According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for transportation are 1,787.97% higher in 2026 versus 1940 (a $17,879,718,804,920,918,016 difference in value).
Between 1940 and 2026:Transportation experienced an average inflation rate of 3.48% per year. This rate of change indicates significant inflation. In other words, transportation costing $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 in the year 1940 would cost $18,879,718,804,920,922,112 in 2026 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 3.73% during this same period, inflation for transportation was lower.
In the year 1940: Pricing changed by -0.64%, which is significantly below the average yearly change for transportation during the 1940-2026 time period. Compared to inflation for all items in 1940 (0.72%), inflation for transportation was lower.
Below are calculations of equivalent buying power for Transportation, over time, for $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 beginning in 1940. Each of the amounts below is equivalent in terms of what it could buy at the time:
| Year | USD Value | Inflation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 | -0.64% |
| 1941 | $1,025,776,215,582,893,952.00 | 2.58% |
| 1942 | $1,119,507,908,611,599,232.00 | 9.14% |
| 1943 | $1,120,679,554,774,458,240.00 | 0.10% |
| 1944 | $1,117,750,439,367,310,976.00 | -0.26% |
| 1945 | $1,117,750,439,367,310,976.00 | 0.00% ** |
| 1946 | $1,164,616,285,881,663,744.00 | 4.19% |
| 1947 | $1,297,012,302,284,710,144.00 | 11.37% |
| 1948 | $1,446,397,188,049,208,832.00 | 11.52% |
| 1949 | $1,554,774,458,113,649,664.00 | 7.49% |
| 1950 | $1,594,610,427,650,849,280.00 | 2.56% |
| 1951 | $1,697,129,466,900,995,840.00 | 6.43% |
| 1952 | $1,809,021,675,454,013,184.00 | 6.59% |
| 1953 | $1,860,574,106,619,801,088.00 | 2.85% |
| 1954 | $1,833,626,244,874,048,000.00 | -1.45% |
| 1955 | $1,811,364,967,779,730,432.00 | -1.21% |
| 1956 | $1,844,171,060,339,777,536.00 | 1.81% |
| 1957 | $1,946,690,099,589,924,096.00 | 5.56% |
| 1958 | $2,011,130,638,547,159,040.00 | 3.31% |
| 1959 | $2,094,317,516,110,134,528.00 | 4.14% |
| 1960 | $2,093,731,693,028,705,280.00 | -0.03% |
| 1961 | $2,117,750,439,367,311,104.00 | 1.15% |
| 1962 | $2,161,687,170,474,516,736.00 | 2.07% |
| 1963 | $2,173,989,455,184,534,272.00 | 0.57% |
| 1964 | $2,206,209,724,663,151,872.00 | 1.48% |
| 1965 | $2,242,530,755,711,775,488.00 | 1.65% |
| 1966 | $2,274,751,025,190,392,832.00 | 1.44% |
| 1967 | $2,339,191,564,147,627,520.00 | 2.83% |
| 1968 | $2,414,176,918,570,591,744.00 | 3.21% |
| 1969 | $2,506,736,965,436,438,016.00 | 3.83% |
| 1970 | $2,635,618,043,350,907,904.00 | 5.14% |
| 1971 | $2,773,872,290,568,248,832.00 | 5.25% |
| 1972 | $2,806,678,383,128,295,424.00 | 1.18% |
| 1973 | $2,895,137,668,424,135,680.00 | 3.15% |
| 1974 | $3,219,683,655,536,028,672.00 | 11.21% |
| 1975 | $3,521,968,365,553,603,072.00 | 9.39% |
| 1976 | $3,872,290,568,248,389,120.00 | 9.95% |
| 1977 | $4,145,284,124,194,494,464.00 | 7.05% |
| 1978 | $4,339,777,387,229,056,000.00 | 4.69% |
| 1979 | $4,958,406,561,218,511,872.00 | 14.25% |
| 1980 | $5,841,241,944,932,631,552.00 | 17.80% |
| 1981 | $6,548,330,404,217,926,656.00 | 12.11% |
| 1982 | $6,818,394,844,756,883,456.00 | 4.12% |
| 1983 | $6,981,253,661,394,259,968.00 | 2.39% |
| 1984 | $7,291,154,071,470,415,872.00 | 4.44% |
| 1985 | $7,483,889,865,260,691,456.00 | 2.64% |
| 1986 | $7,192,735,793,790,274,560.00 | -3.89% |
| 1987 | $7,410,076,157,000,586,240.00 | 3.02% |
| 1988 | $7,638,547,158,758,055,936.00 | 3.08% |
| 1989 | $8,021,089,630,931,460,096.00 | 5.01% |
| 1990 | $8,472,173,403,632,103,424.00 | 5.62% |
| 1991 | $8,705,330,990,041,007,104.00 | 2.75% |
| 1992 | $8,895,723,491,505,565,696.00 | 2.19% |
| 1993 | $9,164,030,462,800,233,472.00 | 3.02% |
| 1994 | $9,441,124,780,316,344,320.00 | 3.02% |
| 1995 | $9,779,144,698,301,112,320.00 | 3.58% |
| 1996 | $10,055,067,369,654,364,160.00 | 2.82% |
| 1997 | $10,142,355,008,787,347,456.00 | 0.87% |
| 1998 | $9,950,790,861,159,927,808.00 | -1.89% |
| 1999 | $10,151,142,355,008,788,480.00 | 2.01% |
| 2000 | $10,779,144,698,301,114,368.00 | 6.19% |
| 2001 | $10,843,585,237,258,348,544.00 | 0.60% |
| 2002 | $10,745,752,782,659,635,200.00 | -0.90% |
| 2003 | $11,076,157,000,585,824,256.00 | 3.07% |
| 2004 | $11,465,729,349,736,380,416.00 | 3.52% |
| 2005 | $12,225,541,886,350,325,760.00 | 6.63% |
| 2006 | $12,714,118,336,262,449,152.00 | 4.00% |
| 2007 | $12,982,888,107,791,448,064.00 | 2.11% |
| 2008 | $13,746,877,562,975,981,568.00 | 5.88% |
| 2009 | $12,601,224,370,240,188,416.00 | -8.33% |
| 2010 | $13,595,495,020,503,810,048.00 | 7.89% |
| 2011 | $14,929,068,541,300,527,104.00 | 9.81% |
| 2012 | $15,278,553,016,988,868,608.00 | 2.34% |
| 2013 | $15,283,766,842,413,586,432.00 | 0.03% |
| 2014 | $15,180,263,620,386,646,016.00 | -0.68% |
| 2015 | $13,994,135,910,954,891,264.00 | -7.81% |
| 2016 | $13,700,779,144,698,302,464.00 | -2.10% |
| 2017 | $14,169,777,387,229,057,024.00 | 3.42% |
| 2018 | $14,809,384,885,764,497,408.00 | 4.51% |
| 2019 | $14,767,539,543,057,995,776.00 | -0.28% |
| 2020 | $14,153,550,087,873,460,224.00 | -4.16% |
| 2021 | $16,214,903,339,191,564,288.00 | 14.56% |
| 2022 | $18,722,659,636,789,690,368.00 | 15.47% |
| 2023 | $18,768,254,247,217,336,320.00 | 0.24% |
| 2024 | $19,028,840,070,298,771,456.00 | 1.39% |
| 2025 | $19,141,968,365,553,602,560.00 | 0.59% |
| 2026 | $18,879,718,804,920,922,112.00 | -1.37%* |
* Not final. See inflation summary for latest details.
** Extended periods of 0% inflation usually indicate incomplete underlying data. This can manifest as a sharp increase in inflation later on.
Raw Consumer Price Index data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for Transportation:
| Year | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| CPI | 14.200 | 14.250 | 14.508 | 14.675 | 14.317 | 14.225 | 14.592 | 15.925 | 15.942 | 15.900 | 15.900 | 16.567 | 18.450 | 20.575 | 22.117 | 22.683 | 24.142 | 25.733 | 26.467 | 26.083 | 25.767 | 26.233 | 27.692 | 28.608 | 29.792 | 29.783 | 30.125 | 30.750 | 30.925 | 31.383 | 31.900 | 32.358 | 33.275 | 34.342 | 35.658 | 37.492 | 39.458 | 39.925 | 41.183 | 45.800 | 50.100 | 55.083 | 58.967 | 61.733 | 70.533 | 83.092 | 93.150 | 96.992 | 99.308 | 103.717 | 106.458 | 102.317 | 105.408 | 108.658 | 114.100 | 120.517 | 123.833 | 126.542 | 130.358 | 134.300 | 139.108 | 143.033 | 144.275 | 141.550 | 144.400 | 153.333 | 154.250 | 152.858 | 157.558 | 163.100 | 173.908 | 180.858 | 184.682 | 195.549 | 179.252 | 193.396 | 212.366 | 217.337 | 217.412 | 215.939 | 199.067 | 194.894 | 201.565 | 210.663 | 210.068 | 201.334 | 230.657 | 266.330 | 266.978 | 270.685 | 272.295 | 268.564 |