Moving Goods in the United States
Freight Movement
The American economy stretches across a continent with links to the world, drawing on natural resources and manufactured products from many locations to serve markets at home and abroad. More freight is moving greater distances as part of far-flung supply chains among distant trading partners.
In 2018 the U.S. transportation system moved a daily average of about 51.0 million tons of freight valued at more than $51.8 billion.
Weight of shipments by transportation mode
The Freight Analysis Framework estimates tonnage will increase at about 1.2 percent per year between
2018 and 2045.
Value of shipments by transportation mode
The
value of freight is forecast to increase faster than tonnage, rising from $1,016 per ton in 2018 to
$1,455 per ton in 2045, when controlling for inflation. This increase is due to high-value, low
weight commodities growing at a faster rate than low-value, high-weight
commodities. Exports at $1,599 per ton and imports at $2,185
per ton were higher than domestic shipments of $901 per ton in 2018. Exports and imports
accounted for 11.5 percent of the tons and 21.5 percent of the value of freight
shipments in 2018
and are forecast to make up an even greater share of freight moving throughout
the United States, reaching 17.8 percent of the tonnage and 39.4 percent of the
value by 2045.
Total freight moved by distance
The
largest percentage of goods, by weight and value, more relatively short
distances (less than 250 miles).
Approximately 67.1
percent of the weight and 51.8 percent of the value of goods moved less than 250 miles
between origin and destination in 2018. In contrast, about 7.5 percent of the weight
and 16.8 percent of the value of goods moved 1,000 miles or more.
Value of freight by mode and distance
Modal
shares of freight vary by distance.
Trucks carry the largest shares by value, tons, and ton-miles for
shipments moved less than 1,000
miles, while rail is the dominant mode by tons and ton-miles for
shipments moved 1,000 to
2,000 miles. Air, multiple modes
and mail, and other unknown modes accounted for 50.9 percent of the value of shipments moved more
than 2,000 miles.
Weight of freight by mode and distance
Ton-miles of freight by mode and distance
Commodities
Top commodities by weight and value
The
top 10 commodities by weight accounted for 68.0 percent of total tonnage, but only 26.2 percent of the value of
goods moved in 2018. In contrast, the top 10 commodities by value
accounted for 36.2 percent
of total tonnage, but 57.9
percent of total value of goods moved that year. The leading commodities
by weight are bulk goods, including
natural gas, coke, and asphalt; gravel; gasoline, kerosene, and ethanol; cereal
grains; and crude petroleum. The leading
commodities by value are high value-per-ton goods, such as electronics;
motorized and other vehicles; mixed freight (principally food); gasoline,
kerosene, and ethanol; and machinery.
Top commodities moved by mode
Trucks
are involved in the supply chain of all top 10 commodities by tonnage and
value. Trucks carry all types of goods,
ranging from high-value commodities, such as mixed freight and electronics, to
bulk commodities, such as gravel, grains, and gasoline. Mixed freight includes grocery and
convenience store goods, office supplies, and hardware and plumbing items. In comparison, rail and water modes primarily
move bulk products, while air (including truck-air-transport) moves high-value
items, such as electronics and pharmaceuticals.
However, trucks moved more high-value, time-sensitive commodities than
any other mode in 2018.
U.S. crude oil production by state
Four
states are responsible for two thirds of domestic oil production.
Texas was the largest oil producing state at 1.85 billion barrels in
2020, accounting for 44.7 percent of total U.S. oil production, while North Dakota was a distance second
at 431.0 million
barrels (10.4 percent), followed by New Mexico’s 379.1 million barrels (9.2 percent) and Oklahoma’s 171.7 million barrels (4.1 percent).
Shipments of U.S. crude oil moved by pipeline, tanker and barge, and rail
Regional
oil shipments by rail increased, on average, from less than 1 percent of all
regional shipments in 2010 to over 7 percent in 2020, after peaking at 25.8
percent in 2014. Oil production in the Bakken formation, located in North
Dakota, accounted for the majority of new rail shipments, while tankers and
barges continued to move crude oil on U.S. inland waterways from port to port
along the coast and on the Great Lakes.
Establishment of Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts
During World War II, the United States was divided into five districts to organize the rationing of gasoline and other petroleum products. Today those same regions, called Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs), are used to analyze patterns of crude oil and petroleum product movements throughout the U.S.
Hazardous materials shipments by transportation mode
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Commodity Flow Survey indicates that 3 billion tons of hazardous materials valued at $1.7 trillion was shipped in the U.S. in 2017, generating a total of 382.5 billion ton-miles. Trucks moved 61.1 percent of the tonnage and 64.9 percent of the value of these shipments. The average shipment by truck was 63 miles compared to an average of 640 miles by rail.
Hazardous materials shipments by hazard class
Flammable liquids are the predominant hazardous materials transported in the United States, accounting for 81.8 percent by value, 83.1 percent by weight, and 70.5 percent of the ton-miles of all hazardous material shipments in 2017. Flammable liquid shipments traveled 100 miles on average.
Shipments by State
Percent of shipments within a state
Eight
states shipped 50 percent or more of their goods (by value) within their own
orders. States with the highest shares
of in-state shipments tended to be either relatively large or geographically
isolated from other states. Hawaii had
the highest share of intrastate shipments by value (92.5 percent), followed by Texas (70.9 percent), and
Florida (67.4 percent). Trucks accounted for 79.7 percent of intrastate shipments. Only three states shipped less than half of
their total intrastate value by truck: Wyoming (44.4 percent), Alaska (41.1
percent), and Louisiana (38.6 percent). These states have substantial bulk
movements of energy commodities.
Ratio of outbound to inbound domestic shipments by value
An
interconnected freight transportation network contributes to state economic
growth by supporting resource development and expanding interstate
commerce. A ratio of outbound to inbound
shipments greater than 1.0 indicates that a state ships more goods to markets
in other states than it receives from other states, whereas a ratio less than
1.0 indicates that a state imports more goods from other states than it
exports. In terms of value, North Dakota and Alaska have the
highest ratios of 2.2 and 1.8, respectively, indicating that the value of their
goods exported to other states is double the value of the goods they received
from other states. Although North Dakota has a relatively small
population, it is a major oil producer.
According to the Freight Analysis Framework, pipeline and rail were the
primary modes for moving oil out of North Dakota. Two other states that exported more to other states than
they imported were Connecticut and California.
The top outbound domestic shipment from Connecticut was mixed freight
(e.g., groceries and convenience store goods, food for restaurants, office
supplies, and hardware and plumbing items). Electronics was the top outbound
commodity from California, due in part to technology manufacturing in Silicon
Valley. Hawaii had the lowest ratio of
interstate outbound-to-inbound shipments by value at 0.18 because of its
distance location from the mainland and its resource dependency. Florida, Arizona, and New Hampshire also
exported far less to other states than they imported, partly due to
demographics and other factors.
Ratio of outbound to inbound domestic shipments by weight
The
top five net interstate exporters by weight are major producers of energy
commodities: Alaska, Wyoming, North
Dakota, Montana, and New Mexico. Net
domestic exporters are states that ship more freight to other states than they
receive from other states. According to
the Energy Information Administration, Wyoming is the largest U.S. coal
producer, while Montana is
the sixth largest coal producer. For domestic markets, rail and barge
are used to transport coal over long distances, primarily to power plants. New Mexico is ranked in the top 10 for both oil and gas production.
Recommended citation
U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Freight Facts and Figures (Washington, DC: 2019).
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.