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Supply chain and logistics · 14 min

Moving it: trucks, ships, warehouses and the last mile

A pair of sneakers can cross an ocean on a ship, ride a train, sit in a warehouse and finish on a truck. Each way of moving it is a trade between speed and cost. Here's how planners choose.

EACH SALENEW ORDER
Ticket 01 · The guess

How much of America's freight rides a truck?

Count every ton of goods moved in the US in a year: by truck, train, ship, plane and pipeline. What share, by weight, went by truck?

30%
0%100%
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Sources and every number (1)

Sources

  • Freight Facts and Figures: Moving Goods in the United States (tables "Weight of Shipments by Transportation Mode" and "Value of Shipments by Transportation Mode", 2017, 2024 and 2050, from the Freight Analysis Framework FAF5 as of September 2026) · U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2024

Every number

  • 64.3%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: tons moved by truck ÷ all tons moved in the US, 2024 (Freight Analysis Framework estimates; domestic, import and export shipments).
  • 12,874 million tonsbts.gov ·2024 · Moved by truck in the US, 2024 (Freight Analysis Framework estimate), table "Weight of Shipments by Transportation Mode".
  • 20,009 million tonsbts.gov ·2024 · All freight moved in the US, 2024 (Freight Analysis Framework estimate), every mode, same table.
  • 20%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: tons moved by pipeline ÷ all tons moved, 2024.
  • 7.6%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: tons moved by rail ÷ all tons moved, 2024.
  • 74.1%bts.gov ·2024 · BTS: the share of the weight of goods moved less than the short-trip cut-off between origin and destination, 2024.
  • 250 milesbts.gov ·2024 · BTS's cut-off for a short trip, origin to destination.
  • 3.4%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: the value of freight by air (including truck-air) ÷ the value of all freight, 2024, in 2017 dollars.
  • $90,000bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: the value of freight by air ÷ its tons, 2024, in 2017 dollars, rounded to the nearest ten thousand (the tons are rounded to a whole million).
  • $1,064bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: the value of freight by truck ÷ its tons, 2024, in 2017 dollars.
  1. Lessons›
  2. Inside a business›
  3. Supply chain and logistics
  • ·Before this: How much stock to hold
  • ·Next: When the chain breaks
Skip to the lesson
Back to the home page and map, from TryOwning · Supply chain and logistics · Lesson 3
Part 1 of 3Part 1 of 3, 0 done

Supply chain and logistics · 14 min

Moving it: trucks, ships, warehouses and the last mile

A pair of sneakers can cross an ocean on a ship, ride a train, sit in a warehouse and finish on a truck. Each way of moving it is a trade between speed and cost. Here's how planners choose.

EACH SALENEW ORDER
Ticket 01 · The guess

How much of America's freight rides a truck?

Count every ton of goods moved in the US in a year: by truck, train, ship, plane and pipeline. What share, by weight, went by truck?

30%
0%100%
Words to know

Spot something wrong?

Tell us what looks off. No name or email needed.

What kind of problem?

0 / 1000

We'll also send this page, the lesson, ticket 1, so we can find it. Nothing else. Privacy

·
Sources and every number (1)

Sources

  • Freight Facts and Figures: Moving Goods in the United States (tables "Weight of Shipments by Transportation Mode" and "Value of Shipments by Transportation Mode", 2017, 2024 and 2050, from the Freight Analysis Framework FAF5 as of September 2026) · U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2024

Every number

  • 64.3%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: tons moved by truck ÷ all tons moved in the US, 2024 (Freight Analysis Framework estimates; domestic, import and export shipments).
  • 12,874 million tonsbts.gov ·2024 · Moved by truck in the US, 2024 (Freight Analysis Framework estimate), table "Weight of Shipments by Transportation Mode".
  • 20,009 million tonsbts.gov ·2024 · All freight moved in the US, 2024 (Freight Analysis Framework estimate), every mode, same table.
  • 20%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: tons moved by pipeline ÷ all tons moved, 2024.
  • 7.6%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: tons moved by rail ÷ all tons moved, 2024.
  • 74.1%bts.gov ·2024 · BTS: the share of the weight of goods moved less than the short-trip cut-off between origin and destination, 2024.
  • 250 milesbts.gov ·2024 · BTS's cut-off for a short trip, origin to destination.
  • 3.4%bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: the value of freight by air (including truck-air) ÷ the value of all freight, 2024, in 2017 dollars.
  • $90,000bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: the value of freight by air ÷ its tons, 2024, in 2017 dollars, rounded to the nearest ten thousand (the tons are rounded to a whole million).
  • $1,064bts.gov ·2024 · Worked out: the value of freight by truck ÷ its tons, 2024, in 2017 dollars.
  1. Lessons›
  2. Inside a business›
  3. Supply chain and logistics
  • ·Before this: How much stock to hold
  • ·Next: When the chain breaks