The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB) officially opened the week-long celebration of National Transportation Week (NTW), May 11-17, 2008. The Motor City is the principal sponsor for this year’s festivity for the second consecutive year. National Transportation Week also underscores the beginning of "2008: Year of the Car," which is a summer-long festival in Southeast Michigan to commemorate the historic centennials of General Motors Corporation and the Ford Model T with more or less 120 auto-themed events in the region through early October.

"National Transportation Week allows our region to celebrate our rich, world-class automotive heritage with the community that made it all possible. This annual event gives us a chance to highlight our region's positive transportation contributions to the world and show how we are a vital part of a trillion dollar industry, both now and in the future," says Chris Baum, senior vice president of sales and marketing of the DMCVB.

NTW was instituted by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 to celebrate the historical significance of transportation focus on its future impact, as well as support transportation-related careers to the young ones.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, the transportation sector accounts for more than 11.7 million jobs and contributes more than $1 trillion annually to the U.S. economy, generating more than 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.