If only we had some decent tracks and schedules, so that it didn't require 2 months to get a load from one place to the next, but in the US there are lots of things that can't be shipped by rail. The "product" doesn't last long enough in-transit to be useful by the time it can be scheduled, loaded, routed, and unloaded.

Barges are even more "efficient" than even rail; but we don't have enough water to create any new useful canals.

And neither the train nor the barge can drive up to the corner market, so if you want something edible for lunch you still need the trucks for local distribution.

The point is that the "number" you use to decide which vehicle to get really needs to include a factor to indicate how much (or little) you can do with the wheels you select.

The crime is in getting something that can do things you won't ever use it to do. (A big EGO is horribly inefficient.)

John