Freedonia Focus Reports

US Collection

Freight by Waterway:
United States

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May 2013

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Highlights

Industry Overview
Industry Size & Trends | Freight Overview | Domestic Waterborne Freight Segmentation
Domestic Waterborne Freight by Commodity | Competing Transport Modes
Regulatory & Environmental Factors | NAFTA Trade

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Industry Forecasts
Market Environment | Domestic Waterborne Freight Forecasts

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Resources

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Industry Structure
Industry Composition | Industry Leaders | Additional Companies Cited
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Freight by Waterway: United States

ABOUT THIS REPORT

Scope & Method

This report forecasts the volume of domestic freight hauled by waterway in the US in
ton-miles to 2017. The report also projects total revenues generated via waterborne
freight transport in US dollars to 2017. Total freight volume is segmented in terms of:

internal waterways
coastal waterways
Great Lakes and other waterways.

Total US freight volume and revenues (via all modes of transport) are also forecast to
2017.
The scope of this report excludes international waterborne freight. Also for the purposes
of this report, marine refers to any navigable body of water.
A ton-mile equals one short ton of freight carried one mile.
To illustrate historical trends, total waterway freight volume and revenues are provided
in annual series from 2002 to 2012; the various segments are reported at five-year
intervals for 2007 and 2012. Total US freight volume and revenues are also reported in
an 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 Waterway: 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

2013 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Freight by Waterway: United States

national, regional, and international non-governmental organizations

trade associations and their publications
the business and trade press
The Freedonia Group Consensus Forecasts dated February 2013 and
various macroeconomic indicator forecasts dated January 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

483111
483113

4424

483211
488310
488320
488390

Deep Sea Freight Transportation

Coastal and Great Lakes Freight
Transportation
Inland Water Freight Transportation
Port and Harbor Operations
Marine Cargo Handling
Other Support Activities for Water
Transportation

4432
4449
4491
4499

Deep Sea Domestic Transportation of

Freight
Freight Transportation on the Great LakesSt. Lawrence Seaway
Water Transportation of Freight, NEC
Marine Cargo Handling
Water Transportation Services, NEC

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 Waterway: United States

Table of Contents
Section

Page

Highlights....................................................................................................................................................... 1
Industry Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Industry Size & Trends............................................................................................................................. 2
Chart 1 | United States: Domestic Waterborne Freight Volume Trends, 2002-2012 ......................... 2
Chart 2 | United States: Domestic Waterborne Freight Revenue Trends, 2002-2012 ....................... 3
Freight Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Chart 3 | United States: Freight Revenue Trends, 2002-2012 ........................................................... 4
Chart 4 | United States: Freight Revenues by Mode, 2012 ................................................................ 5
Chart 5 | United States: Freight Volume by Mode, 2012 .................................................................... 5
Chart 6 | United States: Freight Volume Trends, 2002-2012 ............................................................. 5
Domestic Waterborne Freight Segmentation........................................................................................... 6
Chart 7 | United States: Domestic Freight Volume by Waterway, 2012 ............................................. 6
Internal Waterways. ............................................................................................................................ 8
Table 1 | United States: Major Internal Waterways ............................................................................ 8
Coastal Waterways. ............................................................................................................................ 9
Great Lakes & Other Waterways. ..................................................................................................... 10
Domestic Waterborne Freight by Commodity ........................................................................................ 11
Chart 8 | Domestic Waterborne Freight Volume by Commodity, 2012 ............................................ 11
Competing Transport Modes ................................................................................................................. 12
Regulatory & Environmental Factors ..................................................................................................... 13
NAFTA Trade ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Chart 9 | United States: Exports by Waterway to Other NAFTA (million short tons) ........................ 15
Chart 10 | United States: Imports by Waterway from Other NAFTA (million short tons) .................. 15
Industry Forecasts ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Market Environment ............................................................................................................................... 16
Table 2 | United States: Key Indicators for Waterborne Freight (billion 2005 dollars) ..................... 16
Domestic Waterborne Freight Forecasts ............................................................................................... 17
Table 3 | United States: Freight by Waterway .................................................................................. 17
Internal Waterways. .......................................................................................................................... 18
Coastal Waterways. .......................................................................................................................... 18
Great Lakes & Other Waterways. ..................................................................................................... 19
Industry Structure ........................................................................................................................................ 20
Industry Composition ............................................................................................................................. 20
Industry Leaders .................................................................................................................................... 21
Kirby Corporation .............................................................................................................................. 21
SEACOR Holdings Incorporated ...................................................................................................... 22
Horizon Lines Incorporated .............................................................................................................. 23
Additional Companies Cited................................................................................................................... 24
Resources ................................................................................................................................................... 25
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2013 by The Freedonia Group, Inc.