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  • Commercial aviation helps drive more than 10M American jobs and 5 cents of every dollar of U.S. GDP

  • Commercial aviation drives more than $1 trillion per year in economic activity

  • In 2012, U.S. airlines moved more than 48,000 tons of cargo per day

  • In 2012, the value of a kilogram of U.S. merchandise exported by air averaged 121 times the value exported by sea

  • For every 100 airline jobs, some 360 are supported outside of the airline industry

  • Federal taxes constitute $61 – or 20% – of the price of a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket

  • In 2011, U.S. airlines carried 16 percent more passengers and cargo using 10 percent less fuel than in 2000

  • Domestically, airlines drive 5% of economic activity but account for 2% of man-made GHG emissions

  • From 2000-2011, airlines reduced GHG emissions by 11% while transporting 16% more passengers and cargo

  • From 1975-2011, U.S. airlines and their partners reduced significant noise exposure by 99%

  • Commercial air travel is the safest form of intercity transportation in the United States

  • In the most recent decade, scheduled air service on U.S. airlines was seven times safer than in the 1970s

  • From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines improved the on-time arrival rate from 72.6% to 81.9%

  • From 2000-2012, U.S. airlines reduced the flight cancellation rate sharply from 3.30% to 1.29%

  • Airfares are a bargain: From 2000-2012, U.S. CPI rose 33% while average domestic fare rose just 13%

  • Adjusted for inflation, the average round-trip domestic airfare fell 15% from 2000

  • 2007 domestic flight delays cost the United States approximately $31 billion

  • In 2012, the value of U.S. merchandise exported by air reached an all-time high of $427B

  • In 2012, U.S. exports of air-travel services reached an all-time high of $39.5B, driving a $5.1B trade surplus

  • In 2012, U.S. passenger and cargo airlines spent more than $50B on fuel, averaging 36% of operating expenses

  • In 2012, U.S. airlines posted the lowest annual rate of mishandled baggage ever recorded

  • FAA projects U.S. air travel demand to top 1 billion passengers in 2027

  • In 2012, US airlines flew 83.4 million passengers in scheduled international service - a record high

  • In 2012, the total value of merchandise exported from or imported to the United States by air exceeded $927 billion

  • In 2012, 7.15 teragrams of merchandise was exported from or imported to the United States by air

 The Commodity Markets Oversight Coalition Commends CFTC Chairman Gensler

Public Policy section: picture of the Capitol dome

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August 5, 2009

The Honorable Gary Gensler
Chairman, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20581


Dear Chairman Gensler:

The undersigned organizations would like to commend you and your fellow Commissioners for conducting hearings into the need for positions limits and to examine the exemption for bona-fide hedgers.  These hearings provide a strong sign of the Commission’s renewed commitment to greater transparency, accountability and oversight to commodity markets.  Moreover, we hope that the testimony submitted will help the agency repair an erosion of public confidence in these markets that has resulted from instances of manipulation, extreme price volatility and excessive speculation.

We understand that, in order to implement new regulatory reforms with respect to these issues, additional information must be collected and a formal rulemaking process must be initiated.  Please know that our organizations stand ready to assist in any manner we can as the Commission moves forward.

While we believe that the Commission has the necessary authority to improve transparency through increased reporting and recordkeeping and the authority to establish aggregate position limits, we believe that the Commission may will require additional authorities from Congress in order to better regulate and monitor the commodity markets, especially currently “opaque” trading activity.  Attached you will find a letter sent today to Congressional leaders supporting your efforts, addressing some arguments being made by opponents of reform, and urging Congress to work swiftly to pass new legislation giving the Commission additional tools needed to prevent excessive speculation, and to ensure a fair and orderly market.  That said, we recommend that you utilize all existing and future authorities to aggressively regulate these markets.

Again, thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,

Agricultural Retailers Association
Air Transport Association
American Trucking Associations
California Independent Oil Marketers Association
Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Watchdog
Food & Water Watch
Florida Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Friends of the Earth US
Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey
Gasoline and Automotive Services Dealers of America
Grassroots International
Illinois Association of Convenience Stores
Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association
Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association
Independent Oil Marketers Association of New England
Industrial Energy Consumers of America
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Louisiana Oil Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Maine Oil Dealers Association
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Massachusetts Oilheat Council
Michigan Petroleum Association
Michigan Association of Convenience Stores
Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors' Association
Missionary Oblates
Municipal Gas Systems of Oklahoma
National Association of Truck Stop Operators
National Family Farm Coalition
National Farmers Union
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
Nebraska Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association
New England Fuel Institute
New Jersey Citizen Action Oil Group
New Mexico Petroleum Marketers Association
New York Oil Heating Association
Ohio Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association
Oilheat Council of New Hampshire
Oil Heat Institute of Long Island
Oil Heat Institute of Rhode Island
The Organization for Competitive Markets
Petroleum Marketers Association of America
Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores of Iowa
Propane Gas Association of New England
Public Citizen
Public Power Association of New Jersey 
R-CALF USA
Tennessee Oil Marketers Association
United Egg Producers
Utah Petroleum Marketers and Retailers Association
Western Peanut Growers
Vermont Fuel Dealers Association

cc: The Honorable Michael Dunn, Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Honorable Jill E. Sommers, Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The Honorable Bart Chilton, Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission


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