To move large quantities of goods across the country and around the world, Americans depend on the Nation's freight transportation system - a vast network of roads, bridges, rail tracks, airports, seaports, navigable waterways, pipelines, and equipment. Because economic activities world-wide have become more integrated and globalised, more goods produced by U.S. factories and farms are bound for export, and imports originate from more than 200 countries. This pace of trade Americans have become accustomed to is made possible by the complex intermodal transportation network that blankets the country and links the United States with world markets. This book provides a snapshot of freight transportation activity from a global perspective, highlighting physical characteristics and industry output for the U.S. and other leading world economies.