Final estimates from the 2012 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau, show that the nation’s manufacturing and wholesale establishments, mines, and mail-order houses shipped 11.3 billion tons of raw material and finished goods, valued at $13.9 trillion, and accounting for nearly 3.0 trillion ton-miles during 2012 (Table 1).  These numbers are an approximate 18.5 percent increase in value (unadjusted for inflation), and decreases of about 9.9 percent for tonnage and 11.2 percent for ton-miles during the five years since the previous survey in 2007.

Trucking continues to be the most dominant mode of transportation for these shippers accounting for 73.1 percent of the value and 71.3 percent of the tonnage of their cargo, according to the 2012 CFS.  Shipments by truck accounted for 8.1 billion tons of goods valued at about $10.1 trillion. The trucking mode was used to move goods about 1.2 trillion ton-miles.

In terms of ton-miles, trucking and rail are the leading modes at 42.0 percent and 40.8 percent, respectively.

Shipments by rail accounted for 1.6 billion tons of goods, 14.4 percent of the total 2012 CFS tonnage, valued at about $473.0 billion. The rail mode was used to move goods about 1.2 trillion ton-miles.      

Water shipments of freight totaled about $301.6 billion in goods, almost 576.0 million tons, and nearly 192.9 billion ton-miles.

In terms of commodities, the 2012 CFS results indicate the category of mixed freight, multiple commodities such as supplies, including food, for grocery stores and restaurants, hardware or plumbing supplies, and office supplies, contributed the highest value at $1.4 trillion, followed by gasoline, aviation turbine fuel, and ethanol at $1.2 trillion. Gravel and crushed stone was the top commodity by weight at 1.5 billion tons. Coal was the top commodity by ton-miles in 2012 accounting for 663.7 billion ton-miles (Table 2).

By industry, the CFS shows that manufacturing industries contributed the most overall tonnage of goods shipped in 2012.  This industry sector accounted for 4.2 billion tons, or 36.8 percent of all tonnage, and amounted to $5.7 trillion or 41.0 percent of the total value. Wholesale industries led by overall value and accounted for 44.2 percent of the total value at $6.1 trillion, and 33.5 percent of the total weight, with 3.8 billion tons (Table 3).

The CFS, conducted as a partnership BTS and the U.S. Census Bureau, is the primary source of national and state-level data on domestic freight shipments in the United States.  The CFS measures domestic freight shipments by American establishments in mining, manufacturing, wholesale, auxiliaries, and selected retail industries.  Data are provided on the types, origins and destinations, values, weights, modes of transport, distance shipped, and ton-miles of commodities shipped.  The CFS is a shipper-based survey and is conducted every five years as part of the Economic Census.  It provides a multi-modal picture of national freight flows and represents the only publicly available source of commodity flow data for the highway mode.  The 2012 CFS is the fifth in a series and was previously conducted in 1993, 1997, 2002, and 2007.

The 2012 CFS is published for 132 CFS areas (e.g., large metropolitan areas, other major freight gateways, the remainder of state components and, in some cases, entire states).  This represents an expansion from 123 geographic areas in the 2007 CFS.  Also new for the 2012 CFS, the survey collected additional information to determine whether shipments were temperature-controlled and or shipped via an expedited service. Additionally, for the first time in the CFS series the 2012 CFS data tables will be complemented with a public use microdata file that is scheduled for release by the end of June 2015.

2012 CFS final data tables along with survey documentation and methodology can be found at the Census Bureau’s American Fact Finder.

Table 1. Shipment Characteristics by Mode of Transportation for the United States: 2012

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

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Commodity Flow Survey, Final Estimates, December 2014.

Z- Rounds to Zero.

S- Withheld because estimate did not meet publication standards.

Note: Value-of-shipments estimates have not been adjusted for price changes.

Table 2. Shipment Characteristics by Two-Digit Commodity for the United States: 2012

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

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, Final Estimates, December 2014.

Table 3. Shipment Characteristics by Industry for the United States: 2012

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

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, Final Estimates, December 2014.

S- Withheld because estimate did not meet publication standards.

(CF1) For the 2012 and 2007 Commodity Flow Surveys, this industry group only includes captive (enterprise support) warehouses that provide storage and shipping support to other establishments of the same company. Warehouses offering their services to the general public and other businesses are excluded. For tabulation and publication purposes, NAICS Subsector 484 (Truck Transportation) is grouped with NAICS Industry Group 4931 (Warehousing and Storage).

Note: Value-of-shipments estimates have not been adjusted for price changes.