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

A vast number of vehicles and vessels move goods over the transportation network. The number of commercial trucks climbed 41 percent between 1980 and 2004, but their share of the total highway vehicle fleet remained constant. The character of the commercial truck fleet itself also remained stable, with the number of combination trucks and single-unit trucks both growing by about 40 percent over this period. In comparison, the number of rail freight cars has declined since 1980 as newer cars typically have greater capacity than older ones.

Table in Excel format | Historical data

	1980	1990	2000	2004
Highway	161,490,159	193,057,376	225,821,241	243,023,486
Truck, single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more	4,373,784	4,486,981	5,926,030	6,161,028
Truck, combination	1,416,869	1,708,895	2,096,619	2,010,335
Truck, total	5,790,653	6,195,876	8,022,649	8,171,363
Trucks as percent of all highway vehicles	3.6	3.2	3.6	3.4
Rail
Class I, locomotive	28,094	18,835	20,028	20,015
Class I, freight cars1	1,168,114	658,902	560,154	473,773
Nonclass I freight cars1	102,161	103,527	132,448	120,169
Car companies and shippers freight cars1	440,552	449,832	688,194	693,978
Water	38,788	39,445	41,354	40,290
Nonself-propelled vessels2	31,662	31,209	33,152	31,296
Self-propelled vessels3	7,126	8,236	8,202	8,994
Oceangoing steam and motor ships4	864	636	454	412
US Flag fleet as percent of world fleet4	3.5	2.7	1.6	1.4

¹Beginning with 2001 data, Canadian-owned U.S. railroads are excluded. This accounts for about 47,000 cars in 2000.
²Nonself-propelled vessels include dry-cargo barges, tank barges, and railroad-car floats.
³Self-propelled vessels include dry cargo, passenger, off-shore support, tankers, and towboats.
⁴1,000 gross tons and over.

Sources: Highway: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues).
Rail: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts 2005 (Washington, DC: 2005).
Water: Nonself-propelled vessels and self-propelled vessels: U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Transportation Lines of the United States, Volume 1, National Summaries (New Orleans, LA : Annual issues). Oceangoing steam motor ships: U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Merchant Fleets of the World (Washington, DC: Annual issues).