Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
Printable Version
Freight in America

Freight in America

January 2006


Table of Contents File Formats
Entire Report
Acknowledgments
Executive Summary — The Bottom Line
The Nation's Freight
The Geography of U.S. Freight Shipments
U.S.-International Freight Shipments
Appendix A
Appendix B
References
List of Tables
Table 1 - Commercial Freight Activity in the United States by Transportation Mode: 2002
Table 2 - Major Elements of the U.S. Freight Transportation System: 2002
Table 3 - Modal Breakdown of Composite Estimates of U.S. Commercial Freight: 2002
Table 4 - Percent Shares of the Sectors Covered in the Composite Estimates of U.S. Commercial Freight: 2002
Table 5 - Freight Shipments by Two-Digit Commodity: 1997 and 2002
Table 6 - Hazardous Material Shipment Characteristics by Mode of Transportation: 2002
Table 7 - Hazardous Material Shipment by Hazard Class and Mode of Transportation: 2002
Table 8 - Freight Shipments by Shipment Weight: 1993 and 2002
Table 9 - Number of Vehicles, Aircraft, Railcars, and Vessels
Table 10 - Commodity Flow Survey Shipments by Transportation Mode: 1993 and 2002
Table 11 - Value Per Ton of U.S. Freight Shipments by Transportation Mode: 2002
Table 12 - U.S. Rail Carload and Intermodal Commodity Shipments: 2002
Table 13 - Tons of Coal for Top Railroads Originated by State: 2003
Table 14 - Tons, Ton-Miles, and Length of Haul of U.S. Domestic and International Maritime Freight: 1980-2003
Table 15 - Top 10 U.S. Maritime Container Ports: 1995-2004
Table 16 - U.S. Pipeline Ton-Miles: 1980-2003
Table 17 - Air Carrier Revenue Freight Ton-Miles and Passenger-Miles: 1980-2004
Table 18 - Value and Weight of Outbound and Inbound Commodity Flows by State: 2002
Table 19 - Interstate Commerce as Share of Shipments by State of Origin: 2002
Table 20 - Truck Shipments as Share of Total Value of All Shipments Originating in State: 2002
Table 21 - Interstate Truck Shipments as Share of All Truck Shipments Originating in State: 2002
Table 22 - Top 15 U.S. Trading Partners by Value of Merchandise Trade: 2004
Table 23 - Top 5 U.S. Land Ports by U.S.-NAFTA Border Crossings: 2004
Table 24 - Top 25 U.S. Freight Gateways, Ranked by Value of Shipments: 2004
Table 25 - U.S. Maritime Freight Gateways, Ranked by Value and Weight: 2003
Table 26 - Comparison of Estimates of U.S. Total Commercial Activity for 2002
List of Figures
Exhibit A - Sectors Included in the National Freight Composite Estimates
Figure 1 - Breakdown of the National Freight Composite Estimates by Data Source and Mode: 2002
Figure 2 - Average Length of Haul by Major Commodity Group: 2002
Figure 3 - U.S. Freight Shipments by Distance Shipped: 1993 and 2002
Figure 4 - Value Per Ton of Shipments by Distance Shipped: 1993 and 2002
Figure 5 - Growth in U.S. Domestic Freight Ton-Miles: 1980-2004
Figure 6 - Growth in U.S. Domestic Freight Ton-Miles by Mode: 1980-2004
Figure 7 - Number of Commercial Trucks on U.S. Highways: 1980, 1990, 2003
Figure 8 - Truck Vehicle-Miles Traveled on U.S. Highways: 1980-2003
Figure 9 - Tonnage of Inbound and Outbound Rail Shipments: 2003
Figure 10 - U.S. Air Freight Domestic and International Revenue Ton-Miles: 1980-2004
Figure 11 - Rail-Truck Intermodal Traffic in the United States: 1980-2004
Figure 12 - Air Freight Handled by the Top Three All-Cargo Carriers at their Hubs: 2004
Figure 13 - Value of Freight Shipments by State of Origin: 2002
Figure 14 - Distribution of CFS Shipments from Los Angeles Metropolitan Area: 2002
Figure 15 - Interstate and Intrastate Flows as Share of Outbound Shipment Value by State: 2002
Figure 16 - Modal Shares of U.S. Trade with Canada and Mexico by Value and Weight: 2004
List of Boxes
Box A - The New National Freight Composite Estimates
Box B - How the 2002 National Freight Composite Estimates Were Derived
Box C - Interpreting Shipment Value and Tonnage Data in the Composite Estimates
Box D - Interpreting Value, Tons, and Ton-Miles in the Commodity Flow Survey
End Notes