What is the difference in railways, goods transported between North America and United States?

904,610 million ton-km, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for North America and United States?

27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Railways, goods transported (million ton-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

North America vs United States: Railways, goods transported

North America

1.33 million million ton-km

in 2021

United States

2.24 million million ton-km

in 2021

North America rank

1st

United States rank

3rd

Railways, goods transported over time

North America
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 2.24 million million ton-km against 1.33 million million ton-km in North America, a difference of 904,610 million ton-km.

That makes United States's figure about 1.7 times North America's.

Across all 27 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

North America ranks 1st and United States ranks 3rd of 28 groups.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	North America	United States	Difference	Ahead
1990s	1.29 million million ton-km	1.99 million million ton-km	701,478 million ton-km	United States
2000s	1.34 million million ton-km	2.37 million million ton-km	1.03 million million ton-km	United States
2010s	1.44 million million ton-km	2.49 million million ton-km	1.05 million million ton-km	United States
2020s	1.30 million million ton-km	2.17 million million ton-km	866,815 million ton-km	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher railways, goods transported, North America or United States?: United States, at 2.24 million million ton-km against 1.33 million million ton-km in North America as of 2021.
What is the difference in railways, goods transported between North America and United States?: 904,610 million ton-km, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for North America and United States?: 27 years are reported by both, from 1995 to 2021.
How do North America and United States rank globally for railways, goods transported?: North America ranks 1st and United States ranks 3rd of 28 groups.
Where does this data come from?: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as Railways, goods transported (million ton-km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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North America vs United States: Railways, goods transported. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/compare/railways-goods-transported-million-ton-km/north-america/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator: Railways, goods transported (million ton-km)
Unit: million ton-km
Source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 134 places, 2,685 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Goods transported by railway are the volume of goods transported by railway, measured in metric tons times kilometers traveled.