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Freight Facts and Figures 2013

Table 3-3. Number of Trucks, Locomotives, Rail Cars, and Vessels: 1990, 2000, and 2008-2011

A vast number of vehicles and vessels move goods over the transportation network.  The number of highway vehicles has remained relatively stable in recent years, while the number of rail cars has continued to decline with improved utilization and the deployment of larger cars.

Table 3-3

Table in Excel format

Blank cell. 1990 2000 2008 2009 2010 2011
Highway (all vehicles)1 NA NA 255,917,664 254,212,610 250,070,048 253,108,389
Truck, single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more NA NA 8,288,046 8,356,097 8,217,189 7,819,055
Truck, combination NA NA 2,585,229 2,617,118 2,552,865 2,451,638
Truck, total NA NA 10,873,275 10,973,215 10,770,054 10,270,693
Trucks as percent of all highway vehicles NA NA 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.1
Rail Blank cell. Blank cell. Blank cell. Blank cell. Blank cell. Blank cell.
Class I, locomotive 18,835 20,028 24,003 24,045 23,893 24,250
Class I, freight cars2 658,902 560,154 450,297 416,180 397,730 380,699
Nonclass I, freight cars2 103,527 132,448 109,487 108,233 101,755 95,972
Car companies and shippers freight cars2 449,832 688,194 833,188 839,020 809,544 806,554
Water 39,445 41,354 40,301 40,109 40,512 40,521
Nonself-propelled vessels3 31,209 33,152 31,238 31,008 31,412 31,498
Self-propelled vessels4 8,236 8,202 9,063 9,101 9,100 9,023

Key: NA= not available.

1 Based on a new methodology, FHWA revised its annual vehicle miles traveled, number of vehicles, and fuel economy data beginning with 2007. Information on the new methodology is available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm. Data in this table should not be compared to those in pre-2011 editions of Freight Facts and Figures.

2 Beginning with 2001 data, Canadian-owned U.S. railroads are excluded. Canadian-owned U.S. railroads accounted for over 46,000 freight cars in 2000.

3 Nonself-propelled vessels include dry-cargo barges, tank barges, and railroad-car floats.

4 Self-propelled vessels include dry cargo, passenger, off-shore support, tankers, and towboats.

Source:

Highway: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: annual issues), table VM-1, available at www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2011/ as of September 11, 2013.

Rail: Locomotive: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: annual issues). Freight cars: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Equipment Report (Washington, DC: annual issues).

Water: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources, Waterborne Transportation Lines of the United States, Volume 1, National Summaries (New Orleans, LA: annual issues), available at www.navigationdatacenter.us/veslchar/veslchar.htm as of September 24, 2013.

 


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