Freedonia Focus Reports

US Collection

Photo: State of Indiana

Freight by Rail:
United States

FU ICK
LL TO
O
R
E RD
P
O ER
R
T

April 2013

CH
UR
E

Highlights

Industry Overview
Industry Size and Trends | Freight Overview | Railroad Segmentation
Railroad Freight by Commodity | Train or Truck | Regulatory and Environmental Factors
NAFTA Trade

BR
O

Industry Forecasts
Market Environment | Railroad Forecasts

L
C

Resources

FU ICK
LL TO
O
R
E RD
P
O ER
R
T

Industry Structure
Industry Composition | Industry Leaders | Additional Companies Cited
www.freedoniafocus.com

Freight by Rail: United States

ABOUT THIS REPORT

Scope & Method

This report forecasts revenues generated and volume hauled by the US freight railroad
industry in dollars and ton-miles to 2017. Total revenues and volume are segmented in
terms of:

Class I railroads
other freight railroads such as short line and regional railroads.

A ton-mile equals one ton of freight carried one mile.

Total US freight revenues and volume (via all modes of transport) are also forecast to
2017.
To illustrate historical trends, total railroad freight revenues and volume are provided in
an annual series from 2002 to 2012; the various segments are reported at five-year
intervals for 2007 and 2012. Total US freight revenues and volume are also reported in
annual series from 2002 to 2012. Forecasts emanate from the identification and
analysis of pertinent statistical relationships and other historical trends/events as well as
their expected progression/impact over the forecast period. Changes in quantities
between reported years of a given total or segment are typically provided in terms of
five-year compound annual growth rates (CAGRs). For the sake of brevity, forecasts are
generally stated in smoothed CAGR-based descriptions to the forecast year, such as
demand is projected to rise 3.2% annually through 2017. The result of any particular
year over that period, however, may exhibit volatility and depart from a smoothed, longterm trend, as historical data typically illustrate.
Key macroeconomic indicators are also provided at five-year intervals with CAGRs for
the years corresponding to other reported figures. Other various topics, including
profiles of pertinent leading suppliers, are covered in this report. A full outline of report
items by page is available in the Table of Contents.

Sources
Freight by Rail: United States represents the synthesis and analysis of data from
various primary, secondary, macroeconomic, and demographic sources including:

firms participating in the industry

government/public agencies
national, regional, and international non-governmental organizations
trade associations and their publications
the business and trade press

2013 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Freight by Rail: United States

The Freedonia Group Consensus Forecasts dated February 2013

the findings of other industry studies by The Freedonia Group.

Specific sources and additional resources are listed in the Resources section of this
publication for reference and to facilitate further research.

Industry Codes
The topic of this report is related to the following industry codes:
NAICS/SCIAN 2007
North American Industry Classification System

SIC
Standard Industry Codes

482111
482112
488210

4011
4013

Line-Haul Railroads
Short Line Railroads
Support Activities for Rail
Transportation

Railroads, Line-Haul Operating

Railroad Switching and Terminal
Establishments

Copyright & Licensing

The full report is protected by copyright laws of the United States of America and
international treaties. The entire contents of the publication are copyrighted by The
Freedonia Group, Inc.

2013 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Freight by Rail: United States

Table of Contents
Section

Page

Highlights....................................................................................................................................................... 1
Industry Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Industry Size & Trends............................................................................................................................. 2
Chart 1 | United States: Freight Railroad Revenue Trends, 2002-2012 ............................................ 2
Chart 2 | United States: Railroad Freight Volume Trends, 2002-2012 ............................................... 3
Freight Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Chart 3 | United States: Freight Revenue Trends, 2002-2012 ........................................................... 4
Chart 4 | United States: Freight Revenue by Mode, 2012 .................................................................. 5
Chart 5 | United States: Freight Volume by Mode, 2012 .................................................................... 5
Chart 6 | United States: Freight Volume Trends, 2002-2012 ............................................................. 5
Railroad Segmentation ............................................................................................................................ 6
Chart 7 | United States: Freight Railroad Revenues by Mode, 2012 ................................................. 6
Chart 8 | United States: Railroad Freight Volume by Mode, 2012 ..................................................... 6
Class I Railroads................................................................................................................................. 7
Other Freight Railroads. ..................................................................................................................... 8
Railroad Freight by Commodity ............................................................................................................. 10
Chart 9 | United States: Railroad Revenues by Commodity, 2012 .................................................. 10
Chart 10 | United States: Railroad Volume by Commodity, 2012 .................................................... 10
Train or Truck ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Regulatory & Environmental Factors ..................................................................................................... 13
NAFTA Trade ......................................................................................................................................... 14
Chart 11 | United States: NAFTA Exports by Rail (billion dollars) .................................................... 14
Chart 12 | United States: NAFTA Imports by Rail (billion dollars) .................................................... 14
Industry Forecasts....................................................................................................................................... 15
Market Environment ............................................................................................................................... 15
Table 1 | United States: Key Indicators for Freight by Rail (billion dollars) ...................................... 15
Railroad Forecasts ................................................................................................................................. 16
Table 2 | United States: Freight by Rail ............................................................................................ 16
Class I Railroads............................................................................................................................... 18
Other Freight Railroads. ................................................................................................................... 19
Industry Structure ........................................................................................................................................ 20
Industry Composition ............................................................................................................................. 20
Industry Leaders .................................................................................................................................... 21
Union Pacific Corporation ................................................................................................................. 21
Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated .................................................................................................... 22
CSX Corporation............................................................................................................................... 23
Additional Companies Cited .................................................................................................................. 24
Resources ................................................................................................................................................... 25
To return here, click on any Freedonia logo or the Table of Contents link in report footers.
PDF bookmarks are also available for navigation.

2013 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.