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Commodity Flow Survey COMMODITY FLOW SURVEY
PURPOSE
The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is undertaken through a partnership between the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation. This survey produces data on the movement of goods in the United States. The data from the CFS are used by public policy analysts, for transportation planning and decision-making, and to assess the demand for transportation facilities and services, energy use, safety risk, and environmental concerns.
COVERAGE
The CFS covers business establishments in mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and selected retail industries. The survey also covers selected auxiliary establishments (e.g., warehouses) of in-scope multi-unit and retail companies. The survey coverage excludes establishments classified as farms, forestry, fisheries, governments, construction, transportation, foreign establishments, services, and most establishments in retail.
CONTENT
The CFS captures data on shipments originating from selected types of business establishments located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. We requested that the respondent provide the following information about their establishment’s shipments: domestic destination or port of exit, commodity, value, weight, mode(s) of transportation, the date on which the shipment was made, and an indication of whether the shipment was an export, or hazardous material. For shipments that include more than one commodity, respondents are instructed to report the commodity that makes up the greatest percentage of the shipment’s weight. For exports, we also ask the respondent to provide the mode of export and the foreign destination city and country. For hazardous materials shipments, we ask for the corre sponding UN/NA code.
FREQUENCY
The survey was initiated for 1993. Since 1997, the survey was conducted every 5 years for years ending in "2" and "7." Commodity surveys were conducted between 1963 and 1983, but data for 1983 were not published. No data were collected for 1987.
METHODS
The CFS consists of a sample of 50,000 establishments chosen based on geographic location and industry. Each establishment selected into the CFS sample is mailed a questionnaire for each of its four reporting weeks. For the CFS, each sampled establishment was asked to report on a sample of individual shipments during a one week period in each calendar quarter.
PRODUCTS
Information is available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Reports provide data at the national level, with tables including tons, miles, ton-miles, value by mode of transportation (including intermodal combinations), shipment distance, commodity, and weight. The geographical breakdowns will include U.S., Census Divisions and Regions, individual states with selected Metropolitan Areas (MA), and remainder of state categories.
USES
The U.S. Department of Transportation, state DOTs, and metropolitan planning organizations use the updated and expanded information on commodity flows for policy development, assessing infrastructure needs, and safety issues. The Bureau of Economic Analysis uses the data for improvements to the balance of payment accounts, national input-output accounts, and regional projections.
Transportation carriers use these data to better understand their markets and more efficiently serve shippers. Manufacturers use the information to locate plants and to identify trends in transportation of their product.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Provides the only comprehensive and consistent statistics of commodity flows with product detail.
RELATED PROGRAMS
Service Annual Survey:
Selected Transportation and Warehousing (merged into Service Annual Survey)
Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey
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You are here: Economic Programs Overview Services Commodity Flow Survey Last revised: Friday, 22-Aug-2008 09:50:36 EDT
