USA Banner

Official US Government Icon

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Site Icon

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

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

Table 17. Shipment Characteristics of Temperature Controlled Shipments (1) by Total Modal Activity for the United States: 2012

Monday, July 13, 2015

Excel | CSV

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

Mode of transportation (2) Ton-miles (3) Average miles per shipment
2012 Percent of total
(million dollars)
Total 213,293 100 201
Truck (4) 170,917 80.1 119
Rail 35,438 16.6 779
Inland water 3,040 1.4 328
Great Lakes S S 757
Deep sea 2,037 1 1,057
Air (includes truck and air) S S 1,349
Pipeline (5) S S S
Parcel, U.S. Postal Service, or courier 286 0.1 682
Other modes 0 0 0

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

(1) Shipments that are temperature controlled are transported in a vehicle or container that regulates or maintains the temperature when en route to its destination.

(2) Estimates represent activity for a given mode across single and multiple mode shipments. For example, “Truck” ton-miles includes total ton-miles for shipments moving only by truck plus ton-miles for truck segments of multiple mode shipments.

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

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

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

NOTES: 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.