The Freight Analysis Framework (FAF), produced through a partnership between BTS and FHWA, integrates data from a variety of sources to create a comprehensive picture of freight movement among states and major metropolitan areas by all modes of transportation. Starting with data from the 2012 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) and international trade data from the Census Bureau, FAF incorporates data from agriculture, extraction, utility, construction, service, and other sectors.

FAF version 4 (FAF4) provides estimates for tonnage, value, and ton-miles by regions of origin and destination, commodity type, and mode. Data are available for the base year of 2012, the recent years of 2013-2015, and forecasts from 2020 through 2045 in 5-year intervals. Data may be accessed through the Data Extraction Tool, downloaded as a complete database, or in summary files.

Data Tabulation Tool

The Data Tabulation Tool allows users to create and download customized FAF4 summary tables.
 

Data Files

Regional Database of tonnage, value, and ton-miles by FAF regions of origin and destination, commodity type, and mode. Data are also available for optimistic (“high”) and pessimistic (“low”) growth scenarios. Weights are in thousands of tons, activity is in millions of ton-miles, values for the full time period covered (2012-45) are in millions of 2012 constant dollars, and values for recently completed years (2013-15) are also available in millions of current dollars.

• FAF4 Regional Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped Microsoft Access format, mid-range estimates only: FAF4.4_access.zip (154 MB)
• FAF4 Regional Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped Microsoft Access format, including high and low estimates: FAF4.4_access_HiLoForecasts.zip (257 MB)
• FAF4 Regional Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped CSV format, mid-range estimates only: FAF4.4.zip (106 MB)
• FAF4 Regional Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped CSV format, including high and low estimates: FAF4.4_HiLoForecasts.zip (182 MB)

State Database of tonnage, value, and ton-miles by states of origin and destination, commodity type, and mode. Data are also available for optimistic (“high”) and pessimistic (“low”) growth scenarios. Weights are in thousands of tons, activity is in millions of ton-miles, values for the full time period covered (2012-45) are in millions of 2012 constant dollars, and values for recently completed years (2013-15) are also available in millions of current dollars.

• FAF4 State Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped Microsoft Access format, mid-range estimates only: FAF4.4_access_State.zip (57 MB)
• FAF4 State Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped Microsoft Access format, including high and low estimates: FAF4.4_access_State_HiLoForecasts.zip (97 MB)
• FAF4 State Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped CSV format, mid-range estimates only: FAF4.4_State.zip (41 MB)
• FAF4 State Database for 2012-2015 and forecasts up to 2045 in zipped CSV format, including high and low estimates: FAF4.4_State_HiLoForecasts.zip (70 MB)

Historic Series Database of tonnage, value, and ton-miles by states of origin and destination, commodity type, and mode. Weights are in thousands of tons, activity is in millions of ton-miles, and values are available both in millions of 2012 constant dollars and in millions of current dollars. Data for earlier years is only available at the state level, and all fields are defined by FAF4 standards.

• FAF4 State Database for 1997 in zipped CSV format: FAF4.4_Reprocessed_1997_State.zip (10 MB)
• FAF4 State Database for 2002 in zipped CSV format: FAF4.4_Reprocessed_2002_State.zip (8 MB)
• FAF4 State Database for 2007 in zipped CSV format: FAF4.4_Reprocessed_2007_State.zip (7 MB)

Network Database and Flow Assignment

The FAF Network Assignment estimates freight volumes and truck movements over the nation's highway network. The network is available in both ESRI and TransCAD formats.
 

Schedule of Releases

Further versions of FAF4 will provide data revisions, and BTS is working on a new annual estimate methodology that will create comparable time series data.

FAF4 Documentation

FAF4 Frequently Asked Questions
FAF4 Users Guide
FAF4 Base Matrix Development
FAF4 Forecast Report
FAF4 Version Descriptions
FAF4 and 2012 CFS Domestic Area Definitions
FAF4 and 2012 CFS Commodity Codes

FAF Quarterly Webinar

Please join BTS and the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Freight Management and Operations for periodic webinars on FAF. The date of the next webinar is upcoming.

Archived Webinars

• April 10, 2014 – "How the FAF Can Help You"
• June 26, 2014 – "Using Freight Analysis Framework Data in Economic Analysis"
• November 5, 2014 – "Using Freight Analysis Framework Data for Freight Planning"
• April 29, 2015 – "Using FAF Data for Freight Planning"
• September 15, 2015 – “Leveraging Other Datasets with the FAF: A Case Study on California's Statewide Freight Model”
• December 11, 2015 – "Introduction to FAF4"
• June 28, 2017 – "Inside the FAF4: Forecasting Origin-Destination Freight Flows and Why It Matters" (link is external)
• September 25, 2017 – "Inside the FAF4: Truck Flow Estimation Method and Visualization"
• December 14, 2017 – "How to Leverage FAF4 Freight Data for Transportation Analysis: Example Cases from the Oregon and Tennessee DOTs"

Related Information

FAF3 data and documentation are archived here.

Information on FAF1 and FAF2 available upon request from faf@dot.gov.