U.S. FOREIGN WATERBORNE FREIGHT

Tonnage of U.S. Waterborne Imports and Exports (monthly data, not seasonally adjusted)

Import and export tonnage helps identify the volume of cargo flowing through U.S. ports and the resulting vessel traffic on U.S. coastal waters. It also helps identify needs for intermodal truck and rail traffic.

Most U.S. coastal ports handle both foreign and domestic cargoes.

NOTES: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality.

A metric ton is equal to 2,204.6 pounds.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Office of Statistical and Economic Analysis, U.S. Foreign Waterborne Transportation Statistics data, available at: http://www.marad.dot.gov/statistics/usfwts/index.html.