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Freight Economy

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FHWA's Roundtable on the Freight Economy: Bangor, Maine

Date: May 4, 2016

Our Host: Bangor Regional Chamber of Commerce, Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System, Maine DOT

Key Regional Transportation Facilities and Freight Hubs

HIGHWAYSI-95 , I-395
RAILROADSCentral Maine and Quebec Railroad,Pan Am Railways, Northern Maine Junction
AIRPORTSBangor International Airport
FREIGHT GENERATORSGeneral Electric, Old Town Canoe, UPS

Freight Facilities

Stakeholders Represented by the Following:

What the future of freight will look like for Bangor, ME:

"Maine" FAF zone - Data represents freight activity for State of Maine

Top 5 Commodities by Value 2045

Commodity Value (millions $) % of total
Mixed freight 18,082 14%
Machinery 12,134 10%
Natural gas (Coal-n.e.c.) 8,498 7%
Electronics 8,355 7%
Misc. mfg. prods. 6,886 6%
All commodities 125,121 100%

Top 5 Commodities by Weight 2045

Commodity Tons (thousands) % of total
Misc. mfg. prods. 21,446 17%
Other foodstuffs 17,921 14%
Logs 14,581 11%
Natural gas (Coal-n.e.c.) 12,326 10%
Wood prods. 8,211 6%
All commodities 127,993 100%

Trading Partners 2045

Outbound by Weight of Shipment
(thousand tons)

Trade partner Tonnage % of total
New Hampshire 6,935 20%
Canada 4,866 14%
New York 4,701 14%
Massachusetts 3,911 11%
New Jersey 3,908 11%
Total outbound 34,032 100%

Inbound by Weight of Shipment
(thousand tons)

Trade partner Tonnage % of total
Canada 9,584 33%
New Hampshire 6,059 21%
Massachusetts 3,144 11%
Connecticut 1,867 6%
New York 1,142 4%
Total inbound 29,396 100%

Based on FAF4.1 data with base year 2012 and forecasts up to 2045

Modal Freight Share by Tonnage, 2012 and 2045

In 2014, Maine's GDP was $54.3 billion, ranked 46th in the United States. Bangor's GDP was 10% of the state's GDP

More than 40% of the Penobscot County, Maine's employment is from freight-intensive industry sectors.

Between 2012 and 2045, Maine will see freight activity grow by about 70% in value and 60% in tonnage.

Maine's domestic freight activity share was 91% in 2012, and the state is expected to maintain that share in 2045.

About 40% of all outbound freight by value from Maine ends up in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York State.

Maine's share of international freight was 10% in 2012 and is expected to grow to 15% in 2045.

Trucks are – and will likely continue to be – the most dominant freight carrier mode in Maine, carrying about 90% of freight tonnage.

Four counties in Maine (Cumberland, Penobscot, York, and Somerset) accounted for more than half of all inbound and outbound freight flows in the state.

Two rail systems, Pan AM Railways and the Central Maine and Quebec Railway (CMQR), provide freight rail connections from Bangor to the rest of the United States and to Canada.

By far the primary Maine truck route, as measured by truck annual average daily traffic (AADT), is the Interstate 95/295 north-south corridor between Bangor and Kittery, Maine.

Sources for Freight Facts: FAF4 Data, BEA, Maine Integrated Freight Study, BACTS LRP 2011-2035

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Page last modified on August 29, 2017
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