FastBOC3 Research · 2026 edition

U.S. Freight Tonnage Rank by State

California and Texas move the most freight by tonnage (rank #1–2), trailed by Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania. Washington, D.C. (#50–51) and Hawaii (#49–50) move the least. The table below orders all 50 states plus D.C. by freight-tonnage rank, paired with each state’s dominant commodity and registered-carrier base.

Last updated June 16, 2026 · By Korey Sharp-Paar, Lead Compliance Specialist

Tonnage and carrier count usually move together, but not always: energy-heavy states like Louisiana punch above their carrier base on tonnage (bulk petroleum and grain export), while service-heavy metros register more carriers per ton. Either way, any carrier hauling interstate freight through these states needs a valid BOC-3 process-agent designation on file.

Tonnage rank	State	Code	Top commodity	Registered carriers
#1-2	California	CA	Agricultural produce, electronics, and containerized imports	62,000+
#1-2	Texas	TX	Petroleum, petrochemicals, and Mexican cross-border freight	68,000+
#3-5	Illinois	IL	Soybeans, corn, and intermodal containers	28,000+
#4-6	New York	NY	Apparel, financial documents, and dairy	22,000+
#5-7	Florida	FL	Citrus, phosphate, and Latin American imports	42,000+
#5-7	Pennsylvania	PA	Steel, coal, and Lehigh Valley distributed goods	19,500+
#6-8	Louisiana	LA	Petroleum, petrochemicals, and grain exports	8,900+
#7-9	Ohio	OH	Automotive, steel, and plastics	21,000+
#8-10	Georgia	GA	Containerized imports, poultry, and pulp/paper	25,000+
#9-11	Michigan	MI	Automotive parts, cherries, and Canadian cross-border freight	14,500+
#10-12	Missouri	MO	Soybeans, beef, and beer	14,200+
#10-12	Tennessee	TN	Auto assembly, whiskey, and FedEx air-freight feeder	16,200+
#11-13	Indiana	IN	Steel, automotive parts, and corn	16,500+
#11-13	North Carolina	NC	Tobacco, textiles, and pharmaceuticals	18,500+
#12-14	New Jersey	NJ	Containerized imports, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals	12,800+
#13-16	Kentucky	KY	Bourbon, automotive assembly, and coal	10,800+
#14-17	Minnesota	MN	Iron ore, soybeans, and dairy	11,000+
#15-18	Alabama	AL	Coal, iron, steel, and forest products	8,200+
#15-18	Washington	WA	Apples, aerospace components, and Asian containerized imports	12,500+
#16-19	Iowa	IA	Corn, ethanol, and pork	8,500+
#17-20	Virginia	VA	Coal exports, tobacco, and containerized goods	14,800+
#18-21	Wisconsin	WI	Dairy (cheese), beer, and paper products	11,800+
#19-22	Arizona	AZ	Copper, electronics, and Mexican produce imports	9,500+
#20-23	Kansas	KS	Wheat, beef, and aerospace components	7,200+
#21-24	Nebraska	NE	Beef, corn, and ethanol	6,800+
#22-25	Oklahoma	OK	Petroleum, natural gas, and wheat	8,600+
#23-26	Colorado	CO	Beef, beer, and high-tech components	11,200+
#24-27	South Carolina	SC	Automotive (BMW, Volvo), aerospace (Boeing), and tires	8,800+
#25-28	Arkansas	AR	Poultry, rice, and timber	7,800+
#26-29	Oregon	OR	Lumber, hazelnuts, and tech components	7,200+
#27-30	Maryland	MD	Autos, coal exports, and seafood	8,400+
#28-31	Massachusetts	MA	Pharmaceuticals, biotech, and seafood	6,200+
#28-31	Utah	UT	Copper, salt, and refined petroleum	6,400+
#30-33	Mississippi	MS	Cotton, poultry, and forest products	5,400+
#32-35	Wyoming	WY	Coal, natural gas, trona (sodium carbonate), and crude oil	2,400+
#33-36	Nevada	NV	Mining/aggregates, gaming supplies, and tech components	5,600+
#34-37	Idaho	ID	Potatoes, dairy, and lumber	4,200+
#35-38	West Virginia	WV	Coal, natural gas, and chemicals	3,100+
#36-39	Connecticut	CT	Aerospace components, insurance documents, and pharmaceuticals	4,100+
#37-40	New Mexico	NM	Petroleum (Permian Basin), pecans, and chile	4,100+
#38-41	North Dakota	ND	Crude oil (Bakken), wheat, soybeans, and frac sand	3,200+
#40-43	Montana	MT	Wheat, cattle, lumber, and crude oil (Bakken overflow)	3,600+
#41-44	South Dakota	SD	Cattle, corn, ethanol, and distillers grain	3,400+
#42-44	Maine	ME	Lobster, paper/pulp, and potatoes	2,800+
#43-45	New Hampshire	NH	Electronics, dairy, and lumber	2,200+
#45-47	Vermont	VT	Dairy, maple syrup, and specialty foods	1,500+
#46-48	Delaware	DE	Fresh fruit imports, poultry, and chemicals	1,800+
#47-49	Rhode Island	RI	Costume jewelry, seafood, and petroleum	1,200+
#48-50	Alaska	AK	Petroleum, seafood, and natural resources	1,400+
#49-50	Hawaii	HI	Containerized consumer goods and pineapple/sugar	1,100+
#50-51	Washington, D.C.	DC	Federal government supplies and contract freight	800+

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Methodology: Tonnage ranks are approximate ranges that FastBOC3 maintains from public freight-flow data; they are directional, not an official FHWA/BTS tonnage census. Carrier counts are FMCSA-derived estimates rounded to the nearest hundred.

Cite this dataset: “U.S. Freight Tonnage Rank by State, FastBOC3 Filing (2026), https://www.fastboc3filing.com/research/us-freight-tonnage-by-state.” Reuse is permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.

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