Freight Facts and Figures 2008

Figure 3-13. Tonnage on Highways, Railroads, and Inland Waterways: 2002

Although trucks carry most of the tonnage and value of freight, railroads and waterways carry significant volumes over long distances. The biggest rail volume movement is coal between the Powder River Basin and the Midwest, and the largest inland waterways volume movement is along the Lower Mississippi River.

Figure 3-13. U.S. map showing large rail flows from Wyoming to the Midwest, large waterborne flows on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and truck flows throughout the country.

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Sources:

Highways: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Freight Analysis Framework, version 2.2, 2007.

Rail: Based on Surface Transportation Board, Annual Carload Waybill Sample and rail freight flow assignments done by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Inland Waterways: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Annual Vessel Operating Activity and Lock Performance Monitoring System data, as processed for USACE by the Tennessee Valley Authority; and USACE, Institute for Water Resources, Waterborne Foreign Trade Data. Water flow assignments done by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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