U.S. average freight revenue - Class I rail traffic 1990-2020

In 2020, the U.S. average freight revenue per ton-mile in Class I rail traffic stood at 4.4 U.S. dollar cents. This was a slight drop compared to 2019, which recorded the highest average freight revenue since 1990, when the average freight revenue per ton-mile was at 2.66 U.S. dollar cents.Coal drives the sectorCoal has traditionally been one of the most transported commodities on Class I freight railroads in the United States – along with intermodal freight. In 2019, revenue generated by coal haulage on U.S. Class I railroads was at 9.3 billion U.S. dollars out of around 73 billion U.S. dollars generated by all commodities transported on these railroads. The United States ranked third in the world for its coal consumption a year later, in 2020, positioned after China and India, who occupied the top two spots. However, while coal was the most significant commodity hauled across North America in terms of volume, the coal industry remained a national issue - coal trade among the region was unpopular, while vehicles were the most traded commodity.Gloomy forecasts for coal freight revenueAlthough the demand for freight transportation by railroad in the United States is generally anticipated to grow over the next decades, rail freight companies anticipate considerable financial challenges ahead due to a lower national demand for coal, as U.S. consumers’ energy source preferences shift to alternatives, such as natural gas and solar. Not only will rail freight carriers such as BNSF and Union Pacific – whose revenue from coal transport contribute significantly to their overall revenue – be hit hard financially, the United States may have to rely even more on revenue generated by their coal exports.

于2020年，美国一级铁路交通的平均每吨英里货运收入为4.4美分。相较于2019年，这一数值略有下降，而2019年的平均货运收入为自1990年以来的最高水平，当年每吨英里的平均货运收入为2.66美分。煤炭推动该领域发展。煤炭一直是美国一级货运铁路上运输量最大的商品之一，与多式联运货运并驾齐驱。2019年，美国一级铁路上煤炭运输产生的收入约为930亿美元，占这些铁路上所有运输商品总收入的约730亿美元。次年，即2020年，美国在全球煤炭消费量排名中位居第三，仅次于中国和印度，后者占据了前两名。然而，尽管煤炭在北美地区的运输量方面是最大的商品，但煤炭行业仍是一个国家性的问题——该地区的煤炭贸易并不受欢迎，而车辆则是交易量最大的商品。对煤炭货运收入的悲观预测。尽管预计美国铁路货运需求在未来几十年内将增长，但鉴于美国消费者能源来源偏好转向替代能源，如天然气和太阳能，铁路货运公司预计将面临重大的财务挑战。这不仅将严重影响像BNSF和Union Pacific这样的铁路货运运营商——它们的煤炭运输收入对其总收入的贡献至关重要——而且美国可能不得不更加依赖煤炭出口带来的收入。