
House has long argued, accomplished very little. But an analysis by government
researchers paints a different picture. The unpublished study by the Sandia Na-
tional Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., found that dropout rates declined in
DATABASE
the past decade and are at an all-time low. Scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test
are down, the study adds, only because a wider range of students are finishing high
Immigrants expected to participate
school and taking the college admission test. When Sandia researchers briefed
in the lottery: 5 million
Republican senators on the report last week, Deputy Secretary of Education David
Kearns showed up to argue that the study was flawed.
Visas granted European immigrants
in 1965: 117,090; in 1990: 44,839
Immigration visas issued in 1980:
IN POVERTY: 34 MILLION AMERICANS
331,345; in 1990: 437,768
Economists knew the recession has been rough. Still, the magnitude of the
Applicants on immigration waiting
Census Bureau numbers came as a surprise. The government's first close-up look
lists in 1981: 1.1 million;
at the nation's economic slump showed 34 million Americans living in poverty last
in 1990: 2.4 million
year, 2.1 million more than in 1989. For the
Countries with most people on wait-
first time in seven years, the poverty rate
Median family income
ing list: Philippines, Mexico, India
increased, from 12.8 percent of the popula-
$40,000
Country granted the most visas in
tion to 13.5 percent. One in 5 children lived
$35,353
Inflation-
1990: Philippines (44,112); the fewest:
below the official poverty line, now set at
adjusted
35,000
San Marino (0), Liechtenstein and
$13,359 for a family of four. In addition,
dollars
Rwanda (1), Monaco (2)
mìddle-income white families saw their
earnings fall. Republicans insisted that the
$33,346
30,000
Applications for asylum in 1990:
Current
73,637; granted: 5,672;
numbers reflected only a temporary slow-
dollars
down. But with the hardships lasting well
25,000
backlog: 97,288
Illegal aliens caught in 1990: 1.1
into this year, 1991's poverty data are likely
$21,023
to be dismal, too. Those statistics will come
0
million; deportations in 1989: 859,521
1980 '81 82 '83 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90'
out before Election Day 1992.
USN&WR_Basic data: U.S. Census Bureau
12
REBECCA PAJAK-USN&WR
ILLUSTRATION:
JENNIFER
HEWITSON
FOR
USN&WR:
CARNYM
ORLANDO
SENTINEL
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT. OCTOBER 7. 1991
EYE ON THE '90s
BUSINESS
BUSINESS LEADERS EXPECT MORE LAYOFFS
It comes as little surprise that various
"No one is saying the economy is healthy," President Bush's chief economic
enterprises have been affected by
adviser, Michael Boskin, told business leaders, "but we believe it is improving." He
Clarence Thomas's hearings. Here-
was speaking at a closed-door session of the Business Council called to discuss ways
with, an informal look at who's up
of bolstering the economy. Participants were skeptical; the council put out a
and who's down:
statement saying there was no real feeling that recovery was happening. What it
X-rated videos
A survey of 30
anticipated was still more layoffs, particularly in the service sector.
video stores in the Washington,
BUSH
Another grim indicator came last week from Citicorp.
SAYS
D.C., area showed signs of interest
THE
Reporting record losses
in the works of porn star Long
RECESSION
IS
of $885 million for the
Dong Silver, although store spokes-
OVER!..
third quarter, the na-
men think the inquiries came mostly
tion's largest banking
from reporters.
company estimated that,
Sexual harassment training videos
...PASS
in addition to the 5,000 peo-
Big winners. Ten distributors of the
JNEMPLOYMENT
IT
DOWN...
ple it has laid off this year,
videos say interest has shot up. BNA
thousands more stood to lose
Communications of Rockville, Md.,
their jobs. And in a survey of
reports that inquiries for its videos
7,000 business owners across
jumped 400 percent.
the country, the U.S. Cham-
Lawyers
Attorneys across the
ber of Commerce indicated
country who specialize in harassment
that most hiring freezes re-
cases have seen noticeable increases
main solid disappointing news
in calls about the subject. Incidentally,
for the 3 million Americans who
men file complaints
have exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits this year.
SENUAL
against women in a
The president nonetheless cited economic recovery as one reason for vetoing the
tiny fraction - ap-
Democrats' bill to extend unemployment benefits beyond 26 weeks, the second such
proximately 2 per-
bill he has rejected. It would be a budgetbuster, he said. After failing last week to
cent - of sexual
YOU
override the veto, the Democrats started work on a third bill and warned that the
harassment cases.
veto would be an election issue. Mindful of the government estimate that 3.4 million
Yale Law School
more jobless will use up their benefits next year, Republicans sought last week to
Although it is too
introduce their own benefits-extension bill in the Senate. It aims at shorter
soon to see effects on
extensions, with revenue-raising measures to meet the cost. Not pleased, the
applications, the
Democrats blocked its introduction and labeled it "a political sham."
school has received a
score of calls about the
MONEY CLIP
hearings. Some callers
were trying to reach Clarence
Thomas, one called to complain that
PEOPLE
a student had appeared on televi-
HONEYMOON
SINGLE-
FAMILY
AGED 25 TO 34
prices to rise 8.8% in
sion in a wrinkled shirt and two
ENDING FOR
HOUSING
the next 12 months to
were incoherent.
HOME BUYERS
STARTS
913,000
42.2 mil.
39.7 mil.
average $165,300,
"The Exorcist"
Calls to 13 Wash-
THE PROBLEM
and 30-year mort-
ington, D.C., area bookstores turned
Despite a favorable
663,000
gage rates to go from
up exactly one request for the novel.
market, few people
Up 6%
8.8% now to as much
It is not known whether that call
are buying homes.
Up 38%
as 9.75%.
was from Orrin Hatch's office.
Construction of new
THE DREAM?
Coca-Cola
Americans may be
ones housing
1993
By 2000, owning a
starts - dropped
1982
eyeing their cola cans a little more
2.2% last month. In
1982
1993
(proj.)
home will cost 29% of
closely, but the effect of Anita Hill's
(proj.)
household income
August, one-family
testimony on sales is likely to be
less than today's 31%
starts outpaced sales
data: DRI/McGraw-Hill
negligible, according to numerous
but still higher than
of new one-family
marketing experts. "This is a haz-
the 24% in 1970. With
homes by 352,000.
ard," says a Coke spokesman,
Who will buy? There may not
new-home prices ex-
TOMORROW
"when you're virtually ubiquitous."
be enough first-time home
pected to rise by 63%,
The market won't stay
buyers to soak up the supply of
it could be now or nev-
ripe for long. Analysts
BY AMY BERNSTEIN
houses, much less afford them.
er for home buyers
expect new-home
hunting bargains.
20
ILLUSTRATION: JACK DESROCHER FOR USN&WR: CARTOON: WALT HANDELSMAN TIMES PICAYUNE
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, OCTOBER 28, 1991
CALENDAR
U.S. NEWS
Dallas revisited
On November 14,
THE VOTERS DEFINE A RIGHT TO DIE
nearly 28 years after the event, con-
spiracy buffs will meet in Dallas for
Medical ethicists and lawmakers have failed to ease the dilemmas surrounding
a symposium on John F. Kennedy's
whether and when to apply lifesaving technology. So now citizens in Washington
assassination. Six books on the mur-
State, in a referendum, must decide for themselves whether they can ask a doctor to
der are due out soon, including
assist in their deaths. If Initia-
"Three Days at Parkland," by a doc-
tive 119 passes, Washington
tor who attended both Kennedy and
would become the first place in
Lee Harvey Oswald. In December,
the world to legalize active eu-
"JFK," Oliver Stone's already con-
thanasia. (The practice is toler-
NEXT...!
troversial movie, will be released.
ated but illegal in Holland: arti-
DR. KEVORKIAN
Final exit
Congress hopes to finish
cle, Page 28.) If that happens,
this year's business before Thanks-
the United States could face a
FINAL OPINION
giving. It must still deal with bank
debate every bit as divisive as
reform and new unemployment-
the abortion controversy.
insurance legislation.
Concern about the subject shows up in the still
Gifted children On November 6, in
brisk sales of the Hemlock Society suicide man-
Kansas City, the National Associa-
ual, "Final Exit," and the deaths late last month
tion for Gifted Children will meet.
of two Michigan women who used suicide ma-
Programs include "Parents of Gifted
chines created by "Dr. Death," Jack Kevorkian.
Children: Friend or Foe?"
But passage of Initiative 119, opponents warn,
could lead to an even uglier situation: subtle pressure, imposed by doctors and
families, on the infirm to ask to die rather than use up scarce health-care funds.
GOING OVERBOARD ON-LINE
Computer networks are becoming the nation's soapboxes, with people across the
country speaking their minds electronically. But now there are lively debates about
DATABASE
how free expression should be in the computer age. Prodigy, one of the nation's two
largest computer networks, is facing criticism for trying to stop messages that it deems
Children in the United States who
offensive. Recently, CompuServe, the other major network, was sued for libel by a
are gifted: 2.3 million
rival computer company for carrying allegedly defamatory messages about one of the
States with mandated special
rival's products. Last week, in what legal experts call a precedent-setting case, a
education programs
federal judge likened computer networks to public libraries, ruling that CompuServe
for gifted kids: 26
is not liable for information running on its system. Despite the decision, Gerard Van
der Leun, a lobbyist for computer networks, predicts that disputes aired on the
Average SAT score of college-
nation's growing network systems are likely to increase, causing more libel suits.
bound high-school seniors: 896
Minimum score of 13-year-olds
HOW STEALTHY IS STEALTHY ENOUGH?
entering Johns Hopkins Center for
Talented Youth: 930
Congress has all but killed the B-2 Stealth bomber. For the second year in a row,
Defense Department authorization legislation includes no money for new B-2s,
High-achieving teens who
rate their teachers' dedication
which could very likely mean that the U.S. fleet will consist of only 15 Stealth
as excellent: 8%
bombers instead of the 75 that the Pentagon wants. Still, House and Senate
committees have approved nearly $2 billion for repairs and have created a
Whose parents are still
$1 billion B-2 escrow account, leaving open the remote possibility of
married: 78%
building one more plane.
Despite the budget vote, the Pentagon still wants to make the B-2
Who drop out of high
school: 20%
work. After the plane flunked a recent radar-evasion test, a blue-
ribbon panel was appointed to discover why. There are now
Who own, or have a friend who
hints that the Pentagon may certify the B-2's evasive capacity
owns, a gun: 45%
by lowering the test program's standards. The Air Force is
Who have considered suicide: 27%
studying whether the radar-evasion capabilities needed to foil
Soviet defenses-no longer a high priority- are the same as those
Formal education of
required against more likely foes such as Iraq. Another sign of a
Thomas Edison: 3 months
changed world: The committees set aside $1 billion from the defense
Abraham Lincoln: 12 months
budget for President Bush to use for humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union.
14
ILLUSTRATION: JENNIFER HEWITSON FOR USN&WR; CARTOON: BROOKINS RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH; PHOTO: NORTHROP CORP.
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, NOVEMBER 11, 1991
MIGRATION
BUSINESS
THE LAST TV
CARS OF THE 21st CENTURY
It was one of the most visible sym-
Increasingly, the capital that decides what kinds of cars Americans drive and what
bols of America's postwar domi-
fuels they use is not Washington but Sacramento. Congress's 1990 Clean Air Act
nance: watching television on a set
allows states to choose either the federal government's engine-emission require-
made by one of the American elec-
ments or California's tougher standards.
TAL
tronics giants like Westinghouse,
Last week, nine East Coast governors and
Admiral or Motorola. But after
the mayor of the District of Columbia
years of faltering, that symbol has fi-
opted for the California plan. If their
nally faded entirely. In 1968, 28 ma-
smog-fighting agreement holds, 1 of every
jor American companies made tele-
3 American motorists will be subject to
visions; now, only one remains:
more rigorous automobile inspections,
Zenith Electronics Corp. And last
cleaner-burning gasoline and rules re-
week, that sole survivor announced
quiring updated antipollution equipment
it is moving its assembly operations
on new cars bought late in this decade.
to Mexico. "It is the end of an era,"
The pact also significantly increases
A smoggy day. Washington, D.C.
says David Lachenbruch, editor of
the chances that electric cars will catch
Television Digest.
on. Within eight years, according to the California plan, 2 percent of new vehicles
Zenith's move is more symbolic
must be battery powered. Twelve years from now, 1.in 10 cars is to run on electricity.
than surprising; the company already
makes about 50 percent of its televi-
DOWN TO EARTH FOR MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
sions south of the border. Zenith
claims that price wars in the U.S.
Salomon Inc. is trying to get it together. An early sign of success is the way the
market-where analysts estimate
scandal-scarred Wall Street firm's shares jumped last week in response to ads that
that half of televisions are sold almost
trumpeted surprising earnings and more modest compensation for traders. Instead
at cost-have led to $500 million in-
of paying huge bonuses to employees; Salomon's interim chairman, Warren Buffett,
lost revenues in the past five years.
redirected $110 million to shareholders. The move has left analysts wondering
ZENITH ELECTRONICS CORP.
whether other Wall Street firms will adopt a similar discretion. Meanwhile, the
Salomon scandal has already prompted a big change. This week's Treasury auction
will be the first in which the government uses new rules to prevent the kind of
manipulation that, last summer, Salomon admitted it had practiced. Rather than
restricting bidding to 39 primary dealers, the Treasury is allowing any registered
broker to purchase its debt. This shouldn't raise Washington's borrowing costs, but it
could further erode Salomon's position in the bond market.
MONEY CLIP
In Mexico. A Zenith factory
12%
RECOVERY
GNP POST-RESSION
10%
budget deficit hit a
Ironically, foreign companies con-
STUCK ON THE
GROWTH
new record $269
ON RAMP
8%
tinue to make televisions in the Unit-
billion A lower-mid-
ed States with familiar American
GNP growth, after
William
dle-income family to-
6%
three quarterly de-
day already pays less
brand names, including Holland's
NV Philips Corp. (Magnavox, Syl-
clines, suggests the
in federal payroll
4%
taxes-17.7%-than
vania), France's Thomson SA (RCA,
economy is revving
2%
its engine. But other
in the 1982 slump,
General Electric) and Japan's Matsu-
when it paid 18.8%.
T10
factors show it still
0
shita Electric Industries Corp. (Qua-
spinning its wheels:
75
'80
'83
sar). That situation poses a dilemma
'71
A drop in inflation
September unem-
1954
'58
to 2.1% enabled the
for U.S. consumers who prefer to buy
ployment inched up
Fed to shave interest
American-made products. "Do you
to 6.8%, and con-
rates amid hopes
support Sony with its U.S. workers,"
sumer confidence
this would boost
asks labor official Robert Mingus,
plunged 17% to the
The current increasetinGN
new-home sales criti-
"or Zenith, now building its product
lowest level since
shows The weakest.recovery
cal to a recovery; in
outside the country?"
February.
from recession-in 7-years.and,
September, sales fell
Chances for tax
reinforces talk double dip
12.9%, the biggest
BY WARREN COHEN
relief receded as the
drop since 1989.
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, NOVEMBER 11, 1991
23
CALENDAR
U.S. NEWS
Gun for sale
On December 26, the
JOBS: AWAY THEY FLEW
revolver used by Jack Ruby to kill
Lee Harvey Oswald will be auc-
Forget the Christmas ham. The December gift that many American workers are
tioned in New York City. Earl
receiving is a pink slip. General Motors this week is revealing details of a "major
Ruby, executor of his brother's es-
action" most likely the closing of factories plus a speedup of an earlier plan to
tate, is asking that the bidding start
eliminate 20,000 jobs by 1993. Caterpillar last week announced the "probable closing"
at $100,000.
of its York, Pa., factory and the likely loss of 1,900 jobs. Xerox disclosed the layoff of
Gotta travel on
On December 31,
2,500 workers. TRW Inc., the
George Bush begins an 11-day tour
big supplier of parts to the
I've FALLeN...
of Australia, Singapore, South Ko-
automotive and aerospace in-
AND I CAN'T
rea and Japan. This is the same trip
dustries, announced a restruc-
GeT UP!
that the president canceled last
turing that will get rid of 10,000
month while under fire for ignoring
positions. And IBM Chairman
domestic issues.
John Akers hinted that Big
Season's greetings
December 19 is
Blue might have to cut more
the last day Christmas-card senders
than the 20,000 jobs it already
can mail their domestic-bound
plans to eliminate next year
greetings and be assured of a timely
(story, Page 48).
delivery. Post offices may get a
In the '70s and '80s, blue-
break this season. Greeting-card an-
collar jobs faded. Now, white-
alysts believe sales are down slightly.
collar slots are on the wane.
Many losses are permanent, as high-tech jobs move overseas and defense contractors
adjust to the post-cold-war world. Nor are cuts confined to the private sector.
Thousands of state-government workers have been laid off, while huge numbers of
teachers and local-government employees are sustaining pay freezes and furloughs.
And although the official unemployment rate still hovers just below 7 percent, that
figure does not account for 1 million people too discouraged to look for work.
One result: Seven of 10 voters in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll don't like the
DATABASE
way George Bush is tending the economy. Many who have jobs are afraid they're
going to lose them. That fear, in turn, is causing people to hold on to their money,
Average number of Christmas cards
which means an even slower economy and more layoffs. Many of the announced
received per household last year: 26
layoffs and plant closings will occur in mid-1992, just about the time the president tries
to convince voters he has something going for him besides a victory overseas.
Decrease in big companies sending
Christmas cards this year: 25%
HEALTH WOES OF THE FUTURE
Hallmark Cards' designs for Christ-
mas: 3,400; for Hanuka: 125
A half century ago, a government-run national health-care program seemed like
something sure to come. But after World War II, a system that most Americans
Share of Christmas cards bought by
women: 90%
considered far better evolved: Companies began giving employees fully paid health
insurance plans as a fringe benefit. Last week, a report by Families USA, an advocacy
Busiest mail day of the year: Monday
group for the poor and aged, suggested that the system that has served much of
before Christmas week (234 million
America for four decades is coming apart. "American families and
pieces on average)
American businesses are being priced out of health insurance," the
Average weight of a mail carrier's
organization concluded. In 1980, it said, 24.5 million Americans had
16.4%
no insurance. In 1990, some 34 million had none. In addition, wages
bag: 35 pounds. Carriers who quit
last December: 0.2%
are depressed because employers have been forced to spend
more on health care. As a result, the average family this year
Postal employees in Alaska given
is paying $4,296-nearly 12 percent
11.7%
"official Santa designee" status and
of average family income-for
Share of
allowed to open Santa's mail: 100
health care. By the end of the dec-
average
ade, that bite is expected to top 16
family income
9%
Greeting cards sent by President
Bush in 1990: 150,000, paid for by
percent. Employers also will suffer.
spent on
health care
the Republican National Committee
The study predicts their health-care
costs will quadruple by 2000. That,
Mail sent this year by presidential
the study suggests, means wages at
mutt Millie: 3,041. Letter carriers
the start of the 21st century will be
bitten by dogs in 1990: 2,700
even more depressed.
USN&WR-Basic data:
Families USA Foundation
1980
1991
2000
12
ILLUSTRATION: ISTVAN BANYAI FOR USN&WR; CARTOON: ROGERS PITTSBURGH PRESS/UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE
U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT, DECEMBER 23, 1991