Anyone else having problems understanding the Federal Highway Administration's Freight Analysis Framework data?
We use this freight data in our public relations materials to illustrate the importance of well-maintained transportation infrastructure
for the South Dakota economy.
I found a provisional 2013 figure for the amount of freight flowing within South Dakota's borders:
a total of 80,992 thousand tons by all modes.
http://faf.ornl.gov/fafweb/FUT.aspx
But when I looked up the 2040 forecast for flow within South Dakota (in the same group of tables as the link above), it was less than the 2013 number: 66,127 thousand tons by all modes.
It should be noted that the 2013 figure is from FAF version 3.6. The 2040 number is from version 3.4.
I'm not a statistician or an FAF expert, so that may be the problem here.
Julie Bolding
Management Analyst
South Dakota Department of Transportation
(605) 773-2898
Julie.bolding@state.sd.us