> [T]hese waterways annually moves over 500 million tons of commodities, including petroleum products, farm inputs (e.g., fertilizer), coal, and grains--account

> [T]hese waterways annually moves over 500 million tons of commodities, including petroleum products, farm inputs (e.g., fertilizer), coal, and grains--accounting for 4% to 5% of total commercial tonnage shipped in the United States. High-value cargo in containers rarely moves on the inland or intracoastal waterways. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11593 https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11593 So it seems you're correct--factories don't ship via inland and intracoastal waterways. But they appear to be extremely important for low-value commodities, such a grains: > America's farmers depend on the inland waterways for more than 60 percent of our farm exports. https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Portals/57/docs/Navigation/InlandWaterways-Value.pdf https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Portals/57/docs/Navigation/In...