U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Freight Economy
Date: April 7, 2016
Our Host: Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
| HIGHWAYS |  | I-80, I-180, US-34, NE-2, NE-33, US-77, and US-6 all exhibit high commercial truck traffic |
| RAILROADS |  | Union Pacific (Class I), BNSF (Class I),Lincoln Lumber Railroad (Class III) and the Kyle Railroad (Class III) |
| AIRPORTS |  | Eppley Airfield and Lincoln Airport |
Source: Lincoln MPO, NE
Data represents flows for State of Nebraska excluding Omaha region counties
| Commodity | Value (millions $) | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas (Coal-n.e.c.) | 40,183 | 15% |
| Cereal grains | 27,541 | 10% |
| Meat/seafood | 26,256 | 10% |
| Machinery | 23,728 | 9% |
| Live animals/fish | 17,657 | 6% |
| All commodities | 273,491 | 100% |
| Commodity | Tons (thousands) | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas (Coal-n.e.c.) | 155,586 | 34% |
| Cereal grains | 124,850 | 27% |
| Animal feed | 30,947 | 7% |
| Other foodstuffs | 19,886 | 4% |
| Gasoline | 16,898 | 4% |
| All commodities | 457,472 | 100% |
| Trade partner | Tonnage | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 39,609 | 23% |
| California | 33,785 | 20% |
| Kansas | 25,374 | 15% |
| Iowa | 15,785 | 9% |
| Missouri | 12,525 | 7% |
| Total outbound | 173,180 | 100% |
| Trade partner | Tonnage | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 36,614 | 27% |
| Wyoming | 29,419 | 22% |
| Kansas | 28,065 | 21% |
| Nebraska | 11,130 | 8% |
| Iowa | 7,138 | 5% |
| Total inbound | 135,274 | 100% |
Based on FAF4.1 data with base year 2012 and forecasts up to 2045
Multimodal freight activity will grow nearly 50% in tonnage between 2012 and 2045 for both the Omaha region and the rest of Nebraska.
The majority of freight activity in the Nebraska is domestic (97% for Omaha region and 99% for the remainder of Nebraska.)
Both the Omaha region and the remainder of Nebraska are expected to continue the current trend of predominately domestic freight activity in the future.
Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and California will continue to be the main out-of-state trading partners for both the Omaha region and the rest of Nebraska.
The recent completion of the I-80 expansion between Omaha to Lincoln from 4-lanes to 6-lanes is a great example of addressing high traffic volumes, improving interregional travel, and enhancing freight movement on this very important State and National Interstate corridor.
The Lincoln City and Lancaster County are currently served by four freight railroads, two Class I railroads (mainline BNSF Railway and a secondary branch line of the Union Pacific Railroad) and two Class III railroads.
Cereal grains represent a quarter of all commodities tonnage in Omaha region but only 6% in terms of value. The share of cereal grains tonnage is even higher (33%) for the rest of Nebraska with 13% share in terms of value.
Rail carries approximately 11% of tonnage in Omaha region and about 20% in the rest of Nebraska.
In 2005, 188 freight operations employed nearly 6,000 employees in Lancaster County, with a total annual payroll of almost $240 million.
More than 40% of employment in Lancaster County in 2013 was related to freight intensive industry sectors.
Sources for Freight Facts: FAF, BTS, Lincoln MPO LRTP
To view PDF files, you can use the Adobe® Reader®.
