Official Site of The State of New Jersey

New Jersey’s national economic competitiveness and excellent quality of life for its nearly 9.3 million residents is rooted in a strong and reliable freight distribution system.

New Jersey’s geographic location positions it as a critical link in the national freight network and provides direct access to the major metropolitan markets of New York City and Philadelphia, serving as a gateway to global markets. Coupled with New Jersey’s location is its extensive multimodal freight network that includes highways, rail lines, air routes, marine waterways, and pipelines. The 2023 Statewide Freight Plan (SFP) is a multimodal plan that reflects the state’s diverse freight transportation needs and demands, given that most cargo relies on two or more modes before arriving in stores or on your doorstep. The State is home to robust marine activity including terminals throughout the state, along Newark Bay and the Delaware River. Major manufacturing firms and more than 230,000 businesses depend on New Jersey’s freight infrastructure and network to provide functional and efficient operations.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) role in the safe and efficient movement of freight is to collaborate, coordinate, plan, and partner where sensible and in the state’s interest, to ensure that New Jersey’s supply chain infrastructure is sound, functional, reliable, and resilient. NJDOT accomplishes this by utilizing subject matter expertise in research and data gathering to understand how, where, and why freight moves within the State. The 2023 SFP supports the NJDOT’s efforts with the understanding that freight planning and freight investments must uphold New Jersey’s vision of safety, for all system users.

While the Statewide Freight Plan became a required element passed as part of FAST (Fixing America's Surface Transportation) Act Legislation, the IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) updated its freight planning requirements so that NJDOT must update its Statewide Freight Plan once every four years. This requirement is directly tied to the state receiving its National Highway Freight Program funding (currently $402M through FY2029). Over the last five years of Plan implementation, NJDOT has worked to integrate freight needs, requirements, and improvements into NJDOT planning, operational, and capital program processes.

With this 2023 Statewide Freight Plan and the direction of the IIJA, NJDOT will improve upon the successes of New Jersey’s current freight planning program, while continuing to expand the visibility of freight to a more diverse group of stakeholders, at the Department and throughout the state. We also intend to think more broadly, partnering with Federal decisionmakers (such as FHWA, MARAD, and FRA), leveraging their institutional knowledge and understanding.

The Plan is a comprehensive and encyclopedic document that lays out challenges, actions, and opportunities for freight in New Jersey. NJDOT is proud to deliver the 2023 Statewide Freight Plan and looks forward to its implementation over the next four years. Freight Moves New Jersey.

2023 Comprehensive Statewide Freight Plan (pdf 154.6MB)

2023 Comprehensive Statewide Freight Plan (pdf 22MB) (Compressed)

• Appendix (pdf 5 MB)