Shipment Size

• Compared to other weight categories, smaller sized shipments (less than 500 pounds) increased the most (56 percent) by value since 1993. The smaller the shipments, the higher the value and the more the growth since 1993. This faster growth of smaller shipments supports efficient just-in-time inventory systems, which reduce inventory carrying costs and overall logistics costs.
• Large-size shipments (over 50,000 pounds) comprised nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the ton-miles of Commodity Flow Survey shipments in 2002, similar to the 1993 share, but grew 32 percent by ton-miles, 19 percent by weight, and 45 percent by value. Because of their weight, these shipments placed high demand on the transportation network, generating more than 2 trillion ton-miles.