The Department of Transportation has released a new version of the Freight Analysis Framework, a comprehensive data set on freight movement. The Freight Analysis Framework includes data on the amount and types of goods moved by land, sea and air between large metropolitan areas, states and regions. The map below shows the tons of freight moved by highway (red), rail (brown), and water (blue), with the thickness of the lines corresponding to the amount of freight moved. The rail network moves significant tonnage in the Midwest, while the lower Mississippi River carries the most freight tonnage over the water. Freight tonnage moved by highway is the heaviest in the Eastern third of the United States. The Freight Analysis Framework data set is available for download.
Tonnage on Highways, Railroads, and Inland Waterways: 2007
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Sources: Highways: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Freight Analysis Framework, Version 3.1, 2010. Rail: Based on Surface Transportation Board, Annual Carload Waybill Sample and rail freight flow assignments done by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Inland Waterways: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Annual Vessel Operating Activity and Lock Performance Monitoring System data, as processed by USACE by the Tennessee Valley Authority; and USACE, Institute for Water Resources, Waterborne Foreign Trade Data, Water flow assignments done by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Source: Federal Highway Administration, Freight Management and Operations
Supporting Information
The Freight Analysis Framework Data, can be located on the Federal Highway Administration web site.