Truck freight in Montana
Trucks moved an estimated 45.5 million tons of freight from origins in Montana in 2024, worth $37.6 billion, according to the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF).
Trucks carried 32.5% of all freight tonnage that started in Montana, and 33 million tons of that truck freight stayed within the state.
Inbound, trucks delivered 48 million tons of freight worth $52.5 billion to destinations in Montana.
The top destination states for trucks leaving Montana were Idaho (4.9 million tons), Wyoming (1.7 million tons), North Dakota (1.3 million tons), Washington (442,813 tons) and California (377,445 tons).
The largest truck flows into Montana from other states came from Idaho (3.7 million tons), Wyoming (3 million tons), Colorado (1.3 million tons), Utah (1 million tons) and Washington (1 million tons).
Truck tonnage from Montana origins went from 51.4 million tons in 2018 to 45.5 million tons in 2024, and its value from $29 billion to $37.6 billion. The largest one-year increase in tonnage was in 2023, up 3.6 million tons. A ton of truck freight from Montana was worth $564 on average in 2018 and $825 in 2024.
Show the numbers
| Year | Tons | Value (current US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 45,516,065 | $37.56 billion |
| 2023 | 52,791,536 | $39.61 billion |
| 2022 | 49,152,111 | $40.83 billion |
| 2021 | 47,582,978 | $33.09 billion |
| 2020 | 52,121,498 | $26.48 billion |
| 2019 | 53,236,564 | $29.24 billion |
| 2018 | 51,434,201 | $29.01 billion |
The top three, Idaho, Wyoming and North Dakota, took 77.3% of the truck tonnage leaving Montana for other states. Freight to Idaho averaged $713 per ton.
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 4,943,588 | $3.526 billion | $713 | 48.3% |
| Wyoming | 1,680,107 | $836.7 million | $498 | 16.4% |
| North Dakota | 1,288,532 | $258.9 million | $201 | 12.6% |
| Washington | 442,813 | $582.8 million | $1,316 | 4.3% |
| California | 377,445 | $652.7 million | $1,729 | 3.7% |
| Oregon | 273,282 | $325.4 million | $1,191 | 2.7% |
| Utah | 271,032 | $350.1 million | $1,292 | 2.6% |
| South Dakota | 206,909 | $227 million | $1,097 | 2% |
| Nebraska | 115,705 | $146.6 million | $1,267 | 1.1% |
| Minnesota | 80,610 | $252.4 million | $3,131 | 0.8% |
Show all 15 rows
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 62,698 | $68.82 million | $1,098 | 0.6% |
| Illinois | 59,429 | $87.8 million | $1,477 | 0.6% |
| Texas | 54,874 | $180 million | $3,280 | 0.5% |
| Wisconsin | 50,198 | $80.2 million | $1,598 | 0.5% |
| Colorado | 43,993 | $173.1 million | $3,934 | 0.4% |
Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado sent 62.7% of the truck tonnage arriving from other states, worth $5.4 billion. The 15 states listed sent 95.6% of it.
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho | 3,734,356 | $1.797 billion | $481 | 29% |
| Wyoming | 2,995,805 | $1.688 billion | $563 | 23.3% |
| Colorado | 1,339,226 | $1.931 billion | $1,442 | 10.4% |
| Utah | 1,049,516 | $3.271 billion | $3,117 | 8.2% |
| Washington | 1,035,036 | $3.886 billion | $3,754 | 8% |
| South Dakota | 493,358 | $490.4 million | $994 | 3.8% |
| North Dakota | 425,735 | $611.1 million | $1,435 | 3.3% |
| California | 411,528 | $1.351 billion | $3,284 | 3.2% |
| Oregon | 292,582 | $1.355 billion | $4,631 | 2.3% |
| Texas | 171,511 | $1.303 billion | $7,598 | 1.3% |
Show all 15 rows
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 100,390 | $360.5 million | $3,591 | 0.8% |
| Minnesota | 76,437 | $346 million | $4,527 | 0.6% |
| Arkansas | 66,632 | $110.4 million | $1,657 | 0.5% |
| Oklahoma | 64,880 | $232.8 million | $3,589 | 0.5% |
| South Carolina | 53,308 | $70.99 million | $1,332 | 0.4% |
Gravel led by weight (19.4% of outbound truck tonnage); by value the largest of these was live animals and fish at $4.3 billion. The 15 commodities listed make up 87.6% of the tonnage.
| Commodity | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel | 8,851,933 | $113.5 million | $13 | 19.4% |
| Logs | 4,709,240 | $137 million | $29 | 10.3% |
| Cereal grains | 3,452,451 | $783.6 million | $227 | 7.6% |
| Nonmetallic mineral products | 3,175,514 | $769.6 million | $242 | 7% |
| Animal feed | 3,143,953 | $1.136 billion | $361 | 6.9% |
| Waste and scrap | 2,834,503 | $343.7 million | $121 | 6.2% |
| Wood products | 2,783,410 | $2.234 billion | $803 | 6.1% |
| Other agricultural products | 2,599,608 | $1.039 billion | $400 | 5.7% |
| Fuel oils | 1,707,604 | $3.402 billion | $1,992 | 3.8% |
| Gasoline | 1,573,332 | $1.351 billion | $859 | 3.5% |
Show all 15 rows
| Commodity | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas and other fossil products | 1,546,605 | $1.207 billion | $781 | 3.4% |
| Fertilizers | 999,211 | $501.1 million | $502 | 2.2% |
| Nonmetallic minerals | 891,148 | $193.3 million | $217 | 2% |
| Live animals and fish | 798,561 | $4.323 billion | $5,414 | 1.8% |
| Mixed freight | 783,796 | $1.286 billion | $1,641 | 1.7% |
Inbound, gravel, logs and nonmetallic mineral products were the heaviest, 31% of truck tonnage delivered in Montana.
| Commodity | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel | 6,803,458 | $84.1 million | $12 | 14.2% |
| Logs | 4,710,612 | $141.7 million | $30 | 9.8% |
| Nonmetallic mineral products | 3,355,431 | $1.042 billion | $311 | 7% |
| Crude petroleum | 3,262,931 | $1.501 billion | $460 | 6.8% |
| Cereal grains | 2,859,261 | $644.5 million | $225 | 6% |
| Wood products | 2,759,884 | $2.056 billion | $745 | 5.8% |
| Waste and scrap | 2,643,205 | $305.5 million | $116 | 5.5% |
| Other agricultural products | 2,608,068 | $1.738 billion | $666 | 5.4% |
| Animal feed | 2,589,175 | $1.367 billion | $528 | 5.4% |
| Mixed freight | 2,176,568 | $6.8 billion | $3,124 | 4.5% |
| Natural gas and other fossil products | 1,919,345 | $1.683 billion | $877 | 4% |
| Fuel oils | 1,657,803 | $3.352 billion | $2,022 | 3.5% |
68.5% of the truck tonnage from Montana moves less than 250 miles, and 4.3% travels 1,000 miles or more.
| Distance | Tons | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|
| Below 100 miles | 1,916,364 | 4.2% |
| 100 to 249 miles | 29,268,176 | 64.3% |
| 250 to 499 miles | 10,343,437 | 22.7% |
| 500 to 749 miles | 1,617,878 | 3.6% |
| 750 to 999 miles | 396,289 | 0.9% |
| 1,000 to 1,499 miles | 1,386,935 | 3% |
| 1,500 to 2,000 miles | 440,315 | 1% |
| Over 2,000 miles | 146,670 | 0.3% |