The term freight can be defined as “the transport of goods from one place to another”. The State of Iowa has a large and diverse economy that demands the efficient transport of freight. There is a growing need to move freight safely, securely, and efficiently. Iowa’s transportation system of airports, highways, pipelines, railroads, and waterways play a major role in supporting the state’s economy. An efficient multi-modal system for moving freight to, from and within the state is critical to Iowa’s economic competitiveness and directly affects our quality of life.
Iowa’s transportation system is also important to regional and national freight movements as a significant amount of freight originates outside of Iowa and moves though the state to destinations in other states. Recent Federal Transportation Reauthorization Acts have placed increasing emphasis on the importance of the efficient movement of freight and encourage States to consider fright movements in their overall planning processes. This website helps provide an overview of Iowa’s freight transportation system – helping to identify what it looks like, what some of the key issues are, to identify planning initiatives being undertaken by the department to address these issues, and to provide direction in the planning and investment of freight transportation needs in the State of Iowa.