Microsoft Word - USDA CFS Letter of Support 05-01-26

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Agricultural Marketing
Service

Transportation and
Marketing Program

Transportation
Economics Division

1400 Independence
Avenue SW
Stop 0266
Washington,
DC 20250

May 1, 2026
Mr. Thomas J. Smith
U.S. Census Bureau
4600 Silver Hill Rd
Washington, DC 20233
RE: Federal Register notice for the 2027 Commodity Flow Survey (OMB Number: 06070932)
Dear Mr. Smith:
The Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) writes to
convey USDA’s strong support for the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of
Transportation’s (DOT) continued collection of the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS), for the 2027
survey cycle. As USDA works to strengthen the resilience of our Nation’s food and agricultural
systems, the CFS provides essential, publicly available origin-destination freight data that are
otherwise unavailable at national and state levels.
CFS data provide a rare, unique insight into truck movements of agricultural products. Using CFS
(and data products derived from it), USDA is able to analyze agricultural product shipment
patterns by truck across the U.S., identify bottlenecks, and support research on supply chain
resilience. For example, a 2024 USDA-funded study used CFS-based datasets to map refrigerated
commodity flows of perishable meat and prepared foods to provide an approximation of intracontinental U.S. refrigerated truck movements.
In addition, CFS data are the primary input into DOT’s Freight Analysis Framework (FAF), which
provides the only publicly available, nationally comprehensive, origin-destination data for
agricultural freight that is inclusive of farm-based shipments. Such data enable analysts to trace
where farm commodities move and how supply chains change over time. FAF captures modal
share information (truck, rail, water, air, pipeline), allowing the agricultural sector to assess
dependencies across different commodity sectors on specific freight modes and to evaluate modal
flexibility. USDA regularly uses CFS and FAF data in its public reporting and market analysis to
provide State-level context on which lanes and modes may experience changes in traffic as grain
inventories fluctuate across the United States, both year-to-year and within the crop year.
Thank you for considering this letter of support for approval of the 2027 CFS clearance package,
which would enable the continued collection, publication, and improvement of this invaluable
survey. For USDA and its stakeholders—including agricultural producers and shippers—CFS
provides essential insights critical to understanding the U.S. food and agriculture supply chain.
Sincerely,
Digitally signed by JOHN

JOHN SPARGER SPARGER
Date: 2026.05.01 13:35:53 -04'00'
John Adam Sparger
Director
Transportation Economics Division