The U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast released by the American Trucking Association (ATA) profiles the current state of the entire freight transportation industry and provides an outlook for all modes during the next decade.
Below are some of the projections from the latest edition, U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast to 2024:
- Overall freight revenue will grow 63.6 percent to $1.3 trillion annually in 2024 and trucking will see its share of those revenues rise to 81 percent from 80.7 percent in 2012.
- Trucking’s share of tonnage will rise 70.8 percent by 2024 from 68.5 percent in 2012.
- Truckload volumes will grow 3.2 percent through 2018 and 1.1 percent annually between 2019 and 2024.
- Less-than-truckload (LTL) volume should grow 3.5 percent annually through 2018 and by 2.4 percent until 2024.
- Rail carloads will have a weak growth of just 1.5 percent through 2018 and 0.4 percent from 2019 through 2024, contributing to a decline in market share to 14.2 percent from 14.8 percent in 2011.
- Continuing to be the fastest growing freight mode, Intermodal rail will grow an average of 5.1 percent a year until 2018 then slow moderately to 4.8 percent annually through 2024.
- Other modes of transportation, including air freight, waterborne transportation and pipelines, will see moderate volume and revenue growth through 2024.
