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Rail freight traffic — all countries

Rail freight traffic — United States

Rail freight traffic in the United States in 2021 — 2,239,401 M t-km. Ranked 2 in the world out of 50. Since 1995, the indicator has risen by 17.5%.

2021 2.24M M t-km +6.53% vs 2020
World rank 2of 50
Period maximum 2.7M M t-km2014
Period minimum 1.91M M t-km1995

Trend over time

1995–2021 · million tonne-kilometers

Rail freight traffic — United States, 1995–20211.8M2M2.2M2.4M2.6M2.8M19951998200120042007201020132016201920211995: 1,906,206 M t-km1996: 1,979,622 M t-km1997: 1,969,331 M t-km1998: 2,010,027 M t-km1999: 2,092,745 M t-km2000: 2,140,191 M t-km2001: 2,183,277 M t-km2002: 2,200,123 M t-km2003: 2,264,983 M t-km2004: 2,427,268 M t-km2005: 2,476,653 M t-km2006: 2,586,836 M t-km2007: 2,584,940 M t-km2008: 2,594,631 M t-km2009: 2,236,917 M t-km2010: 2,468,738 M t-km2011: 2,524,585 M t-km2012: 2,500,300 M t-km2013: 2,541,354 M t-km2014: 2,702,736 M t-km2015: 2,547,253 M t-km2016: 2,314,693 M t-km2017: 2,445,132 M t-km2018: 2,525,217 M t-km2019: 2,357,117 M t-km2020: 2,102,084 M t-km2021: 2,239,401 M t-km
Change over the period: +333,195 (+17.48%) Average annual rate: 0.62 %

Comparison, 2021

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: United States

United States 2.24M M t-km
North America 1.33M M t-km
Rail freight traffic — United States, by year United States All countries CSV XLSX
Year M t-km Change Change, %
2021 2.24M +137,317 +6.53%
2020 2.1M −255,033 −10.82%
2019 2.36M −168,101 −6.66%
2018 2.53M +80,085 +3.28%
2017 2.45M +130,439 +5.64%
2016 2.31M −232,560 −9.13%
2015 2.55M −155,483 −5.75%
2014 2.7M +161,382 +6.35%
2013 2.54M +41,054 +1.64%
2012 2.5M −24,285 −0.96%
2011 2.52M +55,847 +2.26%
2010 2.47M +231,821 +10.36%
2009 2.24M −357,714 −13.79%
2008 2.59M +9,691 +0.37%
2007 2.58M −1,896 −0.07%
2006 2.59M +110,183 +4.45%
2005 2.48M +49,385 +2.03%
2004 2.43M +162,285 +7.16%
2003 2.26M +64,860 +2.95%
2002 2.2M +16,846 +0.77%
2001 2.18M +43,086 +2.01%
2000 2.14M +47,446 +2.27%
1999 2.09M +82,718 +4.12%
1998 2.01M +40,696 +2.07%
1997 1.97M −10,291 −0.52%
1996 1.98M +73,416 +3.85%
1995 1.91M — —

Northern America, 2021

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

US United States 2.24M CA Canada 430,170
Full table for all countries

About the indicator

Rail freight traffic in millions of tonne-kilometers: the mass of the freight carried multiplied by the distance of the haul. The highest values belong to countries with a long reach and large-scale extraction of raw materials, where rail remains the cheapest way to move bulk cargo over long distances.

Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank), license CC BY 4.0.

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