The 1997 Commodity Flow Survey is part of the 1997 Economic Census. The economic census is the major source of facts about the structure and functioning of the Nation's economy. It provides essential information for government, business, industry, and the general public. Title 13 of the United States Code (Sections 131, 191, and 224) directs the Census Bureau to take the economic census every 5 years, covering years ending in 2 and 7. The 1997 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is undertaken through a partnership between the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation. The CFS produces data on the movement of goods in the United States. It provides information on commodities shipped, their value weight, and mode of transportation, as well as the origin and destination of shipments of manufacturing, mining, wholesale, and selected retail establishments. The data from the CFS are used by public policy analysts and for transportation planning and decision-making to assess the demand for transportation facilities and services, energy use, and safety risk and environmental concerns. This report presents the final United States summary data. It contains more detail than the preliminary United States report issued in December 1998 and reflects all revisions based on the geographic level analyses conducted since then. The 1997 CFS covers business establishments in mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, and selected retail industries. The survey also covers selected auxiliary establishments (e.g., warehouses) of in-scope multiunit and retail companies. The survey coverage excludes establishments classified as farms, forestry, fisheries, governments, construction, transportation, foreign establishments, services, and most establishments in retail. All results of the 1997 Economic Census are available on the Census Bureau Internet site (www.census.gov) and on compact discs (CD-ROM) for sale by the Census Bureau. Unlike previous censuses, only selected highlights are published in printed reports. More information about the scope, coverage, classification system, data items, and publications for each of the economic censuses and related surveys is published in the Guide to the 1997 Economic Census and Related Statistics.