Freight transportation spans local truck movements, pipelines, rail, water, air cargo and multimodal networks. In the United States, the system moved an estimated 20.1 billion tons worth about $18.7 trillion in 2023, while global maritime trade reached 12.3 billion metric tons.
Key Freight Transportation Statistics
The following highlights cover the most useful measures across U.S. domestic freight, global shipping and air cargo:
- In 2023, the United States moved an estimated 20.1 billion tons of freight worth about $18.7 trillion.
- In 2023, trucking moved an estimated 13.0 billion tons in the United States.
- In 2023, truck freight represented an estimated 64.5% of U.S. freight weight.
- In 2023, truck freight represented an estimated 72.5% of U.S. freight value.
- In 2023, pipeline freight totaled about 4.0 billion tons in the United States.
- In the 2023 FMCSA domestic-freight chart, trucking accounted for 67.2% of freight weight.
- In the same 2023 chart, rail accounted for 6.2% of U.S. domestic freight weight.
- FAF forecasts project U.S. freight tonnage to rise 50% from 2020 to 28.7 billion tons by 2050.
- FAF forecasts project U.S. freight value to double from 2020 to $36.2 trillion by 2050 in 2017 dollars.
- In 2023, global maritime trade grew 2.4% to 12.3 billion metric tons.
- In the 2023 report context, more than 80% of world trade volume was carried by sea.
- In 2023, global container trade increased only 0.3%.
- In the second half of 2023, container ships made almost 250,000 global port calls.
- By mid-2024, vessel tonnage crossing the Gulf of Aden was down 76% against UNCTAD’s stated comparison baseline.
- In 2023, U.S. airlines recorded 80,268.683 million cargo revenue ton-miles.
- From 2022 to 2023, U.S. airline cargo revenue ton-miles fell 5.69%.
- In 2023, transportation services contributed $1.8 trillion, or 6.5% of enhanced U.S. GDP.
- In August 2024, the five largest West Coast container ports covered roughly 95% of inbound West Coast container volume after the FLOW expansion.
Contents
- Key Freight Transportation Statistics
- U.S. Freight Transportation Scale, Weight and Value
- Freight Transportation Modes and Recent Trends
- Freight Transportation Forecasts and Network Demand
- Maritime Freight Transportation Statistics and Chokepoints
- Air Cargo Freight Transportation Statistics
- Freight Transportation’s Economic Contribution and Capacity
U.S. Freight Transportation Scale, Weight and Value
The Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2024 estimates the size of the national freight system through the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF). Its 2023 estimate combines freight weight and value, but value in this framework is not the same as freight rates, carrier revenue or transportation spending.
| 2023 U.S. measure | Estimate | Definition or scope |
|---|---|---|
| All freight | 20.1 billion tons; about $18.7 trillion | National FAF freight flow estimate |
| Trucking | 13.0 billion tons; more than $13.6 trillion | FAF truck mode |
| Truck share | 64.5% of weight; 72.5% of value | Share of FAF totals |
| Pipeline | About 4.0 billion tons; about 20% of weight | Pipeline-heavy energy commodities |
Source: Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2024.
The report’s truck figures show why trucking dominates many domestic supply-chain discussions: it carried more than $13.6 trillion of freight value in 2023. That value is a freight-flow measure, not a measure of what carriers earned.
Pipeline movements were much more concentrated by commodity, with energy freight driving the roughly 4.0-billion-ton total. Air freight and truck combined accounted for 7 million tons in 2023, and the combined category was also 7 million tons in the report’s 2019-to-2023 comparison.
The BTS comparison also cautions that FAF mode totals do not always match other published sources. Rail and water totals can be lower because multimode movements are handled separately, and FAF version updates affect historical comparability.
Freight Transportation Modes and Recent Trends
The FMCSA Pocket Guide’s 2023 chart presents a domestic-freight view with a different mode-share framing. It excludes through-traffic from foreign origin to foreign destination, assigns multimode shipments to “Multiple Modes and Mail,” and notes that air is about 0.01% and excluded from the chart.
| Mode or category | Share of 2023 U.S. domestic freight weight |
|---|---|
| Truck | 67.2% |
| Pipeline | 19.5% |
| Rail | 6.2% |
| Water | 3.6% |
| Multiple Modes and Mail | 2.9% |
| Other and Unknown | 0.4% |
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics 2024.
These percentages should not be treated as interchangeable with the BTS shares above because the chart scope and classification rules differ. In particular, multimode treatment prevents double counting when a shipment uses more than one transportation mode.
The 2019-to-2023 BTS comparison records several changes in estimated freight flows:
- Pipeline freight increased by 117 million tons between 2019 and 2023 in the United States.
- Pipeline freight value increased by $38 billion between 2019 and 2023 in constant 2017 dollars.
- Multiple Modes and Mail freight weight declined by 9 million tons between 2019 and 2023.
- Trucking freight volume was approximately 8.1 times rail freight volume in 2023, using the TSAR’s FAF-based mode definitions.
Source: Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2024.
The 8.1-to-1 comparison is a reported derived ratio, not a count of truck or rail trips. FAF revisions, commodity-price effects and rounding matter when comparing the 2019 and 2023 estimates.
Freight Transportation Forecasts and Network Demand
FAF distinguishes observed or estimated historical activity from scenario-based forecasts. The 2021 BTS/FHWA FAF5 release projected a 50% increase in U.S. freight tonnage from 2020 to 28.7 billion tons by 2050 and a doubling of freight value to $36.2 trillion in 2017 dollars.
| FAF outlook | 2020 baseline | 2050 projection |
|---|---|---|
| Freight tonnage | Baseline year | 28.7 billion tons; 50% increase |
| Freight value | Baseline year | $36.2 trillion in 2017 dollars; double |
| Economic scenarios | — | Three scenarios through 2050 |
Source: Freight Activity in the U.S Expected to Grow Fifty Percent by 2050.
The same baseline description said trucks carried 65% of U.S. freight tonnage, but that earlier FAF5 release uses a different vintage and definition from the 2023 FMCSA chart. The three economic-growth scenarios are alternative assumptions, not probabilities or guaranteed outcomes.
The updated FAF 5.7.1 release separates its coverage into several time windows:
- Annual estimates cover 2018 through 2023 for U.S. FAF regions.
- Preliminary annual estimates cover 2024 and can be revised as inputs improve.
- Forecast estimates cover 2030 through 2050 and represent future scenarios rather than observed traffic.
- State-level historical trend estimates cover 1997 through 2012 as a distinct series.
Source: Freight Analysis Framework 8/15/25 Updated.
FAF estimates combine Commodity Flow Survey, trade and administrative inputs. Version changes can make historical comparisons non-comparable, so a forecast should not be presented as a measured freight outcome.
Maritime Freight Transportation Statistics and Chokepoints
UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2024 measures global maritime activity in metric tons and generally uses nautical miles. The report covers January 2023 through July 2024 where possible and distinguishes observed 2023 results from projections made amid geopolitical and climate disruptions.
| Global maritime measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Maritime trade | 2023 | 12.3 billion metric tons; up 2.4% |
| World trade volume carried by sea | 2023 report context | More than 80% |
| Container trade | 2023 | Up 0.3% |
| Container trade projection | 2024 | Up 3.5% |
| Maritime trade projection | 2024 | Up 2% |
| Average maritime-trade projection | 2024–2029 | 2.4% annually |
Source: Review of Maritime Transport 2024.
Container shipping was a relatively slow-growing part of the 2023 picture, with a projected rebound for 2024 conditional on supply-chain stabilization. Asia handled 63% of global container trade in the report context, a regional handling share rather than a share of all maritime tonnage.
Container ships made almost 250,000 port calls worldwide in the second half of 2023. That is a port-call measure, not a count of unique ships, and the report notes rounding in its tables.
Distance changes also affected network demand: global maritime ton-miles increased 4.2% as route distances lengthened. Ton-miles combine cargo mass and distance, so they are not equivalent to tons moved.
By mid-2024, vessel tonnage crossing the Gulf of Aden was down 76%, while tonnage transiting the Suez Canal was down 70% against UNCTAD’s stated comparison baseline. Those are disruption-period flow changes, not annual totals.
Air Cargo Freight Transportation Statistics
BTS TranStats reports air cargo using revenue ton-miles: one ton of revenue cargo carried one mile. The series includes freight and mail carried by U.S. airlines, and the regional and international columns follow BTS T100 reporting categories.
| U.S. airline cargo measure | Period | Revenue ton-miles |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 2023 | 80,268.683 million |
| Domestic | 2023 | 17,611.920 million |
| Atlantic | 2023 | 8,275.632 million |
| Latin America | 2023 | 1,421.568 million |
| Pacific | 2023 | 12,060.204 million |
| International grouping | 2023 | 40,899.359 million |
| Total | January–June 2026 | 39,586.371 million; down 1.72% year over year |
Source: BTS TranStats Air Cargo Summary Data.
U.S. airline cargo revenue ton-miles fell 5.69% from 2022 to 2023. The January–June 2026 figure is a partial-year total and may be revised, so it should not be compared with a full-year total without preserving the period distinction.
The international grouping and named regional columns should be read as BTS table categories rather than recombined into an independently calculated total. In particular, the supplied definitions note that the regional and international reporting categories may overlap conceptually.
Freight Transportation’s Economic Contribution and Capacity
BTS Transportation Satellite Accounts put transportation activity into an enhanced-GDP framework that adds household transportation to conventional GDP. These figures therefore describe a broader satellite-account measure and should not be compared directly with conventional transportation-industry GDP shares.
| Transportation contribution | 2023 amount | Share of enhanced GDP |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation services | $1.8 trillion | 6.5% |
| For-hire transportation | $935.5 billion | 3.3% |
| In-house transportation | $392.6 billion | 1.4% |
| Household transportation | $498.3 billion | 1.8% |
| For-hire air, rail, truck and water | — | 1.7% |
Source: Transportation Services Contributed 6.5% to U.S. GDP in 2023.
Transportation’s enhanced-GDP contribution rose from $1,755.4 billion in 2022 to $1,826.5 billion in 2023. Its enhanced-GDP share was 6.6% in 2022, 6.3% in 2019 and 6.5% in 2023; the share fell from 2022 because GDP grew faster.
For-hire transportation covers services sold to external customers, while in-house transportation covers activities performed by other industries for their own purposes. Household transportation includes personal motor-vehicle transportation, which is why the all-transportation figure is broader than freight services alone.
Capacity coordination provides another view of the U.S. freight system. In August 2024, the Department of Transportation’s FLOW initiative had more than 80 members, including eight of the largest U.S. container ports, nine of the largest ocean carriers and nine of the 20 largest import retailers.
After its 2024 expansion, the five largest West Coast container ports covered roughly 95% of inbound West Coast container volume. That estimate describes FLOW membership coverage, not total U.S. container traffic.
Source: Biden-Harris Administration Expands FLOW Initiative to Largest West Coast Container Ports.