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Drivers
Vehicles
Driving --
Cars
Bicycling and Walking
Mass Transit
Use
Mode Share
Cover and Table of Contents |
Truck travel has grown far faster than passenger vehicle travel in New
Jersey. From 1997 to 2004, truck travel grew by 44 percent, compared to
15 percent for all vehicles. Trucks logged more than 6.3 billion miles
in 2004, up nearly 2 billion miles from 1997. Trucks also made up a
growing share of the vehicles on New Jersey's roadways. In 2004, trucks
comprised almost 9 percent of the total miles traveled, up from 7
percent in 1997, an increase of 25 percent.
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Source: NJDOT.
Travel Activity by Vehicle Type, 1997-2004. |
Freight traffic into, out of, and through New Jersey continued to grow
at a steady clip. From 1997 to 2002 (the most recent year for which
data was available) tonnage grew by just over 15 percent, while
ton-miles grew by about 14 percent. Trucks continued to carry most of
New Jersey's freight, hauling 65 percent of total ton-miles in 2002.
However, that is a 6 percent decline over 1997, when trucks carried 69
percent of total ton-miles in the state. Rail and waterborne freight
are making up the difference, carrying two and three times as many
ton-miles, respectively, as they did in 1997.
| |
1997 |
2002 |
Change |
| |
Ton-miles (millions) |
Share
of Total |
Ton-miles (millions) |
Share
of Total |
Ton-miles (millions) |
Share
of Total |
| Truck |
23,813 |
69% |
26,997 |
65% |
13% |
6% |
| Rail |
1,963 |
6% |
3,853 |
9% |
96% |
64% |
| Water |
851 |
2% |
2,891 |
7% |
240% |
183% |
| Other/Multiple |
7,818 |
23% |
7,600 |
18% |
-3% |
-19% |
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|
|
|
|
|
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| Total |
34,445 |
|
41,341 |
|
20% |
|
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| Source: U.S.
Census Bureau, 1997, 2002 Economic Census,
Transportation - Commodity Flow Survey. |
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Nevertheless, truck traffic continues to clog the state's major
roadways, especially in the urban areas and along the Turnpike. Federal
data analyzed by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and presented in
a 2005 report show that by 2020, today's truck traffic will increase by
approximately 50 percent. (To read the report, visit
http://www.tstc.org/reports/thetrucksarecoming.pdf)
|
Estimated Average
Annual Daily Truck Traffic: 2020 |
|
 |
Source: FHWA.
Freight Analysis Framework, 2002. |
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