Office of Operations Freight Management and Operations

Freight Facts and Figures 2013

Tables 2-6 and 2-6M. Hazardous Materials Shipments by Hazard Class: 2007

Flammable liquids, especially gasoline, are the predominant hazardous materials transported in the United States.  In terms of ton-miles, flammable liquids account for about 56 percent of hazardous materials shipments.  The next largest class of hazardous materials, in terms of ton-miles, is gases at about 17 percent.

Table 2-6 (standard units)

Table in Excel format

Hazard Class Description Value
Tons Ton miles1 Miles
$ Billions Percent Millions Percent Billions Percent Average distance per shipment
Class 1 Explosives 12 0.8 3 0.1 <1 <0.1 738
Class 2 Gases 132 9.1 251 11.2 55 17.1 51
Class 3 Flammable liquids 1,170 80.8 1,753 78.6 182 56.1 91
Class 4 Flammable solids 4 0.3 20 0.9 6 1.7 309
Class 5 Oxidizers and organic peroxides 7 0.5 15 0.7 7 2.2 361
Class 6 Toxics (poison) 21 1.5 11 0.5 6 1.8 467
Class 7 Radioactive materials 21 1.4 <1 <0.1 <1 <0.1 S
Class 8 Corrosive materials 51 3.6 114 5.1 44 13.7 208
Class 9 Miscellaneous dangerous goods 30 2.1 63 2.8 23 7.1 484
Total Empty cell. 1,448 100.0 2,231 100.0 323 100.0 96

Key:  S = data are not published because of high sampling variability or other reasons

1Ton-miles estimates are based on estimated distances traveled along a modeled transportation network.

Note:

Numbers and percents may not add to totals due to rounding.

Source:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2007 Commodity Flow Survey, Hazardous Materials (Washington, DC: July 2010), table 1a, available at www.bts.gov/publications/commodity_flow_survey/ as of September 30, 2013.

 

Table 2-6M (metric units)

Table in Excel format

Hazard Class Description Value
Metric tonnes Tonne kilometers1 Kilometers
$ Billions Percent Millions Percent Billions Percent Average distance per shipment
Class 1 Explosives 12 0.8 3 0.1 <1 <0.1 813
Class 2 Gases 132 9.1 206 11.2 118 17.1 56
Class 3 Flammable liquids 1,170 80.8 1,443 78.6 387 56.3 100
Class 4 Flammable solids 4 0.3 17 0.9 12 1.7 341
Class 5 Oxidizers and organic peroxides 7 0.5 12 0.7 15 2.2 398
Class 6 Toxics (poison) 21 1.5 9 0.5 12 1.8 515
Class 7 Radioactive materials 21 1.4 <1 <0.1 <1 <0.1 S
Class 8 Corrosive materials 51 3.6 94 5.1 95 13.8 229
Class 9 Miscellaneous dangerous goods 30 2.1 52 2.8 49 7.1 534
Total Empty cell. 1,448 100.0 1,836 100.0 688 100.0 106

Key:  S = data are not published because of high sampling variability or other reasons

1Tonne-kilometer estimates are based on estimated distances traveled along a modeled transportation network.

Notes:

1 metric tonne = 1.1023 short tons; 1 tonne kilometer = 0.6849 ton miles. Numbers and percents may not add to totals due to rounding.

Source:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2007 Commodity Flow Survey, Hazardous Materials (Washington, DC: July 2010), table 1a, available at www.bts.gov/publications/commodity_flow_survey/ as of September 30, 2013.

 


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