Truck freight in North Carolina
Trucks moved an estimated 322.6 million tons of freight from origins in North Carolina in 2024, worth $545.8 billion, according to the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF).
Trucks carried 90.8% of all freight tonnage that started in North Carolina, and 246.7 million tons of that truck freight stayed within the state.
Inbound, trucks delivered 332.9 million tons of freight worth $502.9 billion to destinations in North Carolina.
The top destination states for trucks leaving North Carolina were South Carolina (15.4 million tons), Virginia (13.6 million tons), Georgia (6.7 million tons), Tennessee (5 million tons) and Florida (3 million tons).
The largest truck flows into North Carolina from other states came from Texas (17.5 million tons), South Carolina (12.7 million tons), Virginia (10.6 million tons), Tennessee (6.9 million tons) and Georgia (6.8 million tons).
Truck tonnage from North Carolina origins went from 309 million tons in 2018 to 322.6 million tons in 2024, and its value from $434 billion to $545.8 billion. The largest one-year increase in tonnage was in 2021, up 8.9 million tons. A ton of truck freight from North Carolina was worth $1,405 on average in 2018 and $1,692 in 2024.
Show the numbers
| Year | Tons | Value (current US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 322,597,940 | $545.8 billion |
| 2023 | 313,661,070 | $536 billion |
| 2022 | 308,403,801 | $531.3 billion |
| 2021 | 307,268,866 | $470.5 billion |
| 2020 | 298,383,894 | $416 billion |
| 2019 | 310,049,857 | $436.7 billion |
| 2018 | 308,991,438 | $434 billion |
The top three, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia, took 52.2% of the truck tonnage leaving North Carolina for other states. Freight to South Carolina averaged $2,220 per ton.
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 15,434,571 | $34.27 billion | $2,220 | 22.6% |
| Virginia | 13,608,821 | $29.2 billion | $2,146 | 19.9% |
| Georgia | 6,666,523 | $17.15 billion | $2,573 | 9.7% |
| Tennessee | 4,975,579 | $12.89 billion | $2,590 | 7.3% |
| Florida | 2,960,502 | $12.67 billion | $4,280 | 4.3% |
| Pennsylvania | 2,736,254 | $13.38 billion | $4,891 | 4% |
| Texas | 2,210,589 | $14.56 billion | $6,588 | 3.2% |
| Ohio | 2,193,673 | $20.01 billion | $9,121 | 3.2% |
| Illinois | 1,460,689 | $11.71 billion | $8,014 | 2.1% |
| Maryland | 1,224,086 | $4.413 billion | $3,605 | 1.8% |
Show all 15 rows
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 1,216,041 | $4.924 billion | $4,049 | 1.8% |
| California | 1,215,980 | $12.57 billion | $10,336 | 1.8% |
| New York | 1,196,427 | $8.307 billion | $6,943 | 1.7% |
| Michigan | 1,100,599 | $4.791 billion | $4,353 | 1.6% |
| Indiana | 1,013,830 | $12.65 billion | $12,473 | 1.5% |
Texas, South Carolina and Virginia sent 52.4% of the truck tonnage arriving from other states, worth $49.2 billion. The 15 states listed sent 90.3% of it.
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 17,495,074 | $5.924 billion | $339 | 22.5% |
| South Carolina | 12,732,370 | $24.53 billion | $1,926 | 16.3% |
| Virginia | 10,574,604 | $18.75 billion | $1,773 | 13.6% |
| Tennessee | 6,900,943 | $11.8 billion | $1,710 | 8.9% |
| Georgia | 6,844,956 | $23.35 billion | $3,411 | 8.8% |
| Kentucky | 2,322,774 | $4.403 billion | $1,896 | 3% |
| Ohio | 2,310,087 | $8.664 billion | $3,750 | 3% |
| Pennsylvania | 2,251,683 | $12.87 billion | $5,715 | 2.9% |
| Florida | 1,634,326 | $7.069 billion | $4,325 | 2.1% |
| Alabama | 1,534,878 | $3.921 billion | $2,555 | 2% |
Show all 15 rows
| State | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 1,420,008 | $5.243 billion | $3,692 | 1.8% |
| Illinois | 1,242,792 | $6.775 billion | $5,451 | 1.6% |
| New Jersey | 1,023,510 | $8.529 billion | $8,333 | 1.3% |
| New York | 994,269 | $6.262 billion | $6,298 | 1.3% |
| Maryland | 915,803 | $2.846 billion | $3,108 | 1.2% |
Gravel led by weight (19.5% of outbound truck tonnage); by value the largest of these was mixed freight at $67.5 billion. The 15 commodities listed make up 81.8% of the tonnage.
| Commodity | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel | 62,837,847 | $1.3 billion | $21 | 19.5% |
| Logs | 26,698,373 | $859.4 million | $32 | 8.3% |
| Nonmetallic mineral products | 24,891,013 | $9.347 billion | $375 | 7.7% |
| Wood products | 24,605,222 | $17.95 billion | $729 | 7.6% |
| Waste and scrap | 19,784,274 | $2.009 billion | $102 | 6.1% |
| Gasoline | 16,615,664 | $12.59 billion | $758 | 5.2% |
| Other agricultural products | 14,470,807 | $8.509 billion | $588 | 4.5% |
| Mixed freight | 12,915,687 | $67.48 billion | $5,225 | 4% |
| Animal feed | 11,665,526 | $7.46 billion | $639 | 3.6% |
| Live animals and fish | 10,189,758 | $17.66 billion | $1,733 | 3.2% |
Show all 15 rows
| Commodity | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cereal grains | 9,563,377 | $2.005 billion | $210 | 3% |
| Natural sands | 9,334,909 | $677.1 million | $73 | 2.9% |
| Other foodstuffs | 8,737,323 | $12.49 billion | $1,429 | 2.7% |
| Plastics and rubber | 5,977,351 | $26.74 billion | $4,474 | 1.9% |
| Natural gas and other fossil products | 5,286,636 | $3.148 billion | $595 | 1.6% |
Inbound, gravel, nonmetallic mineral products and logs were the heaviest, 36.5% of truck tonnage delivered in North Carolina.
| Commodity | Tons | Value | Per ton | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel | 67,965,701 | $1.362 billion | $20 | 20.4% |
| Nonmetallic mineral products | 27,022,648 | $10.26 billion | $380 | 8.1% |
| Logs | 26,682,541 | $682 million | $26 | 8% |
| Wood products | 23,289,602 | $15.44 billion | $663 | 7% |
| Natural sands | 19,648,819 | $510.8 million | $26 | 5.9% |
| Waste and scrap | 17,513,783 | $1.241 billion | $71 | 5.3% |
| Gasoline | 15,782,589 | $11.92 billion | $755 | 4.7% |
| Other agricultural products | 13,301,586 | $10.29 billion | $774 | 4% |
| Animal feed | 12,626,549 | $8.835 billion | $700 | 3.8% |
| Mixed freight | 10,482,860 | $59.26 billion | $5,653 | 3.1% |
| Cereal grains | 10,469,184 | $2.163 billion | $207 | 3.1% |
| Other foodstuffs | 9,726,765 | $13.01 billion | $1,337 | 2.9% |
85.4% of the truck tonnage from North Carolina moves less than 250 miles, and 2.4% travels 1,000 miles or more.
| Distance | Tons | Share of tons |
|---|---|---|
| Below 100 miles | 106,352,748 | 33% |
| 100 to 249 miles | 169,166,260 | 52.4% |
| 250 to 499 miles | 24,741,672 | 7.7% |
| 500 to 749 miles | 10,331,047 | 3.2% |
| 750 to 999 miles | 4,631,048 | 1.4% |
| 1,000 to 1,499 miles | 4,073,183 | 1.3% |
| 1,500 to 2,000 miles | 876,564 | 0.3% |
| Over 2,000 miles | 2,425,419 | 0.8% |