Freight Analysis Framework (FAF4)

Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) data include annual commodity flows (quantity, dollar volume, and tone miles) between FAF origin and destination zones by commodity type for truck, rail, airline, pipeline, ship, and other unknow-modal modes. FAF integrates data from a variety of sources and uses a complex modeling approach to create a comprehensive picture of freight movements among states and major metropolitan areas.  The Commodity Flow Survey is one of the major data sources used in FAF.

How does it work?

The 2012 Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) data adopts a 42 commodity group system which is represented by 2-digit Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) codes. The 42 FAF commodity groups are aggregated into 15 Freight Forecasting Model (FFM) Commodity Groups (CGs) to reduce the complexity of the model and overcome lack of explanatory variables for some commodity groups.