Determining the availability of TRIs for own-account consumption

Once a determination is made about the availability of the selected TRIs for OATS, the portion of each TRI supply used for OATS consumption is calculated. The portion is what remains once other uses (e.g., use for non-transportation purposes, use by transportation industries, use by households, exports) are accounted for. Because TRIs can be used for purposes other than transportation (e.g., heating) and in multiple transportation modes, two ratios are needed for this calculation.

• Purpose-of-use ratio: The total use of each TRI is separated into two parts: the portion used for transportation and the portion used for other purposes. For example, gasoline is used for transportation, as well as for operating farm equipment. A transportation to non-transportation use ratio is computed for each TRI. For fuel TRIs, the purpose-of-use ratios are based on the Report on Energy Supply and Demand in Canada and CANSIM table 128-0017. The RESD provides a breakdown of fuel usage by activity. The ratio of fuel consumed by transportation activity to total demand determines the purpose-of-use ratio[5]. For mode-specific service TRIs, the ratio is assumed to be 1, since services such as support, maintenance and equipment repair are used uniquely for transportation activities.
• Modal shares: The transportation portion of TRI use is distributed among the four transportation modes. These ratios are called the modal shares. For fuel TRIs, the modal shares for rail, air and water are calculated mainly according to the RESD, which provides a breakdown by mode of fuel use for transportation activities. For truck transportation, the breakdown of use by vehicle type (e.g., truck, taxi, limousine, ground transit, sightseeing, courier, messenger) is not available. Therefore, the modal shares for fuel and service TRIs for truck transportation are derived from the distribution of the TRIs in the SUTs for the transportation industries.

Table 1 shows the purpose-of-use ratios and modal shares used in the CTEA. For instance, the table shows that 97% of the gasoline supply is consumed in transportation-related activities. The table further shows that, of the total intermediate use of gasoline for transportation activities, 19% is used in trucking. The rest is consumed by other modes such as taxis and courier services.

Multiplying the TRIs’ total intermediate use by their purpose-of-use ratio and the modal share gives the value of inputs’ transportation-related use in a given mode. This value includes both the for-hire and the own-account use of the TRI in the mode. Subtracting the for-hire use value from this total leaves only the value available for own-account consumption.