What is the difference in annual freight transport between Australia and United States?

129,842 Tonnes-kilometres, with United States ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States?

44 years are reported by both, from 1978 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Annual freight transport. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Australia vs United States: Annual freight transport

Australia

96,600 Tonnes-kilometres

in 2021

United States

226,442 Tonnes-kilometres

in 2021

Australia rank

4th

United States rank

2nd

Annual freight transport over time

Australia
United States

How they compare

United States currently reports 226,442 Tonnes-kilometres against 96,600 Tonnes-kilometres in Australia, a difference of 129,842 Tonnes-kilometres.

That makes United States's figure about 2.3 times Australia's.

Across all 44 years both countries report, United States has been ahead every year.

Australia ranks 4th and United States ranks 2nd of 21 countries.

United States has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Australia	United States	Difference	Ahead
1970s	104,900 Tonnes-kilometres	783,030 Tonnes-kilometres	678,130 Tonnes-kilometres	United States
1980s	96,600 Tonnes-kilometres	871,087 Tonnes-kilometres	774,487 Tonnes-kilometres	United States
1990s	103,278 Tonnes-kilometres	612,524 Tonnes-kilometres	509,246 Tonnes-kilometres	United States
2000s	115,133 Tonnes-kilometres	365,845 Tonnes-kilometres	250,712 Tonnes-kilometres	United States
2010s	109,280 Tonnes-kilometres	252,129 Tonnes-kilometres	142,848 Tonnes-kilometres	United States
2020s	102,750 Tonnes-kilometres	228,322 Tonnes-kilometres	125,572 Tonnes-kilometres	United States

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher annual freight transport, Australia or United States?: United States, at 226,442 Tonnes-kilometres against 96,600 Tonnes-kilometres in Australia as of 2021.
What is the difference in annual freight transport between Australia and United States?: 129,842 Tonnes-kilometres, with United States ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States?: 44 years are reported by both, from 1978 to 2021.
How do Australia and United States rank globally for annual freight transport?: Australia ranks 4th and United States ranks 2nd of 21 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Annual freight transport. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Australia vs United States: Annual freight transport. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/annual-freight-transport/australia/united-states/

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About this data

Indicator: Annual freight transport
Unit: Tonnes-kilometres
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence: OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage: 25 places, 933 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Freight transport by rail, road, inland waterways and pipeline.