Tables 2-4 and 2-4M. Hazardous Materials Shipments by Transportation Mode: 2002

Trucks move more than one-half of all hazardous materials shipped from within the United States. However, truck ton-miles of hazardous shipments account for a much smaller share, about one-third of all ton-miles, because such shipments travel relatively short distances. By contrast, rail accounts for only 5 percent of shipments by weight but 22 percent of ton-miles.

Table 2-4 (standard units)
Table in Excel format | Historical data

Transportation mode	Value $Billion	Value Percent	Tons Millions	Tons Percent	Ton-miles Billions	Ton-miles Percent	Average miles per shipment
All modes, total	660.2	100.0	2,191.5	100.0	326.7	100.0	136
Single modes, total	644.5	97.6	2,158.5	98.5	311.9	95.5	105
Truck¹	419.6	63.6	1,159.5	52.9	110.2	33.7	86
Truck¹ For-hire	189.8	28.8	449.5	20.5	65.1	19.9	285
Truck¹ Private²	226.7	34.3	702.2	32.0	44.1	13.5	38
Rail	31.3	4.7	109.4	5.0	72.1	22.1	695
Water	46.9	7.1	228.2	10.4	70.6	21.6	S
Air	1.6	0.2	0.1	0.003	0.1	0.03	2,080
Pipeline³	145.0	22.0	661.4	30.2	S	S	S
Multiple modes, total	9.6	1.5	18.7	0.9	12.5	3.8	849
Parcel, U.S. Postal Service or Courier	4.3	0.6	0.2	0.01	0.1	0.04	837
Other	5.4	0.8	18.5	0.8	12.4	3.8	1,371
Unknown and other modes, total	6.1	0.9	14.2	0.6	2.3	0.7	57

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

¹Truck as a single mode includes shipments that went by private truck only, for-hire truck only, or a combination of both.
²Private truck refers to a truck operated by a temporary or permanent employee of an establishment or the buyer/receiver of the shipment.
³Excludes most shipments of crude oil.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Transportation, 2002 Commodity Flow Survey, Hazardous Materials (Washington, DC: December 2004), table 1a.

Table 2-4M (metric units - million metric tonnes and billion tonnes kilometers)
Table in Excel format | Historical data

Transportation mode	Value $Billion	Value Percent	Metric Tonnes Millions	Metric Tonnes Percent	Tonne-kilometers Billions	Tonne-kilometers Percent	Average kilometers per shipment
TOTAL all modes	660.2	100.0	1,988.1	100.0	477.0	100.0	219
Single modes, total	644.5	97.6	1,958.2	98.5	455.4	95.5	169
Truck¹	419.6	63.6	1,051.9	52.9	160.8	33.7	138
Truck¹ For-hire	189.8	28.8	407.8	20.5	95.1	19.9	459
Truck¹ Private²	226.7	34.3	637.0	32.0	64.4	13.5	61
Rail	31.3	4.7	99.2	5.0	105.2	22.1	1,118
Water	46.9	7.1	207.0	10.4	103.1	21.6	S
Air	1.6	0.2	0.1	Z	0.1	Z	3,347
Pipeline³	145.0	22.0	600.0	30.2	S	S	S
Multiple modes, total	9.6	1.5	17.0	0.9	18.2	3.8	1,366
Parcel, U.S. Postal Service or courier	4.3	0.6	0.2	Z	0.2	Z	1,347
Other	5.4	0.8	16.8	0.8	18.1	3.8	2,206
Unknown and other modes, total	6.1	0.9	12.9	0.6	3.4	0.7	92

Key: S = data are not published because of high sampling variability or other reasons; Z = zero or less than 1 unit of measure.

Note: 1 ton = 0.91 metric tonne; 1 ton-mile = 1.46 tonne-kilometer.

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