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June Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 6.6 Percent from June 2007

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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BTS 42-08
Dave Smallen
202-366-5568

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 6.6 percent higher in June 2008 than in June 2007, reaching $74.1 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1).

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 0.015 percent in June from May (Table 2).  Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors. 

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline.  About 88 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico this June was up 56.3 percent compared to June 2003, and up 97.3 percent compared to June 1998, a period of 10 years (Table 3).  Imports in June 2008 were up 106.4 percent compared to June 1998, while exports were up 86.8 percent. 

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

 U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $48.9 billion in June, up 8.7 percent compared to June 2007 (Table 4).  The value of imports carried by truck was 1.4 percent lower in June 2008 than June 2007, while the value of exports carried by truck was 8.2 percent higher.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in June 2008 with $6.5 billion (Table 5).  

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $25.2 billion this June, up 2.9 percent compared to June 2007 (Table 6).  The value of imports carried by truck was 1.1 percent higher in June 2008 than June 2007 while the value of exports carried by truck was 7.4 percent higher.           

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in June 2008 with $8.2 billion (Table 7).  

The TransBorder Freight Data are a unique subset of official U.S. foreign trade statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau.  New data are tabulated monthly and historical data are not adjusted for inflation.  June TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of August 12.

The news release and summary tables can be found at www.bts.gov.  More information on TransBorder Freight Data and data from previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://www.bts.gov/transborder/.  BTS will release July TransBorder numbers on Sept. 30.

Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada and Mexico

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Month 2006 2007 2008 Percent Change 2006-2007 Percent Change 2007-2008
January 61,189 60,649 65,160 -0.9 7.4
February 59,804 59,667 69,406 -0.2 16.3
March 68,213 69,768 70,787 2.3 1.5
April 61,742 65,015 74,317 5.3 14.3
May 65,994 69,423 74,128 5.2 6.8
June 66,898 69,526 74,139 3.9 6.6
July 55,939 61,823   10.5  
August 66,354 69,158   4.2  
September 63,295 66,771   5.5  
October 66,846 74,249   11.1  
November 64,805 70,352   8.6  
December 59,049 60,902   3.1  
Jan-Jun 383,839 394,047 427,937 2.7 8.6
Annual  760,127 797,303   4.9  

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.  Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 2. U.S. Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico by Mode of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Mode   June 2007 May 2008 June 2008 Percent Change May 2008-June 2008 Percent Change June 2007-2008
All Surface Modes Imports 39,561 41,374 41,749 0.9 5.5
Exports 29,965 32,754 32,390 -1.1 8.1
Total 69,526 74,128 74,139 0.0 6.6
Truck Imports 24,497 24,498 24,441 -0.2 -0.2
Exports 23,017 24,701 24,838 0.6 7.9
Rail Imports 8,402 8,253 8,242 -0.1 -1.9
Exports 3,640 4,432 4,559 2.9 25.2
Pipeline Imports 5,246 7,110 7,601 6.9 44.9
Exports 617 634 494 -22.1 -19.9

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Notes: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.   Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.  The value of trade for all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation.  For additional detail refer to the “Data Fields” Section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html. Pipeline export data are not currently available for March 2008.

Table 3. June 2008 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with June of Prior Years

Excel | CSV

Compared to June in… Percent Change
Imports Exports Total Surface Trade
2007 5.5 8.1 6.6
2006 10.0 11.8 10.8
2005 23.8 26.0 24.7
2004 28.6 41.1 33.8
2003 55.7 57.1 56.3
2002 60.8 60.5 60.6
2001 49.8 55.0 52.1
2000 47.4 45.2 46.4
1999 73.4 69.8 71.8
1998 106.4 86.8 97.3

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Table 4. U.S. Surface Trade with Canada by Mode of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Mode   June 2007 May 2008 June 2008 Percent Change May 2008-June  2008 Percent Change June 2007-2008
All Surface Modes Imports 25,072 26,728 27,338 2.3 9.0
Exports 19,925 22,211 21,561 -2.9 8.2
Total 44,997 48,939 48,899 -0.1 8.7
Truck Imports 12,940 12,471 12,756 2.3 -1.4
Exports 15,195 16,649 16,437 -1.3 8.2
Rail Imports 5,788 5,947 5,837 -1.8 0.9
Exports 2,095 2,576 2,711 5.3 29.4
Pipeline Imports 5,233 7,096 7,587 6.9 45.0
Exports 554 489 420 -14.0 -24.1

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.  Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.  The value of trade for all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation.  For additional detail refer to the “Data Fields” Section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.Pipeline export data are not currently available for March 2008.

Table 5. Top 10 States Trading with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation Ranked by June 2008 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank State June 2008
1 Michigan 6,452
2 Illinois 4,907
3 New York 3,314
4 Ohio 3,061
5 California 2,902
6 Texas 2,614
7 Washington 2,077
8 Pennsylvania 1,870
9 Minnesota 1,757
10 Indiana 1,512

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Table 6. U.S. Surface Trade with Mexico by Mode of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Mode   June 2007 May 2008 June 2008 Percent Change May 2008-June 2008 Percent Change June 2007-2008
All Surface Modes Imports 14,489 14,646 14,411 -1.6 -0.5
Exports 10,040 10,542 10,829 2.7 7.9
Total 24,529 25,189 25,240 0.2 2.9
Truck Imports 11,557 12,026 11,684 -2.8 1.1
Exports 7,822 8,051 8,401 4.3 7.4
Rail Imports 2,614 2,306 2,405 4.3 -8.0
Exports 1,545 1,856 1,847 -0.5 19.6
Pipeline Imports 13 15 15 1.4 9.1
Exports 63 146 74 -49.4 16.8

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.  Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.  The value of trade for all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation.  For additional detail refer to the “Data Fields” Section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

Table 7. Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation Ranked by June 2008 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank State June 2008
1  Texas 8,160
2  California 4,166
3  Michigan 2,736
4  Illinois 959
5  Arizona 842
6  Ohio 688
7  Tennessee 486
8   Georgia 477
9  North Carolina 466
10  New York 448

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/