U.S. Freight Analysis Framework Regions from 2017 Base Year

132 geographic zones define U.S. domestic freight regions, classified as Metropolitan Areas, Remainder of State areas, or Whole States. The dataset originates from the 2017 Commodity Flow Survey and was published by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in April 2022.

Use Cases

• Analyze freight flow patterns across the 132 Metropolitan Area, Remainder of State, and Whole State region types.
• Map the geographic boundaries of FAF5 Regions to visualize national freight network coverage.
• Integrate region classifications with other transportation data for infrastructure planning and modeling.

Strengths

• Defined 132 distinct geographic zones for granular freight analysis.
• Regions are directly derived from the authoritative 2017 Commodity Flow Survey.
• Clear classification system of three region types (Metropolitan Area, Remainder of State, Whole State).

Limitations

• Based on 2017 data, which may not reflect current economic or transportation patterns.
• No sample data or column schema is provided to assess specific attributes.
• Geographic scope is limited to the United States.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) / Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD).

Collection Method

Created from 2017 Commodity Flow Survey data, with geography definitions carried over to FAF Version 5.

Time Range

2017 base year.

Freshness

Dataset metadata was updated in July 2025, but the underlying data is from a 2017 base year.

Geography

United States.