Energy industry
After China, according to educationvv, the USA is the country with the second largest energy production as well as the second largest energy consumption in the world. This was (2016) 2 272.7 Mtoe, which is around 17.1% of world consumption. The most important energy sources are (2016): coal (with a share of 15.8%), crude oil (38.0%), natural gas (31.5%), nuclear energy (8.4%), hydropower (2.6%). Electricity generation amounts to 4 103 billion kWh (2014); of this, fossil fuels (hard coal, natural gas, crude oil) have a share of 73.5%, hydropower of 7.4% and nuclear power plants of 9.6%, others (including wind power, solar energy) have a share of 7.4%. Hydropower plants are particularly important in the mountainous and Pacific states. The (2018) 96 nuclear reactors are particularly concentrated in the east (Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Carolina).
Industry
The US industry has undergone considerable structural changes: the service sector has grown rapidly and there has been a concentration on high technology (computers, electronics, biochemistry). The armaments industry was also strengthened again. The automotive and aircraft industries are particularly hard hit by global competition. Around 19% of all employees work in the industrial sector (including mining and construction); at the same time, this sector contributes one fifth to the creation of GDP. The industry is broadly diversified and is primarily geared towards the domestic market. The leading industries are mechanical engineering and vehicle construction, the aerospace industry, the electrical and high-tech industries, the chemical, pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries. Large companies predominate.
The industrial focus has shifted from the northeast to the south and the Pacific coast. The extensive hard coal deposits as well as the indigenous deposits of iron ore contributed during the high industrialization to the development of the iron and steel industry around Pittsburgh (Pa.) And on the south bank of the Great Lakes (especially Chicago, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana). In connection with the growing import of iron ore, smelting plants were built mainly on the Atlantic coast and in Texas (Houston). The Manufacturing Belt has lost its leading position. The automotive industry, which was concentrated in Michigan with the center Detroit and the surrounding states, has partly migrated. US and international auto companies have set up production and supplier operations, particularly in the south of the USA (Alabama), but also in Mexico and Canada.
The centers of the aerospace and electronics industries are mainly in the south (Sun Belt) and in California, Oregon and Washington (Boeing plants in Seattle). In Silicon Valley the high-tech companies specialize in computer and IT technology, in North Carolina in semiconductor and biotechnology. Further high-tech locations developed in the region around the Great Lakes, in the northeast (Boston) and the Mid-Atlantic states.
Petrochemical plants are mainly found in the area of the western Gulf Coast level. The significant upswing in the chemical industry after the Second World War (especially in Louisiana between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and in the Northeast) was followed by the expansion of refinery capacity; the largest oil refineries outside of Louisiana and Texas are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California, and San Francisco, California. Small and medium-sized enterprises predominate in the food and beverage industry, especially in the Midwest as well as in the Prairie and Great Plains states.
Service sector
With around 79% of the workforce, the service sector also contributes 79% to the creation of GDP. This sector developed particularly dynamically in the areas of finance, insurance, real estate as well as health and social services.
Tourism: The revenues from tourism have been increasing since the 1980s. In 2015 around 75 million visitors came from abroad, mainly from Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Japan, China and Germany. Attractions for foreign tourists include: the states of Florida and California with beaches and water sports, the winter sports areas of Squaw Valley (California), in the Denver and Colorado Springs (Colorado) area and the national parks, including Shenandoah National Park in the Appalachian Mountains, the Everglades, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park.
The most visited cities are New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami, San Francisco and Las Vegas, and Honolulu in Hawaii. The tourist infrastructure is diverse and has a high level of equipment. The hotel density is high, global hotel groups are based in the USA.
Transportation
The USA has a well-developed and densely networked road transport system, including around 76,000 km of expressways. Some of the highways have been turned into turnpikes. The number of vehicles is (2015) 816 per 1,000 residents; the share of road traffic in passenger traffic is around 90%. A network of long-distance bus lines covers the whole country.
The heyday of the American railroad was at the beginning of the 20th century. The greatest expansion of the route network was achieved in 1916 with a total length of almost 430,000 km. Since then it has been going down steadily. For passenger transport, the railways only play a subordinate role today (share of total volume: 0.6%). The largest company here is the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), founded in 1971 for passenger transport between the major cities of the USA. It is majority owned by the state and subsidized with public funds. The route network includes approximately 500 cities in 46 states. The Union Pacific Railroad, which is primarily used for freight transport, is one of the world’s largest railroad companies. To relieve the road or Air traffic, the US government decided in 2010 to build and expand a high-speed network, which includes the metropolitan areas. on the west coast in California and on the east coast to connect with each other.
The well-developed network of waterways is around 42,000 km in length, 19,300 km of which are used by commercial inland shipping. The most important waterways are the Mississippi river system and the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Great Lakes, which can also be used by overseas ships. The most important goods in inland waterway transport are traditional bulk goods. The most important (container) seaports are Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York / New Jersey.
The USA has an excellently developed air transport network with around 13,500 airports and places. The busiest airports are Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, Los Angeles International Airport (California), O’Hare International Airport Chicago (Illinois) and Dallas / Ft. Worth International Airport (Texas).
