Table 1-52: Freight Activity in the United States: 1993, 1997, and 2002
| Mode of transportation | Value | Tons | Ton-milesc | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 (billion $) | 1997 (billion $) | (R) 2002 (billion $) | (R) Percent change (1993-2002) | 1993 (millions) | 1997 (millions) | (R) 2002 (millions) | (R) Percent change (1993-2002) | 1993 (billions) | 1997 (billions) | (R) 2002 (billions) | (R) Percent change (1993-2002) | |
| TOTAL all modes | 5,846.3 | 6,944.0 | 8,397.2 | 43.6 | 9,688.5 | 11,089.7 | 11,667.9 | 20.4 | 2,420.9 | 2,661.4 | 3,137.9 | 29.6 |
| Single modes, total | 4,941.5 | 5,719.6 | 7,049.4 | 42.7 | 8,922.3 | 10,436.5 | 11,086.7 | 24.3 | 2,136.9 | 2,383.5 | 2,867.9 | 34.2 |
| Trucka | 4,403.5 | 4,981.5 | 6,235.0 | 41.6 | 6,385.9 | 7,700.7 | 7,842.8 | 22.8 | 869.5 | 1,023.5 | 1,255.9 | 44.4 |
| For-hire truck | 2,625.1 | 2,901.3 | 3,757.1 | 43.1 | 2,808.3 | 3,402.6 | 3,657.3 | 30.2 | 629.0 | 741.1 | 959.6 | 52.6 |
| Private truck | 1,755.8 | 2,036.5 | 2,445.3 | 39.3 | 3,543.5 | 4,137.3 | 4,149.7 | 17.1 | 235.9 | 268.6 | 291.1 | 23.4 |
| Rail | 247.4 | 319.6 | 310.9 | 25.7 | 1,544.1 | 1,549.8 | 1,873.9 | 21.4 | 942.6 | 1,022.5 | 1,261.6 | 33.8 |
| Water | 61.6 | 75.8 | 89.3 | 45.0 | 505.4 | 563.4 | 681.2 | 34.8 | 272.0 | 261.7 | 282.6 | 3.9 |
| Shallow draft | 40.7 | 53.9 | 57.5 | 41.2 | 362.5 | 414.8 | 458.6 | 26.5 | 164.4 | 189.3 | 211.5 | 28.7 |
| Great Lakes | S | 1.5 | 0.8 | S | 33.0 | 38.4 | 38.0 | 15.1 | 12.4 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 11.4 |
| Deep draft | 19.7 | 20.4 | 31.0 | 57.1 | 109.9 | 110.2 | 184.6 | 67.9 | 95.2 | 59.0 | 57.4 | -39.8 |
| Air (includes truck and air) | 139.1 | 229.1 | 265.0 | 90.5 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 19.8 | 4.0 | 6.2 | 5.8 | 45.5 |
| Pipelineb | 89.8 | 113.5 | 149.2 | 66.1 | 483.6 | 618.2 | 685.0 | 41.6 | S | S | S | S |
| Multiple modes, total | 662.6 | 945.9 | 1,079.2 | 67.7 | 225.7 | 216.7 | 216.7 | -4.0 | 191.5 | 204.5 | 225.7 | 17.9 |
| Parcel, U.S. Postal Service or courier | 563.3 | 855.9 | 987.7 | 75.4 | 18.9 | 23.7 | 25.5 | 35.0 | 13.2 | 18.0 | 19.0 | 44.5 |
| Truck and rail | 83.1 | 75.7 | 69.9 | -15.8 | 40.6 | 54.2 | 43 | 5.8 | 37.7 | 55.6 | 45.5 | 20.8 |
| Truck and water | 9.4 | 8.2 | 14.4 | 52.9 | 68.0 | 33.2 | 23.3 | -65.7 | 40.6 | 34.8 | 32.4 | -20.2 |
| Rail and water | 3.6 | 1.8 | 3.3 | -8.4 | 79.2 | 79.3 | 105 | 32.7 | 70.2 | 77.6 | 115.0 | 63.8 |
| Other multiple modes | 3.2 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 18.8 | 18.9 | 26.2 | 19.8 | 4.4 | S | 18.6 | 13.8 | S |
| Other / unknown modes, total | 242.3 | 278.6 | 268.6 | 10.9 | 540.5 | 436.5 | 364.6 | -32.6 | 92.6 | 73.4 | 44.2 | -52.2 |
KEY: S = data are not published because of high sampling variability or other reasons; R = revised.
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. 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.
SOURCES
1993, 1997: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 1997 Commodity Flow Survey: United States (Washington, DC: December 1999), table 1b.
2002: U.S Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2002 Commodity Flow Survey: United States (Washington, DC: December 2004), table 1a.