Fact #419: April 10, 2006
Freight Ton-Mile Trends by Mode
The U.S. total domestic freight ton-miles in 1980 were 3.4 trillion ton-miles; by 2004, that number had grown to 4.5 trillion ton-miles. The growth occurred in three major modes – air, truck, and railroad. Air freight ton-miles grew to 3.5 times that of 1980 air freight, despite the sharp decline in 2001 and 2002. Truck freight ton-miles grew over 2 times the 1980 level. Water is the only mode that showed a decline in ton-miles since 1980.
Supporting Information
| Mode of Transportation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Air | Truck | Railroad | Water | Pipeline | Total |
| 1980 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 1981 | 105.2 | 100.2 | 99.1 | 100.8 | 95.8 | 99.0 |
| 1982 | 106.2 | 102.7 | 86.9 | 96.2 | 92.9 | 94.0 |
| 1983 | 121.3 | 107.0 | 90.2 | 99.8 | 89.2 | 95.8 |
| 1984 | 134.3 | 112.3 | 96.6 | 96.3 | 92.1 | 98.4 |
| 1985 | 138.6 | 113.8 | 94.0 | 96.9 | 90.3 | 97.6 |
| 1986 | 151.7 | 116.8 | 95.6 | 94.7 | 90.6 | 98.1 |
| 1987 | 179.1 | 123.1 | 102.1 | 97.1 | 92.9 | 102.4 |
| 1988 | 192.8 | 127.2 | 110.1 | 96.5 | 95.9 | 106.0 |
| 1989 | 211.0 | 131.6 | 112.2 | 88.5 | 95.3 | 105.1 |
| 1990 | 215.3 | 135.9 | 114.2 | 90.4 | 95.0 | 106.9 |
| 1991 | 205.8 | 138.9 | 111.8 | 92.0 | 95.2 | 107.3 |
| 1992 | 227.1 | 142.6 | 117.9 | 92.9 | 97.5 | 110.5 |
| 1993 | 238.4 | 148.8 | 121.8 | 85.7 | 98.9 | 111.2 |
| 1994 | 248.6 | 158.4 | 131.0 | 88.4 | 99.4 | 116.4 |
| 1995 | 262.8 | 165.7 | 141.3 | 87.6 | 101.9 | 121.1 |
| 1996 | 284.3 | 170.3 | 147.8 | 83.0 | 104.6 | 123.2 |
| 1997 | 287.2 | 178.0 | 149.3 | 76.7 | 104.5 | 123.4 |
| 1998 | 292.1 | 182.7 | 155.4 | 73.0 | 104.3 | 124.9 |
| 1999 | 299.6 | 188.6 | 161.3 | 71.1 | 103.9 | 127.0 |
| 2000 | 326.7 | 191.3 | 165.9 | 70.1 | 101.0 | 127.8 |
| 2001 | 274.5 | 194.6 | 171.6 | 67.4 | 99.2 | 128.7 |
| 2002 | 285.9 | 199.7 | 172.3 | 66.4 | 101.6 | 130.2 |
| 2003 | 311.9 | 201.0 | 172.1 | 65.8 | 100.3 | 129.9 |
| 2004 | 350.0 | 208.0 | 178.6 | 64.1 | 100.9 | 132.8 |
|
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics: 1990-2003 data from the Journal of Transportation and Statistics, vol 8 no.1, 2005, Scott M Dennis, "Improved Estimates of Ton-Miles," pp 23-44; other data are special tabulations from BTS using the same methodology. | ||||||
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