US Freight Tonnage to Rise 24 Percent by 2022, ATA Says

U.S. freight tonnage will grow 24 percent through 2022, with trucking hauling 70 percent of all freight by that year, the American Trucking Associations said.

Trucking’s total freight market share will climb three percentage points through 2022, while railroads will lose 0.7 percentage points of their share of overall tonnage, the ATA said.

By 2022, the railroads will move 15.3 percent of total freight tonnage in the U.S., according to the ATA’s U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast to 2022.

“The trucking industry continues to dominate the freight transportation industry in terms of both tonnage and revenue,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.

Intermodal rail tonnage, however, will rise 6.6 percent a year between 2011 and 2016, and 5.5 percent a year through 2022, making it the fastest growing mode.

Intermodal revenue will almost triple, rising to $30.7 billion in 2022, the ATA said.

Domestic water transportation, including short-sea shipping, will grow 2 percent a year until 2016, and 0.2 percent a year through 2022, according to the forecast.

The forecast, produced with IHS Global Insight and Martin Labbe Associates, will help the ATA on Capitol Hill as it lobbies for highway spending and heavier trucks.

“At a time when our nation’s leaders are debating what our future transportation system should look like, the forecast is a tremendous resource,” Costello said.

Source: Journal of Commerce