US trucks to haul 27 billion tons of freight by 2040, say Feds

THE Federal Highway Administration is predicting that US freight tonnage will increase 1.6 per cent a year to 27.1 billion tons by 2040 compared to 18.6 billion tons in 2007.

This means that over the next three decades US freight volume is expected to grow at a combined rate of 61 per cent, the Highway Administration said.

Goods moved by all modes prior to the recession were worth about US$16.5 trillion. On a daily basis, the transportation system moved 51 million tons of goods valued at more than $45 billion per day, reports the American Shipper.

Trucks hauled 69 per cent of the nation's goods by weight and 65 per cent by value. Intermodal goods movement accounted for 18 per cent of the value of freight transportation in 2007 and is anticipated to increase to nearly 27 per cent by 2040, the report said.

"The data confirms how critical our highways are to moving freight and to our nation's economy," FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez was quoted as saying. "Overall increasing and improved intermodal freight movement will lead to less energy consumption and more environmentally sustainable options."
(Source:www.schednet.com)