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Freight Facts and Figures 2004 [PDF 31.3mb]

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Selected maps are available in PDF on the National Freight Transportation Statistics and Maps page.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The Nation Served by Freight [PDF 1.3mb]

Table 1-1: Economic and Social Characteristics of the United States

Table 1-2: Population and Gross State Product (GSP) by Region

Figure 1-1: Economic and Population Projections: 2002 to 2012

Chapter II. Freight Flows [PDF 8.1mb]

Table 2-1: Freight Shipments by Weight and Value

Figure 2-1: Highway Vehicle-Miles Traveled: 1980 to 2002

Figure 2-2: Highway Vehicle-Miles Traveled by Vehicle Type: 2002

Figure 2-3: Estimated Average Daily Truck Traffic: 1998

Figure 2-4: Estimated Average Daily Truck Traffic: 2020

Figure 2-5: U.S. International Merchandise Trade by Mode of Transportation: 2001

Figure 2-6: Top 25 U.S. Foreign Trade Freight Gateways by Value: 2003

Figure 2-7: Top 25 Water Ports by Weight: 2002

Figure 2-8: Top U.S. Container Ports by Containerized Cargo: 2003

Table 2-2: U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada and Mexico by Mode

Table 2-3: U.S. Land Exports to and Imports from Canada and Mexico by Mode

Table 2-4: Incoming Truck Container Crossings by State, U.S.-Canadian Border

Table 2-5: Incoming Truck Container Crossings by State, U.S.-Mexican Border

Table 2-6: Incoming Rail Container Crossings by State, U.S.-Canadian Border

Table 2-7: Incoming Rail Container Crossings by State, U.S.-Mexican Border

Table 2-8: Top 25 Airports by Landed Weight of All-Cargo Operations

Table 2-9: U.S. Hazardous Materials Shipments by Transportation Mode: 1997

Table 2-10: U.S. Hazardous Materials Shipments by Hazard Class: 1997

Table 2-11: Percent Share of Total Domestic Freight Activity by Mode: 1996

Chapter III. The Freight Transportation System [PDF 5.2mb]

Table 3-1: Miles of Infrastructure by Mode

Table 3-2: Number of U.S. Vehicles, Vessels, and Other Conveyances

Table 3-3: Truck Miles by Primary Load Carried

Table 3-4: Number and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) of Trucks by Average Weight

Table 3-5: Commercial Vehicle Weight Enforcement Activities

Table 3-6: Semitrailer Length Limitations on National Truck Network by State

Table 3-7: Maximum Posted Speed Limits on Rural Interstates

Figure 3-1: Permitted Longer Combination Vehicles by State and Truck Configuration

Figure 3-2: National Highway System Estimated Peak Period Congestion: 1998

Figure 3-3: National Highway System Estimated Peak Period Congestion: 2020

Chapter IV. The Freight Transportation Industry [PDF 2.0mb]

Table 4-1: Economic Characteristics of Transportation and Warehousing in Freight Dominated Modes

Table 4-2: Economic Characteristics of Freight Railroads: 2002

Figure 4-1: Value Added by Freight Transportation to GDP by Mode

Figure 4-2: Productivity in Selected Transportation Industries: 1987-2002

Table 4-3: Employment in For-Hire Transportation Primarily Serving Freight

Table 4-4: Employment in Selected Freight Transportation and Freight-Transportation Related Occupations

Chapter V. Safety, Energy, and Environmental Consequences of Freight Transportation [PDF 3.5mb]

Table 5-1: Transportation Fatalities by Freight Transportation Mode

Table 5-2: Injured Persons by Freight Transportation Mode

Table 5-3: Transportation Accidents by Freight Transportation Mode

Table 5-4: Hazardous Materials Transportation Incidents

Table 5-5: Commercial Motor Carrier Compliance Review Activity by Safety Rating

Table 5-6: Roadside Safety Inspection Activity Summary by Inspection Type

Table 5-7: Fuel Consumption by Transportation Mode

Figure 5-1: Energy Consumption by Freight Transportation Mode: 2002

Table 5-8: Single-Unit 2-Axle 6-Tire or More Truck Fuel Consumption and Travel

Table 5-9: Combination Truck Fuel Consumption and Travel

Figure 5-2: Monthly Diesel Prices

Table 5-10: Estimated National Average Vehicle Emissions Rates of Heavy-duty Vehicles

Appendix A: Selected Metric Tables [PDF 4.3mb]

Table 2-1M: Freight Shipments by Weight and Value

Table 2-2M: U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada and Mexico

Table 2-8M: Top 25 Airports by Landed Weight of All-Cargo Operations

Table 2-9M: U.S. Hazardous Materials Shipments by Transportation Mode: 1997

Table 2-10M: U.S. Hazardous Materials Shipments by Hazard Class: 1997

Figure 2-5M: U.S. International Merchandise Trade by Mode of Transportation: 2001

Table 3-1M: Kilometers of Infrastructure by Mode

Table 3-3M: Truck Kilometers by Primary Load Carried

Table 3-4M: Number and Vehicle Kilometers Traveled (VKT) of Trucks by Average Weight

Table 5-7M: Fuel Consumption by Transportation Mode

Table 5-8M: Single-Unit 2-Axle 6-Tire or More Truck Fuel Consumption and Travel

Table 5-9M: Combination Truck Fuel Consumption and Travel

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