# Travelling cargo percentages **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2000, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travelling-cargo-percentages/9365 "2000-03-29T05:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travelling-cargo-percentages/9365/1 "2000-03-29T05:42:00Z")
I could probably find this information on the web if I could think of a way to phrase the question correctly: Out of all the freight roaming across the ole US o’ A, what percentages of it are on the waters, in the air, on the road and on the rails at any given time? I was talking with someone the other day and we got to wondering which method is the most heavily used today for freight transfer. I’m guessing one would have to only count the actual main journy of the freight and not the act of bringing it from the manufacturer to it’s method of tansport since that would easily make roadways the #1 method by a huge margin. then again, it might be regardless. * * * “I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travelling-cargo-percentages/9365/2 "2000-03-29T06:16:00Z")
IIRC, something like 85% of freight is hauled by those big tractor-trailers everyone is so fond of whining about. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travelling-cargo-percentages/9365/3 "2000-03-29T06:19:00Z")
It was that plethora of big tractor-trailers that gave rise to the question in the first place actually. I said that I bet most of the nation’s freight was transported in them. * * * “I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.” ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travelling-cargo-percentages/9365/4 "2000-03-29T13:11:00Z")
Your best bet is to hop over to the [US Dept. of Transportation’s Search function](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/search.html) and pop in “Intermodal Freight Distribution” ---
**Author:** ![starfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@starfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starfish)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2000, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travelling-cargo-percentages/9365/5 "2000-03-29T13:45:00Z")
Unless everyone is going to drive down to the port to pick up their new car or TV, you can be sure that no matter how it is shipped, it eventually ends up being shipped on a truck. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2000, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/travelling-cargo-percentages/9365/6 "2000-03-30T01:54:00Z")
Well, I tried to cover that, Starfish in my OP. But you’re right of course. I’ve no doubt that trucking gets the gold star, but I was still wondering where the rest stacked up. * * * “I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”