United States Transportation - 2024

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 99 (2020)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 7,249

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 889.022 million (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 42,985,300,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

N

Airports

15,873 (2024)

Heliports

7,914 (2024)

Pipelines

1,984,321 km natural gas, 240,711 km petroleum products (2013)

Railways

total: 293,564.2 km (2014)

standard gauge: 293,564.2 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge

Roadways

total: 6,586,610 km (2012)

paved: 4,304,715 km (2012) (includes 76,334 km of expressways)

unpaved: 2,281,895 km (2012)

Waterways

41,009 km (2012) (19,312 km used for commerce; Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, is shared with Canada)

Merchant marine

total: 3,533 (2023)

by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 60, general cargo 96, oil tanker 68, other 3,305

note - oceangoing self-propelled, cargo-carrying vessels of 1,000 gross tons and above

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s):
Atlantic Ocean: Baltimore, Charleston, Hampton Roads, New York/New Jersey, Savannah
Pacific Ocean: Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle/Tacoma
Gulf of Mexico: Houston

oil terminal(s): LOOP terminal, Haymark terminal

container port(s) (TEUs): Charleston (2,751,442), Hampton Roads (3,522,834), Houston (3,453,220), Long Beach (9,384,368), Los Angeles (10,677,610), New York/New Jersey (8,985,929), Oakland (2,448,243), Savannah (5,613,163), Seattle/Tacoma (3,736,206) (2021)

LNG terminal(s) (export): Calcasieu Pass (LA), Cameron (LA), Corpus Christi (TX), Cove Point (MD), Elba Island (GA), Freeport (TX), Sabine Pass (LA)
note - two additional export facilities are under construction and expected to begin commercial operations in 2023-2024

LNG terminal(s) (import): Cove Point (MD), Elba Island (GA), Everett (MA), Freeport (TX), Golden Pass (TX), Hackberry (LA), Lake Charles (LA), Neptune (offshore), Northeast Gateway (offshore), Pascagoula (MS), Sabine Pass (TX)

river port(s): Baton Rouge, Plaquemines, New Orleans (Mississippi River)

cargo ports: Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Corpus Christi, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Plaquemines (LA), Tampa, Texas City

cruise departure ports (passengers): Baltimore, Long Beach, Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Seattle

Night view the port of Savannah, Georgia. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.: View of the port of Charleston, South Carolina. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.: View of the port of Los Angeles, California. Photo courtesy of US Coast Guard.: View of the port of Long Beach, California. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.: An aerial view of the Golden Pass LNG export terminal at Port Arthur, Texas. Photo courtesy of US Coast Guard.: A view of a liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier docking at the Cove Point, Maryland LNG terminal. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.: The Marvel Crane, the first liquid natural gas carrier to transport natural gas from the Cameron LNG facility in Louisiana. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard.:

Transportation - note

the US operates one PC 1 or 2 class heavy icebreaker, two PC 3 or 4 class medium icebreakers, and two PC 5 or 6 class light icebreakers; the heavy and medium icebreakers carry out various polar missions including opening passage for the annual resupply of McMurdo Station in Antarctica
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 1 - year-round operation in all polar waters (ice thickness >3 m); PC 2 - year-round operation in moderate multi-year ice conditions (ice thickness up to 3 m); PC 3 - year-round operation in second-year ice which may include multi-year ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 2.5 m); PC 4 - year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 120 cm); PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 -  summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)

The US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star enroute to the McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 15 January 2017.: US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) sits hove-to ice on the frozen Ross Sea, Antarctica, on 6 January 2022.: US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, St. John's Bay, Newfoundland 4 June 2000: US Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) approaches the pier at Base Seattle on Saturday 20 November 2021.: US Coast Guard Cutter Healy (right) meets up with Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St. Laurent in the Arctic Ocean on 25 September 2008.: