Key Takeaways
- Air cargo global volume was 61.5 million metric tons in 2022, down 4.8%.
- U.S. air freight tonnage was 17.5 million tons in 2022.
- China's air cargo throughput reached 5.8 million tons in 2022.
- Global intermodal freight volume grew 5% to 28 million TEUs in 2022.
- U.S. intermodal rail-container moves hit 13.7 million units in 2022.
- EU intermodal transport share was 12% of inland freight in 2021.
- Global seaborne trade volume reached 11 billion tons in 2022.
- Container shipping handled 171 million TEUs in 2022, up 2.5%.
- China's port container throughput was 296 million TEUs in 2022.
- In 2022, U.S. railroads moved 1.62 trillion ton-miles of freight, 40% of long-distance freight.
- EU rail freight volume was 412 billion tonne-km in 2021, 18% of inland freight.
- China's rail freight hit 4.36 billion tons in 2022, up 2.4%.
- In 2022, U.S. road freight accounted for 72.5% of total domestic freight tonnage moved, totaling approximately 10.45 trillion ton-miles.
- Europe's road freight transport volume reached 1,870 billion tonne-kilometers in 2021, representing 75% of inland freight.
- China's road freight turnover grew to 4.8 trillion ton-km in 2022, up 5.2% from 2021.
In 2022, air cargo fell slightly but stayed vital for time sensitive trade, with emissions far higher than sea.
Air Freight Transport
Air Freight Transport Interpretation
Intermodal and Pipeline Freight Transport
Intermodal and Pipeline Freight Transport Interpretation
Maritime Freight Transport
Maritime Freight Transport Interpretation
Rail Freight Transport
Rail Freight Transport Interpretation
Road Freight Transport
Road Freight Transport Interpretation
How We Rate Confidence
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
David Kowalski. (2026, February 13). Freight Transport Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/freight-transport-statistics
David Kowalski. "Freight Transport Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/freight-transport-statistics.
David Kowalski. 2026. "Freight Transport Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/freight-transport-statistics.
Sources & References
- Reference 1BTSbts.gov
bts.gov
- Reference 2ECec.europa.eu
ec.europa.eu
- Reference 3STATSstats.gov.cn
stats.gov.cn
- Reference 4NITIniti.gov.in
niti.gov.in
- Reference 5EPAepa.gov
epa.gov
- Reference 6DESTATISdestatis.de
destatis.de
- Reference 7GOVgov.br
gov.br
- Reference 8BITREbitre.gov.au
bitre.gov.au
- Reference 9MLITmlit.go.jp
mlit.go.jp
- Reference 10GOVgov.uk
gov.uk
- Reference 11GOBgob.mx
gob.mx
- Reference 12STATISTIQUESstatistiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr
statistiques.developpement-durable.gouv.fr
- Reference 13TCtc.canada.ca
tc.canada.ca
- Reference 14KOSTATkostat.go.kr
kostat.go.kr
- Reference 15ISTATistat.it
istat.it
- Reference 16RITArita.dot.gov
rita.dot.gov
- Reference 17ENERGYenergy.ec.europa.eu
energy.ec.europa.eu
- Reference 18ROSSTATrosstat.gov.ru
rosstat.gov.ru
- Reference 19DATAdata.tuik.gov.tr
data.tuik.gov.tr
- Reference 20MITMAmitma.gob.es
mitma.gob.es
- Reference 21AARaar.org
aar.org
- Reference 22ENGLISHenglish.gov.cn
english.gov.cn
- Reference 23INDIANRAILWAYSindianrailways.gov.in
indianrailways.gov.in
- Reference 24ENGeng.rzd.ru
eng.rzd.ru
- Reference 25BMVIbmvi.de
bmvi.de
- Reference 26ANTTantt.gov.br
antt.gov.br
- Reference 27ORRorr.gov.uk
orr.gov.uk
- Reference 28SNCF-RESEAUsncf-reseau.com
sncf-reseau.com
- Reference 29TRANSNETtransnet.net
transnet.net
- Reference 30UTKutk.gov.pl
utk.gov.pl
- Reference 31CHINADAILYchinadaily.com.cn
chinadaily.com.cn
- Reference 32CLIMATEclimate.ec.europa.eu
climate.ec.europa.eu
- Reference 33UNCTADunctad.org
unctad.org
- Reference 34STATISTAstatista.com
statista.com
- Reference 35ENen.ndrc.gov.cn
en.ndrc.gov.cn
- Reference 36CLARKSONSclarksons.com
clarksons.com
- Reference 37MPAmpa.gov.sg
mpa.gov.sg
- Reference 38PORTOFROTTERDAMportofrotterdam.com
portofrotterdam.com
- Reference 39GIIGNLgiignl.org
giignl.org
- Reference 40ENGLISHenglish.shanghai.gov.cn
english.shanghai.gov.cn
- Reference 41BIMCObimco.org
bimco.org
- Reference 42MARADmarad.dot.gov
marad.dot.gov
- Reference 43ALPHALINERalphaliner.com
alphaliner.com
- Reference 44SAGARMALAsagarmala.gov.in
sagarmala.gov.in
- Reference 45IATAiata.org
iata.org
- Reference 46CAACcaac.gov.cn
caac.gov.cn
- Reference 47HONGKONGAIRPORThongkongairport.com
hongkongairport.com
- Reference 48INVESTORSinvestors.fedex.com
investors.fedex.com
- Reference 49FLYMEMPHISflymemphis.com
flymemphis.com
- Reference 50ABOUTabout.ups.com
about.ups.com
- Reference 51DUBAIAIRPORTSdubaiairports.ae
dubaiairports.ae
- Reference 52FRANKFURT-AIRPORTfrankfurt-airport.com
frankfurt-airport.com
- Reference 53CIRIUMcirium.com
cirium.com
- Reference 54AIRPORTairport.kr
airport.kr
- Reference 55USPSusps.com
usps.com
- Reference 56IIRFiirf.com
iirf.com
- Reference 57MOTmot.gov.cn
mot.gov.cn
- Reference 58EIAeia.gov
eia.gov
- Reference 59RAILCANrailcan.ca
railcan.ca
- Reference 60GEMgem.wiki
gem.wiki
- Reference 61GWPPAgwppa.org
gwppa.org
- Reference 62TRANSPORTtransport.ec.europa.eu
transport.ec.europa.eu
- Reference 63IWAIiwai.nic.in
iwai.nic.in
- Reference 64GAZPROMgazprom.com
gazprom.com
- Reference 65ABTCabtc.org.br
abtc.org.br
- Reference 66IEAiea.org
iea.org
- Reference 67DPWORLDdpworld.com
dpworld.com







