Railways, goods transported in North America

North America: Railways, goods transported was 1.33 million million ton-km in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
1.33 million million ton-km
Change on year
up 4.8%
Rank
1st
of 30 groups
All-time high
1.91 million million ton-km
in 1995
All-time low
1.11 million million ton-km
in 1996
Years of data
27
1995–2021

Railways, goods transported in North America, 1995–2021

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M1995200820211995: 1.9M million ton-km1996: 1.1M million ton-km1997: 1.1M million ton-km1998: 1.1M million ton-km1999: 1.2M million ton-km2000: 1.2M million ton-km2001: 1.2M million ton-km2002: 1.2M million ton-km2003: 1.3M million ton-km2004: 1.4M million ton-km2005: 1.4M million ton-km2006: 1.5M million ton-km2007: 1.5M million ton-km2008: 1.5M million ton-km2009: 1.3M million ton-km2010: 1.4M million ton-km2011: 1.4M million ton-km2012: 1.4M million ton-km2013: 1.5M million ton-km2014: 1.6M million ton-km2015: 1.5M million ton-km2016: 1.4M million ton-km2017: 1.4M million ton-km2018: 1.5M million ton-km2019: 1.4M million ton-km2020: 1.3M million ton-km2021: 1.3M million ton-km

Source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Measured in million ton-km.

Analysis

In 2021, railways, goods transported in North America stood at 1.33 million million ton-km.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.8% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, railways, goods transported in North America peaked at 1.91 million million ton-km in 1995 and was at its lowest, 1.11 million million ton-km, in 1996.

That places North America 1st out of 30 groups with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1.29 million million ton-km 1.11 million million ton-km 1.91 million million ton-km 5
2000s 1.34 million million ton-km 1.21 million million ton-km 1.47 million million ton-km 10
2010s 1.44 million million ton-km 1.36 million million ton-km 1.56 million million ton-km 10
2020s 1.30 million million ton-km 1.27 million million ton-km 1.33 million million ton-km 2

Countries ranked near North America

  1. 1 China (People’s Republic of) 3.02 million million ton-km compare
  2. 2 Russian Federation 2.64 million million ton-km compare
  3. 3 United States 2.24 million million ton-km compare
  4. 4 India 719,762 million ton-km compare

See the full ranking of 134 places →

More infrastructure data for North America

All data for North America →

Frequently asked questions

What is railways, goods transported in North America?
Railways, goods transported in North America was 1.33 million million ton-km in 2021, according to Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC).
What is the highest railways, goods transported recorded in North America?
The highest recorded value was 1.91 million million ton-km in 1995.
What is the lowest railways, goods transported recorded in North America?
The lowest recorded value was 1.11 million million ton-km in 1996.
How does North America rank for railways, goods transported?
North America ranks 1st out of 30 groups with data for 2021.
Is railways, goods transported rising or falling in North America?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this North America data come from?
The figures come from Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as part of Railways, goods transported (million ton-km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

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Railways, goods transported in North America. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/stat/railways-goods-transported-million-ton-km/north-america/

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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

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