Freight Rail Means Progress in Magnolia State
Growth in Mississippi auto manufacturing, shipbuilding and the energy sector are just a few examples of economic development facilitated by freight rail in the Magnolia State. With freight volumes forecast to increase approximately 50 percent by 2040, and a scarcity of funds for highway upkeep and improvements, the benefits of robust infrastructure investments by freight railroads are clear to see.
Mississippi’s 26 freight railroads operate over 2,455 miles of track and employ 1,831 in the Magnolia State.* It would have taken approximately 6.2 million additional truckloads to move the 111.3 million tons of freight that moved by rail in Mississippi in 2017. Chemicals and primary metal products comprise the majority of freight rail shipments beginning in Mississippi. Chemicals and grain are the largest rail imports to the state.
*2017 data
