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1993 Commodity Flow Survey
Commodity Movements Summary
Montana
In Montana, the CFS measured $10 billion
of goods weighing 82 million tons. Montana accounted for approximately
0.2 percent of the value and 0.8 percent of the weight of total
U.S. shipments. See attached table. The CFS data cover shipments
by establishments in mining, manufacturing, wholesale, and selected
retail and service industries. The data exclude most shipments
of crude oil; therefore, the totals and percentages do not fully
reflect the contribution of pipeline shipments.
The major commodities shipped by establishments
vary when ranked by value and by weight of the shipments. The
main commodities shipped from Montana by value were: petroleum
or coal products; food or kindred products; lumber or wood products,
excluding furniture; farm products; and coal. The main commodities
by weight were: lumber or wood products, excluding furniture;
petroleum or coal products; farm products; clay, concrete, glass,
or stone products; and food or kindred products.
Local transportation of freight is important
to Montana's commerce. The distribution of commodities by domestic
destination and distance of shipments reflects the importance
of local transport. The CFS shows that in 1993, about 53 percent
of the value and 42 percent of the weight of total shipments from
Montana were shipped to destinations within the state. About
30 percent of the value and about 31 percent of the weight of
all shipments were between places less than 50 miles apart. In
comparison, about 30 percent of the value and 56 percent of the
weight of total U.S. shipments were between places less than 50
miles apart. In Montana, about 41 percent of the value of shipments
and 37 percent of the weight of shipments were between places
less than 100 miles apart.
Less than half (47 percent) of the value
and over half (58 percent) of the weight of all shipments from
Montana went to other states. The main destination states by
value of shipments were: Washington, Wyoming, California, Wisconsin,
and Illinois. The main destination states by weight of shipments
were: Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.
A large proportion of commodities were
moved by truck, about 62 percent of the value and about 35 percent
of the weight. Rail accounted for about 22 percent of the value
and 52 percent of the weight of shipments. Pipelines were used
to transport 5 percent of the value and 3 percent of the weight.
The CFS data confirm the rising importance of parcel, U.S. postal,
and courier services that have emerged in recent years. In 1993,
this mode of transport was used to ship 30 thousand tons of goods
worth over $685 million or 7 percent of the value of all shipments
in Montana. In comparison, about 9 percent of the value of total
U.S. shipments were moved by this mode.
The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is a comprehensive effort to
learn where and how goods are shipped in the U.S. The CFS measures
shipments of commodities by establishments with paid employees
and engaged in manufacturing, mining, wholesale trade, or selected
retail and services industries. Prior commodity surveys covered
shipments only by manufacturing firms. Commodity flows are estimated
for a universe of approximately 900,000 establishments.
Data collected on individual shipments include total value, total
weight, commodity type, modes of transport, domestic origin and
destination; data for export shipments include the city and country
of destination, mode and port of exit. Information is also be
obtained on whether shipments are containerized or a hazardous
material. Some firms provided data concerning on-site shipping
facilities and access to shipping facilities, plus data on ownership
and leasing of transportation equipment.
The CFS is conducted by the Bureau of the Census as part of the
Economic Census. Funding and technical guidance is provided by
the U.S. Department of Transportation. Initiated for 1993, the
CFS is scheduled for 1997 and every 5 years thereafter for years
ending in 2 and 7. Commodity surveys were conducted between 1963
and 1982, but data for 1982 were not published. No data were collected
for 1987. Participants will report for a sample of shipments during
a 2-week period each quarter during the reporting year.
The CFS is a mail-out/mail-back survey of 200,000 sampled employer
establishments in selected industries. Establishments were selected
by stratified sample, with strata based on geographic location
and industry. Geographic strata are the 89 National Transportation
Analysis Regions(NTARs), which provide nationwide coverage and
are aggregations of Bureau of Economic Analysis economic areas.
Within the strata, all establishments with annualized employment
above a specified cutoff were selected with certainty, and the
remaining smaller establishments were sampled with probability
proportional to annualized payroll.
For 1993, each sampled establishment reported on a sample of
individual shipments during a 2 week period in each calendar quarter.
In addition, about 20,000 establishments will provide information
on transportation facilities and arrangements in their final reporting
period.
For further information about survey design and printed products,
contact the Commodity Flow Survey Branch, Services Division, Bureau
of the Census, Washington, DC 20233, or by calling 301/457-2805
or 2114. For information on related data programs and studies,
contact the Bureau of Transportation Statistics at 202/366-DATA
for voice, 202/366-3640 for fax, or CFS@BTS.GOV for e-mail.
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