The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is a joint effort by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and is required by law. The survey is the primary source of national and state-level data on domestic freight shipments by American businesses. As a shipper-based survey, the CFS collects information on how U.S. establishments transport raw materials and finished goods; the types of commodities shipped by mode of transportation; the value, weight, origin, and destinations of shipments (including exports). The CFS does not include imports or shipments originating in any U.S. territories. Industry coverage includes: Mining, Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, Select Retail and Services, and some auxiliary establishments (e.g., warehouses) of in-scope, multi-unit, and retail companies.

Starting with the 2022 Commodity Flow Survey, respondents will use a secure online portal to respond making filing easier while at the same time improving data quality and reducing costs.

For additional information on how to complete your survey, go to Information for Respondents. 

The CFS data are used by policy makers and transportation planners in various federal, state, and local agencies for assessing the demand for transportation facilities and services, energy use, and safety risk and environmental concerns. Additionally, business owners, private researchers, and analysts use the CFS data for analyzing trends in the movement of goods, mapping spatial patterns of commodity and vehicle flows, forecasting demands for the movement of goods, and determining needs for associated infrastructure and equipment.

A sample of more than 160,000 establishments were selected for the 2022 CFS based on geographic location and industry. Each sampled establishment is asked to report either a sample of individual shipments or all of their shipments that occurred during a specified one-week period in each quarter of the calendar year. For shipments that include more than one commodity, respondents are instructed to report the commodity that makes up the greatest percentage of the shipment's weight. For additional information on data collection, go to Commodity Flow Survey Methodology.

After all data are collected and necessary edits are made, disclosure avoidance is added in the form of noise infusion to disguise specific companies and protect their confidentiality. Several tables are published from the collected data with multiple variables including, but not limited to, SCTG, NAICS, Mode, Origin and Destination Geography at the U.S., Region, division, state, and CFS area. In recent releases we have also published an experimental data product known as the Public Use File (PUF) that provides shipment-level characteristics while continuing to protect the confidentiality of individual business information. The PUF users can create customized tables and build models to track and analyze the movement of commodities. For additional information on data dissemination, go to Commodity Flow Survey Methodology and to view our most recent published data, go to Data. 

Response is required by law.  Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 131, authorizes the survey by requiring businesses and other organizations included in the survey to answer the questions and submit a response.  Sections 224 and 225 require businesses and other organizations that receive this questionnaire to answer the questions and return the report to the U.S. Census Bureau.

By Section 9 of the same law, the information that businesses and other organizations provide is confidential.  It may be seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau information and may be used only for statistical purposes.  Further, copies retained in respondents’ files are immune from legal process.

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