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

Average Length of Haul, Domestic Freight and Passenger Modes (metric)

(kilometers)

Embedded Dataset Excel:

Dataset Excel:

table_01_38M_042524.xlsx (33.81 KB)

Notes:

Average length of haul for freight is calculated by dividing ton-miles by estimates of tonnage from the various data sources. The calculation of average length of haul for passenger trips varies by mode:  for air carrier it is calculated by dividing revenue passenger-miles by revenue passenger enplanements; for commuter rail and Amtrak it is calculated by dividing passenger-miles by number of passengers.

Eno Transportation Foundation has discontinued some data series years prior to 1990.

Detail may not add to totals due to rounding.

1 kilometer = 0.621371 miles.

Description:

KEY: N = data do not exist; NA = not applicable; R = revised; U = data are not available.

a Amtrak began operations in 1971. Data are reported for fiscal years.

Source:

Freight:

Air carrier:

1991-2001: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Air Freight Summary Data (U.S. Carriers), special tabulation, available at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/rtm91_02.htm as of Aug. 18, 2011.

2002: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, TranStats Database, T-100 Market Data, special tabulation, Mar. 18, 2010.

2003-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Air Cargo Summary Data (All U.S. Carriers), special tabulation, available at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/freight.asp as of Apr. 17, 2024.

Class I rail:

Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), pp. 30, 31, and similar pages in previous editions.

Water:

1960-2021: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce of the United States, Part 5 (New Orleans, LA: Annual Issues), section 1, table 1-4, available at https://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/About/Technical-Centers/WCSC-Waterborne-Commerce-Statistics-Center-2/ as of Apr. 17, 2024.

2022: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2022 Transportation Facts & Information (New Orleans, LA: Annual Issues), Geographic Distribution of U.S. Waterborne Activities in 2022, available at https://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/About/Technical-Centers/WCSC-Waterborne-Commerce-Statistics-Center-2/ as of Apr. 17, 2024.

Oil pipeline:

1960-70: Transportation Policy Associates, Washington, DC, personal communication.

Passenger: 

Air carrier:

1960-99: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, Air Carrier Traffic Statistics, T-100 Segment Data (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), p. 3 and similar pages in previous issues.

2000-23: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Office of Airline Information, TranStats Database, T-100 Market Data and T-100 Segment Data, special tabulation, available at http://www.transtats.bts.gov/Data_Elements.aspx?Data=3 as of Apr. 17, 2024.

Commuter Rail:

1980-95: American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book, Appendix A: Historical Tables (Washington, DC: April 2011), table 3, available at http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Pages/transitstats.aspx as of Aug. 18, 2011.

1996-2001: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table 19 and similar tables in earlier editions as of Nov. 2016.

2002-22: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Transit Database (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), Annual Database Service, available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/ntd-data as of Apr. 17, 2024.

Amtrak:

1970-85: Amtrak, personal communication, Jan. 26, 1999.

1990-2002: Amtrak, Amtrak Annual Report (Washington, DC: 2003), Statistical Appendix.

2003-22: Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), p. 73 and similar pages in previous editions.

Publications: