Freight Transportation System Condition & Performance
System Condition
The freight transportation system is stressed by an ever increasing number of vehicles, vessels, aircraft and other conveyances. As segments of the network approach or exceed capacity, maintenance requirements increase while performance declines.
Condition of U.S. roadways by functional system
Pavement
smoothness is an indicator of the condition of roads and bridge surfaces. The
Federal Highway Administration uses the International Roughness Index to
measure the roughness of pavement. Urban
area interstates, other freeways and expressways, and principal arterials
showed improvement in pavement smoothness over the 2000-2019 period. In rural areas, interstates and major collectors showed an improvement
in the percentage of pavement mileage considered smooth while other principal and minor arterials had increases in
road roughness. In urban areas only minor arterials didn't improve.
U.S. bridges rated in poor condition
More
bridges are located in rural areas, but traffic is heaviest on urban bridges.
The overall condition of bridges has improved over time. Between 2012 and 2020, the total
number of U.S. bridges in poor condition declined by 12,018, a decrease of 21.1 percent. Bridges in poor condition are characterized by the deterioration of bridge
elements and reduced load-bearing capacity.
In some cases, weight restrictions are placed on these bridges, which
may impact freight movement.
Highway tunnels with limiting characteristics for freight transportation
In 2020, there were 523 tunnels in 40 states and the District of Columbia. For
safety and security reasons, restrictions have been placed on the transport of
hazardous materials through 128 tunnels located in 23 states. Massachusetts
has the highest number of tunnels with restrictions on hazardous materials
transport. These restrictions require truck operators to check the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s list of designated and restricted
routes for hazardous materials transport.
More than one-half of all tunnels have height
limitations, with the greatest number located in California. Tunnel height restrictions can affect the
routes taken by commercial vehicle operators, causing them to either take
smaller loads or circuitous routes to deliver their goods.
Class I railroad locomotive fleet by year built
In 2022, the median age of the Class I railroad locomotive
fleet ranged from 18 to 22 years. That year the fleet included 3,158 more
locomotives than it did in 2000—a 15.8 percent increase. Additionally, the fleet includes 116 new
locomotives (manufactured after 2019), which account for about 0.5 percent of
the total. The number of older locomotives (built before 2000) decreased by 9,139
(47.1 percent) between 2000 and 2022 as they were retired.
Automated Track Inspection Program (ATIP) exceptions per 100 miles
The U.S. freight rail system owns and
operates nearly 137,000 rail miles, including 93,058 miles owned by Class I
railroads (defined as having operating revenues of at least $489.9 million in
2018). While U.S. freight rail companies
inspect and maintain their tracks, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
conducts inspections to assess the effectiveness of track maintenance and
inspection and compliance with Federal Track Safety Standards that cover track
alignment, twist and warp, among other items. In 2018, FRA’s Automated Track
Inspection Program identified 5 exceptions to design standards per 100 miles of
inspected track over the total 83,000 miles examined. Since 2010 the total
exceptions per 100 miles inspected decreased by 76.3 percent.
U.S. flag vessels by type and age
U.S. flag vessels include a wide range of shallow draft and oceangoing vessels that are used to move freight and passengers. Shallow draft vessels (barges and towboats) make up the majority of the fleet and operate domestically on intercoastal waterways and river systems. Inland waterways provide an alternative to truck and rail transportation. A single barge can carry an amount equal to 16 railcars or 70 large semi-truck trailers of dry cargo.
The U.S. fleet increased by 3,145 vessels (7.8 percent) between 2009 and 2019. This was
mostly due to an increase in the number of dry barges, liquid barges and towboats. The 30.5 percent increase in
new (10 years old or less) liquid bulk barges was largely driven by The Oil
Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990, which required double hulls by January 1, 2015.
Double hulls provide greater protection to the marine environment from spills
caused by collisions or groundings. Over the decade there was a 75.6 percent decline in
the number of dry cargo vessels.
Lock characteristics and delays on rivers with 10,000 or more lockages
Locks make it easier for vessels to navigate the uneven water
levels of U.S. rivers. Because of increasing traffic and aging locks, vessels
may be delayed for hours while locks are shut down for maintenance and repair.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that the average age of all locks in 2018, was 63 years, with many locks
exceeding that average. Between 2000 and 2020, average delay per lockage almost tripled from 64 to 172 minutes.
Condition of airport runway pavement
Most airport runway pavements at commercial, reliever, and
select general aviation facilities were in good condition in 2020, with 19 percent rated as fair. Only 2 percent of airport runway pavements were rated as
poor.
Gas distribution pipelines by decade installed
Gas distribution pipelines comprise the largest components of
the U.S. pipeline system. In 2020 gas distribution pipeline mileage totaled more than 1.33 million miles.
Approximately 25.4 percent of U.S. gas distribution pipelines were installed before 1970, and 4.3 percent were
installed prior to 1950. Age and degradation of pipeline material increase the
risk of leaks and failures. Most old pipelines are located in the Northeast,
while the newest pipelines are found in North Dakota, where recent oil and gas
development has spurred the installation of new pipeline infrastructure.
System Performance
Travel time and speed are two indicators of transportation system performance. Slower speeds and unreliable travel times caused by congestion, weather, and other factors diminish productivity, increase fuel costs, and reduce operations efficiency.
Average truck speeds on select Interstate Highways
The Federal Highway Administration and its private-sector partners measure truck speeds and travel times in urban and rural areas across the United States. This information, available in the National Performance Management Research Data Set, shows average truck speeds tend to drop below the base free-flow speed of 55 miles per hour (mph) on interstates near major urban areas, border crossings and gateways, and in mountainous terrain.
2023
Average truck speeds on select metropolitan area Interstates
In 2019,
average truck speeds were below 55 mph on 9 of the 25 metropolitan interstates
measured. New York City had the lowest average truck speed (48.6 mph), followed
by Los Angeles (49.8 mph) and San Francisco (51.8 mph). It is important to note that the data
presented here is an average of both urban and rural interstates within a
metropolitan area. Variations in truck speeds on rural versus urban interstates
are evident in geographically large and diverse metropolitan areas, especially
in the South and West, where constituent counties have considerable rural
interstate mileage located near urban and suburban highways. Faster speeds
measured on rural interstates can mask lower speeds recorded on urban
interstates, which tend to be more congested, on average.
Top 10 metropolitan area congestion rankings
The physical capacity of the U.S. transportation system has not kept pace with growth in travel and commerce. The resulting congestion and delays have significant impacts on passengers and freight shippers. Congestion measures on a national scale are reported in the FHWA Urban Congestion Report based on vehicle probe data. The report tracks congestion measures in the 52 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The freeway traffic speeds database used by FHWA provides day-to-day travel time in 5-minute intervals for trucks, passenger vehicles, and all vehicles.
Performance measurements on freight-significant corridors
The
Federal Highway Administration’s Freight Performance Measurement Program
monitors performance on highway corridors that have the heaviest freight
volumes. Highway system reliability is an important indicator for understanding
freight performance and identifying areas in need of operational and capital
improvements. Unexpected delays can increase the cost of transporting goods and
affect delivery schedules. A wide range
of factors affect travel-time reliability, including congestion, incidents,
infrastructure design and capacity, work zones, terrain, and weather. The Buffer Index
(BI), expressed as a percent, measures
how much extra time (or buffer) a driver should allow to account for variations
in system conditions, such as congestion or bad weather, in order to arrive on
time for 95 percent of trips. As the BI value increases, reliability
gets worse.
Top congested freight-significant corridors
Truck speed and travel time reliability data can be used to identify
and quantify major freight chokepoints and bottlenecks along highways that are
critical to the Nation’s freight transportation system. The American Transportation Research Institute
monitors 300 freight-significant highway locations using truck position and
speed data derived from wireless onboard communication systems used by the
trucking industry. Average speeds below 55 miles per hour indicate congestion.
Peak-period congestion on the National Highway System
On weekdays, average speeds during peak periods (between
6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) are typically
lower than those recorded during nonpeak periods. Freight traveling across
urban interstate interchanges is affected to the greatest degree by peak-period
congestion.
Recurring congestion caused by volumes of passenger vehicles
and trucks that exceed capacity on roadways during peak periods is concentrated
primarily in major metropolitan areas. In 2023, on the National Highway System,
87.5 percent (391,007 miles totaled in both directions) of the NHS had low congestion,
10.3 percent (45,958 miles totaled in both directions) had moderate congestion,
and 2 percent (8,749 miles totaled in both directions) had severe congestion.
Peak-period congestion on high-volume truck portions of the National Highway System
Congested highways carrying a large number of trucks
substantially impede interstate commerce, and trucks on those segments
contribute significantly to congestion. On National Highway System segments carrying
more than 8,500 trucks per day, 87 percent (33,299 miles totaled in both
directions) experienced low congestion, 9 percent (3,537 miles totaled in both
directions) experienced moderate congestion, and 4 percent (1,391 miles totaled
in both directions) experienced severe congestion. In 2023, all 38,226 miles,
totaled in both directions, of the high-volume truck portion of the NHS experienced
some type of congestion. This is approximately 9% of the entire NHS network.
Annual Truck Hours of Delay per Mile at Select U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings
Using the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS), the Federal Highway Administration calculates annual truck hours of delay at 25 U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico border crossings. Delays encountered in both directions and the reasons for the delay vary by individual ports of entry at any given time. Delays may be related to traffic volume, processing capacity, other operational issues, types of inspections performed, among other factors.
Of the 25 border crossings in 2019, the Blue Water Bridge in Michigan recorded the greatest number of annual truck hours of delay for both inbound (12,657 truck hours of delay per mile) and outbound traffic (9,469 truck hours of delay per mile), followed by the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge in New York (11,829 truck hours of delay per mile inbound and 6,949 truck hours of delay per mile outbound). The Laredo, TX border crossings recorded the third highest total truck hours of delay per mile at 6,785 hours for inbound traffic, while Otay Mesa, CA logged the third highest total number for outbound traffic.
Recommended citation
U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Freight Facts and Figures (Washington, DC: 2023).
Freight Facts and Figures, developed by the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics, is a collection of charts and statistical
tables about freight transportation in the United States. These
interactive visualizations and tables provide a snapshot of freight
movement; the extent, condition, and performance of the freight
transportation system; the economic implications of freight movement;
and the safety, energy, and environmental impacts of freight
transportation.