Freight Rail Key to Economic Future in Great Lakes State
From the auto industry and other manufacturers to mining and agriculture, Michigan’s productive freight rail network provides key connections to keep the Great Lakes State economy moving forward. Accounting for about one-third of all U.S. exports, freight rail is a big reason Michigan is a top-10 exporter state.
Michigan’s 28 freight railroads operate over 2,417 miles of track and employ 3,380 in the Great Lakes State.* It would have taken approximately 4.7 million additional truckloads to move the 84.7 million tons of freight that moved by rail in Michigan in 2017. Motor vehicles and parts and intermodal shipments make up the majority of freight rail shipments beginning in Michigan. Intermodal and coal are the largest rail imports to the state.
*2017 data
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43 percent
decrease
in rail rates, 1981-2014.
That means the average rail customer today can ship nearly twice as much freight for about the same price it paid more than 30 years ago.
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