The new question for US freight carriers: What’s your commodity profile?

Visual form

Stacked Bar / Stacked Column: 100-percent commodity-mix columns by US freight mode.

Layout / body structure

Each freight mode has one vertical 100-percent stacked column, with mode icons above the columns. Colored segments show the 2018 commodity mix for full truckload, railroad, air cargo, less than truckload, and last mile.

What is being compared

It compares commodity exposure across US freight modes to show how each mode’s shipment mix affects recovery prospects after COVID-19.

Measurement system

The columns show percent share of 2018 commodity mix by freight mode. Each column sums to 100 percent across commodity categories.

Visible structure inside the graphic

Railroad has large chemicals, oil-and-gas, and coal exposure. Last mile is concentrated in basic commodities and agriculture and food, while air cargo has a large services segment.

Main takeaway from the visual

The chart shows that freight recovery depends on commodity profile. Modes carrying faster-recovering or resilient commodities face a different path than modes exposed to weaker commodity categories.

Key standout values or extremes

Last mile shows 30 percent basic commodities and 31 percent agriculture and food. Railroad shows 31 percent chemicals and 10 percent oil and gas, while less-than-truckload shows 36 percent basic commodities.

Controls / sequence, when applicable

This is a static 100-percent stacked-column chart; there are no in-chart controls to operate.

Companion media, when applicable

There is no separate companion audio or video; the freight commodity-mix chart is the full visual on this page.