Commodity Flow Survey

The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is the primary source of national and state-level data on domestic freight shipments by American establishments in mining, manufacturing, wholesale, auxiliaries, and selected retail industries. Data are provided on the types, origins and destinations, values, weights, modes of transport, distance shipped, and ton-miles of commodities shipped. The CFS is a shipper-based survey and is conducted every five years as part of the Economic Census. It provides a modal picture of national freight flows, and represents the only publicly available source of commodity flow data for the highway mode. The CFS was conducted in 1993, 1997, 2002, and most recently in 2007.

About the Survey

Survey Overview and Methodology
Definition of Key CFS Terms
Survey Materials
Frequently Asked Questions
NEW: Commodity Flow Survey Workshop E-Circular
NEW: BTS and Census Bureau Responses to Data User Suggestions

2007 CFS

CFS Data Sources:

American FactFinder (AFF)
Interactive Tables – Generate and download custom tables
Quick Reports – View and download predefined tables
Thematic Maps – Generate and download thematic maps

CFS Reports and Tables
United States (December 2009) – View the national level report and the associated tables
Individual State Tables (July 2010) – View state data on an individualized basis with these tables
Metropolitan Areas (February 2011) – View metropolitan area data on an individualized basis with these tables
Hazardous Materials (July 2010) – View the hazardous materials report and the associated tables
Exports (August 2010) – View the exports report and the associated tables
NEW: Origin-Destination Files – View commodity and mode data for all CFS-measured geographies

Other Reports and Information
State Summaries (December 2010) – View a summary and highlights of state level data in this report
Hazardous Materials Special Report (February 2011) – View a BTS Special Report that discusses highlights from the hazardous materials data
U.S. Freight on the Move: Highlights from the 2007 Commodity Flow Survey Preliminary Data (September 2009) – View a BTS Special Report that discusses highlights from the 2007 CFS preliminary data
Preliminary Tables (December 2008) – View preliminary results at the national level
How Freight Moves: Estimating Mileage and Routes Using an Innovative GIS Tool (June 2007) – View a BTS Technical Report that discusses how freight mileage was calculated for the 2007 CFS

2002 CFS

CFS Data Sources:

American FactFinder (AFF)
Interactive Tables – Generate and download custom tables
(There are no Quick Reports and Thematic Maps for the 2002 CFS)

Zip File Format
Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) 2002 CD (ZIP - 132 MB)

CFS Reports and Tables
United States – View the national level report and the associated tables
Individual State Reports and Tables – View state data on an individualized basis with these reports and tables
Metropolitan Areas – View metropolitan area data on an individualized basis with these tables
Hazardous Materials – View the hazardous materials report and the associated tables
Exports – View the exports report and the associated tables

Other Reports and Information
State Summaries – View a summary and highlights of state level data in this report

1997 CFS

CFS Data Sources:

TranStats
1997 CFS Data
Profile of 1997 CFS Data – View a summary of the 1997 CFS

Zip File Format
Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) 1997 - U.S. Summary CD (ZIP - 181 MB)

(Some 1997 CFS data can be found through AFF as a part of the 2002 CFS dataset collection.)

CFS Reports
United States – View the national level report
Individual State Reports – View state data on an individualized basis with these reports
Metropolitan Areas – View metropolitan area data on an individualized basis with these reports
Hazardous Materials – View the Hazardous Materials report
Exports – View the Exports report

1993 CFS

CFS Data Sources:

TranStats
1993 CFS Data
Profile of 1993 CFS Data – View a summary of the 1993 CFS

Zip File Format
Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) 1993 - State and National Transportation Analysis Regions CD (ZIP - 5.18 MB)

(Some 1993 CFS data can be found through AFF as a part of the 2002 CFS dataset collection.)

CFS Reports
United States – View the national level report
Individual State Reports – View state data on an individualized basis with these reports

Other Reports and Information
United States Highlights – View the major highlights of the 1993 CFS in this report
Commodity Movements Summary – View a one-page summary for each of the 50 states

Questions?

Contact the Commodity Flow Survey team at cfs@dot.gov