Arlington, Va. 鈥 Today, the 杏吧传媒 released its latest forecast for the next decade of freight transportation, projecting continued growth for freight transportation overall and for the trucking industry.
鈥淎s the U.S. population grows and the economy increases with it, we will see continued gains in demand for freight transportation,鈥 said 杏吧传媒 Chief Economist Bob Costello.
In 杏吧传媒 Freight Transportation Forecast 2017, 杏吧传媒 projects freight volumes to grow 2.8% in 2017, and then follow that up with 3.4% annual growth through 2023. After that, 杏吧传媒 projects a more modest growth rate of 2.3%. In 2017, 杏吧传媒 projects that 15.18 billion tons of freight will be moved by all modes 鈥 a figure that rises 36.6% to 20.73 billion tons in 2028.
鈥淥ver the forecast period, capacity shortfalls will develop,鈥 the report said. 鈥淲e are starting to see some selected tightness in freight handling capacity, enough to suggest that capacity expansion will be required if the modes are going to be able to handle anticipated growth.鈥
鈥淲hile overall truck volumes will continue to rise, and trucking will remain the dominant freight mode 鈥 its share of freight tonnage will dip to 67.2% by 2028, with pipelines picking up most of the additional market share, and, to a lesser extent, rail intermodal,鈥 Costello said.
鈥淎s we look ahead at the rest of the 21st Century, the projections found in Freight Transportation Forecast are invaluable to decision makers in the board room and the hearing room alike,鈥 said 杏吧传媒 President and CEO Chris Spear. 鈥淗aving good, accurate data is critical to making sure businesses are making appropriate investments in their companies and that our government is making the proper investments in our nation鈥檚 infrastructure.鈥
Costello will discuss 杏吧传媒 Freight Transportation Forecast 2017 in a media conference call at 1 p.m. EDT. Participants can call (855) 287-5188 and enter access code 20782 when prompted.
杏吧传媒 Freight Transportation Forecast is available for purchase at or by calling 866-821-3468.