About the ShippingRoutes Database
ShippingRoutes.com documents the structural characteristics of United States overland and air freight transportation corridors, serving as a canonical reference for domestic shipping routes.
Mission
ShippingRoutes.com exists to structure and preserve knowledge of domestic freight infrastructure, enabling research, analysis, and informed understanding of how goods move across the continental United States.
The database documents shipping routes spanning trucking highways, rail networks, intermodal facilities, and air cargo lanes. Emphasis is placed on route geometry, carrier coverage, hub connectivity, and corridor relationships across transportation modes.
This resource serves as foundational infrastructure for future logistics intelligence products, while providing immediate value as an informational reference for researchers, analysts, policymakers, and industry professionals.
Core Principles
The ShippingRoutes database is developed and maintained according to four foundational principles that guide data collection, organization, and presentation.
Accuracy
Route data reflects verified infrastructure characteristics and documented carrier service areas. Information is sourced from federal, industry, and carrier publications.
Coverage
Enterprise documentation across trucking, rail, intermodal, and air cargo modes nationwide. All 48 contiguous states represented with major route and corridor information.
Neutrality
Objective presentation without commercial bias, promotional content, or carrier preferences. Information serves reference and educational purposes exclusively.
Structure
Systematic organization enabling efficient retrieval and analytical application of route information. Data is categorized by mode, geography, and infrastructure type.
Database Scope
The database covers the primary domestic freight transportation modes operating within the continental United States, with emphasis on infrastructure, routes, and carrier coverage.
Trucking
Interstate highway system, National Highway Freight Network, major trucking carriers (LTL, TL, specialized)
Rail
Class I railroad networks, major intermodal corridors, classification yard locations, shortline connections
Air Cargo
Major cargo airports, integrated express carrier hubs, domestic air freight corridors, cargo airline operations
Intermodal
Rail-truck terminals, inland ports, drayage regions, intermodal marketing companies, container equipment
Data Sources
Route information is compiled from publicly available sources including federal transportation agency publications, carrier network documentation, and industry association reports.
Primary Sources
- U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
- Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
- Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
- Surface Transportation Board (STB)
- Association of American Railroads (AAR)
- American Trucking Associations (ATA)
- Individual carrier public disclosures and route maps
- Port authority and airport authority publications