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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Table 1c. Hazardous Material Shipment Characteristics by Mode of Transportation for the United States: Percentage of Total for 2012 and 2007

Monday, July 13, 2015

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(Estimates are based on data from the 2012 and 2007 Commodity Flow Surveys. Because of rounding, estimates may not be additive)

Mode of transportation Value Tons Ton-miles (1)
2012 2007 2012 2007 2012 2007
All modes 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Single modes 98.7 94.6 98.9 94.6 89.6 86.3
Truck (2) 62.8 57.8 59.4 53.9 31.4 32.2
 For-hire truck 37.3 24.8 34.2 22.2 20.2 19.6
 Private truck 25.5 33.0 25.2 31.7 11.2 12.6
Rail 3.4 4.8 4.3 5.8 27.6 28.5
Water 9.3 4.8 11.0 6.7 17.9 11.5
 Inland water 7.3 3.9 8.8 5.6 9.0 6.9
 Great Lakes 0.0 S 0.0 S 0.0 S
 Deep sea 1.5 0.8 1.7 1.1 6.0 4.3
 Multiple waterways 0.5 X 0.5 X 2.9 X
Air (includes truck and air) 0.2 0.1 Z S 0.1 S
Pipeline (3) 23.0 27.2 24.3 28.2 S S
Multiple modes 1.3 4.9 1.1 5.0 10.4 13.3
Parcel, U.S. Postal Service, or courier 0.4 0.5 Z Z 0.1 Z
Truck and rail 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.5 5.4 3.1
Truck and water S 1.6 S 1.6 S 3.8
Rail and water 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.9
Other multiple modes 0.0 1.9 0.0 2.5 0.0 5.3
Other modes 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.5

KEY: S = Withheld because estimate did not meet publication standards.

X = Not applicable.

Z = Rounds to zero.

(1) Ton-miles estimates are based on estimated distances traveled along a modeled transportation network. See “Mileage Calculations” section for additional information.

(2) “Truck” as a single mode includes shipments that were made by only private truck or only for-hire truck.

(3) Estimates for pipeline exclude shipments of crude petroleum (SCTG 16).

NOTES: Value-of-shipments estimates have not been adjusted for price changes. Appendix B tables provide estimated measures of sampling variability. The Introduction and appendixes give information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, sample design and definitions. Links to this information on the Internet may be found at <www.census.gov/econ/cfs>.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census: Transportation Commodity Flow Survey, December 2014.