Freight Analysis Framework update

The Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) creates a comprehensive picture of freight movement among states and major metropolitan areas by all modes of transportation. The FAF integrates data from a variety of sources. Starting with data from the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) and international trade data from the Census Bureau, FAF incorporates data from agriculture, extraction, utility, construction, service, and other sectors. The FAF is produced by BTS with support from FHWA.

FAF Version 5

The FAF5 Regional Database of tonnage, value, and ton-miles by FAF regions of origin and destination, commodity type, and mode, benchmarked to the 2017 Commodity Flow Survey is available. Weights are in thousands of tons, activity is in millions of ton-miles, and values are in millions of 2017 constant dollars. Files listed below are available for download in .csv and MS Access formats.

The release of FAF5.5 includes new annual estimates for 2021. The foreign trade flows incorporate improvements to various imputation processes, including weight imputation, domestic mode imputation, and stateside geographic imputation for regions located on the Mexican and Canadian borders. The 2022 forecast from the 2017 base case (published in previous FAF releases) has been removed and will be replaced soon with 2022 preliminary estimates. Final 2022 annual estimates are scheduled for release in fall 2023. Updates to the 2018-2020 annual estimates will also be completed in the near future. In the FAF 5.5 release, the description of Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) 19 has been changed from “Coal, n.e.c.” to “Natural gas and fossil products” to be more consistent with the commodities in this category.