Chicago connects local and regional businesses from the Great Lakes to the rest of the country and the world through its large multi-modal transportation system. Cargo and passengers flow through its waterways as well as its extensive airport, rail, and highway systems. Chicago is the largest inland port in the country and serves as a global transportation hub. Annually, $442 billion of goods are exported from Illinois and $416 billion in goods are imported, with more than 75 percent shipped by truck. Illinois ships 116 million tons of commodities worth $23 billion on its waterways, per year. In 2012, 26.7 million tons of intermodal cargo originated or terminated in Illinois.

1. Chicago
Chart of the week: April 27, 2015
Source: JLL Research, AAR, ISASCE, Transportation for Illinois Coalition, CDA, IIPD
4 Rs of transportation drive regional economy
Rail: 6,986 freight miles statewide. 500 freight
trains with 37,500 cars and 700 passenger and
commuter lines pass through Chicago, per day.
Runway: O’Hare, one of the world’s busiest
airports, reported 1.5 million tons of cargo
in 2014, while Midway reported 25,000 tons.
Roads:139,498 miles of roads statewide,
4th most in the nation.
Rivers: 1,118 miles of navigable waterways
statewide.
• Chicago connects local and regional businesses from the Great Lakes to the rest of the country
and the world through its large multi-modal transportation system. Cargo and passengers flow
through its waterways as well as its extensive airport, rail, and highway systems. Chicago is the
largest inland port in the country and serves as a global transportation hub.
• Annually, $442 billion of goods are exported from Illinois and $416 billion in goods are imported,
with more than 75 percent shipped by truck. Illinois ships 116 million tons of commodities worth
$23 billion on its waterways, per year. In 2012, 26.7 million tons of intermodal cargo originated or
terminated in Illinois.