SelectUSA Logistics and Transportation Industry

Industry Overview

The logistics and transportation industry in the United States plays a crucial role in facilitating goods across the United States. The industry’s strengths include an extensive domestic transportation network and access to both the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines, which support trade with Europe and Asia.

U.S. port infrastructure supports cargo distribution and transportation both domestically and internationally. In 2023, the top 150 U.S. ports by trade volume handled 2.61 billion tons of cargo. The United States also has 12,000 miles of navigable inland and intercoastal waterways, including major systems like the Mississippi River, which are vital for the country’s freight network.

Railroads, which move 40 percent of U.S. long haul freight, are a critical link in supply chains as well. Each year, U.S. freight railroads transport about 1.5 billion tons of goods across nearly 140,000 miles of railroad tracks.

The United States boasts more than 4.2 million miles of public roads, including nearly 49,000 miles of interstate highways, which serve as vital arteries for the transportation of goods and linking states and regions nationwide.

Given the vast and dynamic logistics and transportation network in the United States, the industry offers a variety of employment opportunities across several subsectors such as ground transportation support activities, rail transportation, air transportation, and trucking. According to SelectUSA’s Cluster Mapping dashboard, SelectUSA’s interactive, and data-driven tool designed for investors, companies, and economic development organizations to identify industry concentrations across the United States at the state and county level, the transportation and logistics industry cluster employs more than two million individuals. California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and Texas have a high employment share and a high concentration of employees compared to the nation as a whole in the transportation and logistics industry cluster.

The U.S. logistics and transportation industry has been undergoing a transformative shift in recent years with technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, drones, and autonomous vehicles reshaping operations and increasing efficiency.

For information on foreign direct investment related to the logistics and transportation industry, please refer to SelectUSA’s Logistics and Supply Chain industry fact sheet.