Fact #672: April 25, 2011
Freight Gateways in the U.S.
The top 25 places (in terms of freight value) that freight is shipped into and out of the U.S. are listed on the map below. Import values are shown by the gray bar, while export values are shown by the blue bar. Of the top 25 places, twelve are water ports, five are land-border crossings, and eight are air gateways. In most cases, the value of the imports exceeds the exports.
Supporting Information
| Gateway Route |
Type | Rank | Exports | Imports | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Billion U.s. Dollars) | |||||
| New York, NY | Water | 1 | 51 | 138.5 | 189.5 |
| Los Angeles, CA | Water | 2 | 33.6 | 148.7 | 182.4 |
| John F. Kennedy International, NY | Air | 3 | 85.5 | 82.4 | 167.9 |
| Long Beach, CA | Water | 4 | 32.8 | 119.2 | 152 |
| Houston, TX | Water | 5 | 68.5 | 78.2 | 146.7 |
| Detroit, MI | Land | 6 | 66.5 | 53.7 | 120.2 |
| Laredo, TX | Land | 7 | 53.9 | 61.8 | 115.8 |
| Chicago, IL | Air | 8 | 35.9 | 61.2 | 97 |
| Port Huron, MI | Land | 9 | 35.2 | 46 | 81.2 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | Land | 10 | 40.3 | 40.5 | 80.8 |
| Los Angeles International, CA | Air | 11 | 41.3 | 37 | 78.3 |
| Charleston, SC | Water | 12 | 22.3 | 39.9 | 62.1 |
| Savannah, GA | Water | 13 | 22.8 | 36 | 58.8 |
| Norfolk, VA | Water | 14 | 26.5 | 29.9 | 56.3 |
| San Francisco International, CA | Air | 15 | 26.6 | 26.2 | 52.8 |
| El Paso, TX | Land | 16 | 20.2 | 28 | 48.2 |
| Baltimore, MD | Water | 17 | 16.1 | 29 | 45.1 |
| New Orleans, LA | Air | 18 | 19.9 | 25.1 | 45 |
| New Orleans, LA | Water | 19 | 20.2 | 21.4 | 41.7 |
| Anchorage, AK | Air | 20 | 10.2 | 31.2 | 41.4 |
| Miami International, FL | Air | 21 | 29.2 | 10.8 | 40 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | Air | 22 | 16.4 | 23.1 | 39.5 |
| Seattle, WA | Water | 23 | 9.8 | 27.9 | 37.7 |
| Oakland, CA | Water | 24 | 12.8 | 24.9 | 37.7 |
| Morgan City, LA | Water | 25 | 0.3 | 37.4 | 37.7 |
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Notes: Data for all air gateways include a low level (generally less than 2%-3% of the total value) of small user-fee airports located in the same region. Air gateways not identified by airport name (e.g., Chicago, IL, and others) include major airport(s) in that geographic area in addition to small regional airports. Due to Census Bureau confidentiality regulations, data for courier operations are included in the airport totals for JFK International Airport, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Chicago, Miami, and Anchorage. Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Freight Management and Operations, Freight Facts and Figures 2010, Figure 2-2. |
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