S Data do not meet publication standards due to highsampling variability or other reasons.Z Less than half the unit of measure.
1 Truck as a single mode includes shipments that went by private truck only,for hire truckonly, or a combination of private truck and for-hire truck.
2 Excludes most shipments of crude oil.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau,1997 Economic Census, Transportation, 1997 Commodity Flow Survey, series EC97TCF-US.http://www.census.gov/econ/www/cfsmain.htmlCOMMODITY FLOW SURVEY

PURPOSE

The 1997 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is undertaken through a partnership between the Bureau of the Census, U.S.Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation. This surveyproduces data on the movement of goods in the United States. The data from the CFS are used by public policy analysts andfor transportation planning and decision-making to assess the demand for transportation facilities and services, energy use,and safety risk and environmental concerns.

COVERAGE

The 1997 CFS covers business establishments in mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and selected retail industries. Thesurvey also covers selected auxiliary establishments (e.g., warehouses) of in-scope multiunit and retail companies. Thesurvey coverage excludes establishments classified as farms, forestry, fisheries, governments, construction, transportation,foreign establishments, services, and most establishments in retail.

CONTENT

The CFS captures data on shipments originating from selected types of business establishments located in the 50 states andthe District of Columbia. We requested that the respondent provide the following information about their establishmentsshipments: domestic destination or port of exit, commodity, value, weight, mode(s) of transportation, the date on which theshipment was made, and an indication of whether the shipment was an export, hazardous material, or containerized. Forshipments that include more than one commodity, respondents are instructed to report the commodity that makes up thegreatest percentage of the shipments weight. For exports, we also ask the respondent to provide the mode of export and theforeign destination city and country. For hazardous materials shipments, we ask for the correspsonding UN/NA code.

FREQUENCY

The survey was initiated for 1993. Beginning with 1997, the survey will be conducted every 5 years for years ending in "2"and "7." Commodity surveys were conducted between 1963 and 1983, but data for 1983 were not published. No data werecollected for 1987.

METHODS

The 1997 CFS consists of a sample of 100,000 establishments chosen based on geographic location and industry. Eachestablishment selected into the CFS sample is mailed a questionnaire for each of its four reporting weeks. For the CFS '97each sampled establishment was asked to report on a sample of individual shipments during a one week period in eachcalendar quarter. In addition, about 20,000 establishments received a modified questionnaire for their final reportingperiod,requesting additional information on transportation facilities and equipment. *