Logistics services in United States.

United States logistics overview: modes, trade and gateways

Goods move in and out of the United States by sea, air, rail, and road. Seaborne trade uses a coastline of about 19,900 km and a network of about 666 ports, including major hubs such as Los Angeles, New York City, Houston, Seattle, and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port. Container throughput is about 59.7 million TEU, and liner connectivity is strong with an LSCI of about 103.

Rail freight uses a network of about 293,600 km and handles about 2.2 billion tonne-km. The country also has land borders with Canada and Mexico, with short rail and road links between gateways such as Laredo and Monterrey or Seattle and Vancouver. Air freight relies on about 16,100 airports in total and 502 with scheduled services, supporting about 42,800 million tonne-km of air cargo. Shippers can combine these modes for domestic distribution and international import or export flows.

When selecting freight forwarders in United States, shippers work around large port ranges such as Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, Houston, and New Orleans. Major container lines including HMM, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen, MSC, ONE, ZIM, CMA CGM, Matson, Maersk, OOCL, APL, and COSCO have offices in multiple U.S. cities, which helps with booking and issue resolution.

The logistics performance index score is about 3.8, with infrastructure and logistics services near 3.9 and tracking at 4.2, but international shipments around 3.4. This suggests checking how forwarders manage capacity and scheduling on busy export and import lanes. Main export goods include crude and refined petroleum, natural gas, gas turbines, and cars, with import flows dominated by cars, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment, computers, and garments. Strong trade links with Canada, Mexico, China, Germany, and Japan, alongside participation in USMCA, ASEAN, OECD, APEC, and the WTO, mean experience with these partners and blocs is useful when choosing a customs broker or forwarder.

FCL and LCL shipping from and to United States use an extensive seaport network and frequent carrier services. The country handles about 59.7 million TEU, ranking 2 of 168 worldwide and 1 of 3 in North America. Major ports include Los Angeles, Seattle, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Houston, New York City, Norfolk and Oakland. Many global shipping lines have offices in cities such as Houston, Chicago, Long Beach and New York.

Observed FCL prices show spot levels on key Asia lanes. A 40HC from Shanghai to Houston was about 11,800 USD in late 2026, while a 40ST from Yantian to Los Angeles was about 8,700 USD. Shanghai to Los Angeles for a 20ST moved around 7,200 USD. To the US East Coast, Shekou Pt to New York 40ST was about 12,200 USD and Ningbo to New York 40HC about 11,000 USD at the end of October 2026.

Air freight in United States benefits from about 16,100 airports, with 502 having scheduled service. Main scheduled gateways include Albany International, Albuquerque International Sunport, Austin Bergstrom, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, and Birmingham-Shuttlesworth.

International and domestic air cargo volumes total about 42,800 million tonne-km, ranking 1st of 184 worldwide and 1st of 2 in North America. Air makes sense for higher-value exports such as gas turbines and time-sensitive imports like computers and garments, especially on intensive trade corridors with Canada, Mexico, China, Germany, and Japan.

Rail and road freight in United States connects seaports, land borders, and inland production areas. The rail network extends about 293,600 km and carries about 2.2 billion tonne-km, ranking 3rd of 113 countries for rail tonne-km and 1st of 2 in the region. Key cross-border rail routes include Seattle to Vancouver at about 247 km, Laredo to Monterrey at about 275 km, and New York to Montreal at about 598 km.

Road freight links to Canada and Mexico along borders of about 8,891 km with Canada and 3,111 km with Mexico. Short road corridors include Laredo to Monterrey at about 230 km, Seattle to Vancouver at about 263 km, and New York to Montreal at about 616 km. These routes support northbound and southbound truck traffic feeding ports and rail hubs on both sides of the border.

Customs clearance in United States is handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The country has been a World Customs Organization member since 1970-11-05 and participates in the WTO and blocs including ASEAN, USMCA, OECD, and APEC. Average applied tariffs are about 1.49 percent.

The logistics performance index customs score is about 3.7, above the world median of 2.6. Overall LPI is 3.8 versus a median of 2.7, with infrastructure and logistics services both near 3.9 and tracking at 4.2. Export and import border compliance times average about 2 days each. For customs clearance, shippers typically need at minimum a commercial invoice, packing list, and transport document aligned with declared HS codes and valuation.