Truck movements
Freight traffic flow data has limitations with respect to trucks. The primary coverage of trucking companies traffic is limited for non-manufactured products. Supplemental purchases can provide for agricultural and mining resource extraction shipments from the source to a processing plant that are not ordinarily covered in commodity flow surveys.
Traffic movements originating in warehouses or distribution centers or drayage movements of intermodal rail or air freight are shown as STCCÂ 5010. These are by definition truck movements. Movements to warehousing and distribution centers may be by other STCC codes and by any mode. Details on the types of items being moved are not available as are shipping freight quotes.
The inland or surface movements of import and export traffic volumes to locations outside of North America are included in the data. However, the flow patterns of this freight are based on the movement patterns of domestically sourced goods in the same market areas and are not the actual movements of the import/export freight.
Freight carried by trucks, based on the definitions used by the principal agencies collecting data, also typically excludes shipments to or from retail (excluding mail-order and warehousing), offices, service establishments, and residences. These local freight or goods deliveries are significantly different from those freight shipments that are included in terms of the distances traveled, the type of trucks used, the times of movement, and the routing of the shipment, but their exclusion does not detract from the larger freight-related issues.
Tags: trucking companies