5-6 Weight of U.S. International Merchandise Trade by Mode of Transportation: 2006
5-6 Weight of U.S. International Merchandise Trade by Mode of Transportation: 2006
(Thousands of short tons)
| Exports | Modal % | Imports | Modal % | Total trade | Total modal % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 579,851 | 100.0 | 1,392,726 | 100.0 | 1,972,577 | 100.0 |
| Water a | 420,090 | 72.4 | 1,102,999 | 79.1 | 1,523,089 | 77.1 |
| Air | 3,359 | 0.6 | 4,495 | 0.3 | 7,854 | 0.4 |
| Truckb | 91,462 | 15.8 | 100,042 | 7.2 | 191,504 | 9.7 |
| Railb | 54,960 | 9.5 | 95,144 | 6.8 | 150,104 | 7.6 |
| Pipelineb | 5,484 | 0.9 | 89,428 | 6.4 | 94,912 | 4.8 |
| Other, unknown, & miscellaneousb | 4,497 | 0.8 | 617 | 0.0 | 5,114 | 0.3 |
a The weight data for water transportation vary from those officially reported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, because the data in this table exclude intransit shipments (merchandise shipped from one foreign country to another via a U.S. port but not part of U.S. official merchandise trade). BTS uses U.S. Census Bureau trade-based data to allow for a complete modal comparison among the different freight transportation modes.
b BTS estimates the weight of exports for truck, rail, pipeline, and other and unknown based on value-to-weight ratios from the import data by country, mode of transportation, and two-digit HS commodity code. This is necessary because weights for exports by surface modes are not currently collected.
Notes: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.
Excludes intransit data (merchandise shipped from one foreign country to another via a U.S. port).
Imports-Excludes imports valued at less than $1,250. Import value is based on U.S. general imports, customs value basis.
Exports-Excludes exports valued at less than $2,500. Export value is FAS (free alongside ship) and represents the value of exports at the port of export, including the transaction price and inland freight, insurance, and other charges.
Sources: Compiled by U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), October 2007. Water and air data-U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, FT920 U.S. Merchandise Trade: Selected Highlights, December 2006. Total, truck, rail, pipeline, other and unknown data-USDOT, RITA, BTS, TransBorder Freight Data 2006; and special calculation, October 2007.