Sustainable Development Goals - 17 Goals to Transform our World
Industry, innovation and infrastructure - Goal 9

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Indicator 9.1.2: Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport

  1. Home
  2. Goal 9
  3. Indicator 9.1.2

US passenger and freight data by mode in millions

Sub-categories

Choose categories from the dropdowns below to see different breakdowns of the data. Some will not be available until a higher level is chosen.

Click on the legend to remove individual lines from the chart.

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from US statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from US statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other US-specific metadata information.

Actual indicator available Passenger Data: Passenger-kilometers by mode in millions; Freight Data - Metric tonnage of freight shipments by mode in millions.
Actual indicator available - description Passenger Data: Number of passengers multiplied by number of kilometers traveled; Freight Data: Tonnage of total freight shipped
Date of national source publication Passenger - May 2019, Freight - March 2019
Method of computation Passenger data – number of passengers multiplied by the distance traveled. Freight data – the Freight Analysis Framework incorporates data from the 2012 Commodity Flow Survey, Transborder Freight Data, Foreign Trade Statistics, and a combination of sources for individual sectors including agriculture, energy extraction, construction, and other sectors. Both passenger and freight data have been converted to metric units.
Periodicity Annual and monthly data
Scheduled update by national source Passenger - May 2020, Freight - Not currently scheduled
U.S. method of computation
Comments and limitations Rail passenger-kilometer data are Amtrak only. Commuter rail, light rail and subways are included under transit. Amtrak data are a sum of the passenger-kilometer data for the twelve months of each calendar year. Air passenger-kilometer data are for certified air carriers in domestic service. Changes to the U.S. DOT's Freight Analysis Framework resulted in changed tonnes data.
Date metadata updated May 2019
Disaggregation geography United States - Passenger data includes travel in the United States. Freight data includes domestic shipments and the U.S. portion of foreign shipments.
Unit of measurement Passenger-kilometers, metric tonnes
Disaggregation categories Mode of transportation
International and national references Passenger Data – http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_40_m.html Freight Data – https://www.bts.gov/faf
Time period Passenger Data: 2000-2017; Freight Data: 2007 and 2012-2017
Scheduled update by SDG team

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport
Target name Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
Global indicator description Average parcel shipping time/parcel shipping time standards, by country, both for domestic and international parcel services, and by product: this is the level of reliability of domestic or international parcel delivery services and for different products exchanged between countries. This ratio is determined after dividing the average parcel shipping time by the standard shipping time expected for parcels delivery at the national or international level, and at the product level depending on data availability. An alternative way of computing a similar quality of service ratio would be to use the percentage of parcels actually delivered within the quality standard, i.e. within the standard for shipping times. The standard for shipping time is the expected end-to-end transit time and is often expressed as the posting day + one, two , three, four or five days depending on the country geography and distance between countries.
UN designated tier 1
UN custodial agency ICAO, ITF-OECD (Partnering Agencies: UPU, UNEP, UNECE)
Link to UN metadata UN metadata opens in a new window
Organisation Passenger Data - as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 1-40M, as of May 2019 Freight Data – U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Federal Highway Administration, Freight Analysis Framework, version 5, as of May 2019
Agency Staff Name Steven Beningo
Agency Survey Dataset Passenger Data - as cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 1-40M, as of October 2017 Freight Data – U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Federal Highway Administration, Freight Analysis Framework, version 4, as of October 2017.
Notes Passenger Data – http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_40_m.html Freight Data – http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/subject_areas/freight_transportation/faf
Title
Link to data source