Skip to Search Skip to Left Navigation U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) - Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) - United States Department of Transportation (USDOT, US DOT or DOT)
  ABOUT RITA | CONTACT US | PRESS ROOM | CAREERS | SITE MAP
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Data and Statistics
Bookstore
Programs
About BTS
Upcoming Press Releases
External Links
Intelligent Transportation Systems
National Transportation Library
Research, Development and Technology
Transportation Safety Institute
University Transportation Centers
Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
Printable Version

Table 1-52: Freight Activity in the United States: 1993, 1997, and 2002P

Excel | CSV

Mode of transportation Value Tons Ton-milesc
1993 (billion $) 1997 (billion $) 2002 (billion $) Percent change (1993-2002) 1993 (millions) 1997 (millions) 2002 (millions) Percent change (1993-2002) 1993 (billions) 1997 (billions) 2002 (billions) Percent change (1993-2002)
TOTAL all modes 5,846.3 6,944.0 8,483.1 45.1 9,688.5 11,089.7 11,572.8 19.4 2,420.9 2,661.4 3,204.4 32.4
Single modes, total 4,941.5 5,719.6 7,052.9 42.7 8,922.3 10,436.5 10,878.1 21.9 2,136.9 2,383.5 2,913.0 36.3
Trucka 4,403.5 4,981.5 6,200.5 40.8 6,385.9 7,700.7 7,622.3 19.4 869.5 1,023.5 1,311.1 50.8
For-hire truck 2,625.1 2,901.3 3,838.5 46.2 2,808.3 3,402.6 3,666.0 30.5 629.0 741.1 1,001.5 59.2
Private truck 1,755.8 2,036.5 2,340.3 33.3 3,543.5 4,137.3 3,920.5 10.6 235.9 268.6 302.0 28.0
Rail 247.4 319.6 320.5 29.5 1,544.1 1,549.8 1,816.5 17.6 942.6 1,022.5 1,199.4 27.2
Water 61.6 75.8 90.9 47.5 505.4 563.4 713.9 41.2 272.0 261.7 323.1 18.8
Shallow draft 40.7 53.9 56.5 38.7 362.5 414.8 499.7 37.9 164.4 189.3 236.6 44.0
Great Lakes S 1.5 0.8 S 33.0 38.4 39.5 19.5 12.4 13.4 19.5 57.7
Deep draft 19.7 20.4 33.6 70.3 109.9 110.2 174.7 58.9 95.2 59.0 66.9 -29.7
Air (includes truck and air) 139.1 229.1 279.5 100.9 3.1 4.5 3.9 24.0 4.0 6.2 5.6 38.7
Pipelineb 89.8 113.5 161.6 79.9 483.6 618.2 721.6 49.2 S S S S
Multiple modes, total 662.6 945.9 1,111.0 67.7 225.7 216.7 198.5 -12.1 191.5 204.5 214.8 12.2
Parcel, U.S. Postal Service or courier 563.3 855.9 1022.0 81.4 18.9 23.7 26.4 40.0 13.2 18.0 20.5 56.2
Truck and rail 83.1 75.7 S S 40.6 54.2 S S 37.7 55.6 S S
Truck and water 9.4 8.2 17.1 81.6 68.0 33.2 31.8 -53.2 40.6 34.8 59.1 45.6
Rail and water 3.6 1.8 S S 79.2 79.3 S S 70.2 77.6 S S
Other multiple modes 3.2 4.3 5.5 71.9 18.9 26.2 28.0 48.1 S 18.6 19.6 S
Other / unknown modes, total 242.3 278.6 319.2 31.8 540.5 436.5 496.2 -8.2 92.6 73.4 76.6 -17.3

KEY: P = preliminary; S = data are not published because of high sampling variability or other reasons.

a Truck as a single mode includes shipments that went by private truck only, for-hire truck only, or a combination of both.

b Excludes most shipments of crude oil.

c Ton-miles estimates are based on estimated distances traveled along a modeled transportation network.

NOTE

Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. Estimates for 2002 are preliminary and may be revised. Value-of-shipments estimates have not been adjusted for price changes. Coverage for the 2002 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) differs from the previous surveys due to a change from the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification system to the 1997 North American Industry Classification System and other survey improvements. Therefore, data users are urged to use caution when comparing 2002 CFS estimates with estimates from prior years.

SOURCE

U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2002 Commodity Flow Survey: United States (Preliminary) (Washington, DC: December 2003), tables 1b and 1c.