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John F. Kennedy International Airport Was Top International Freight Gateway by Value in 2005

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Contact BTS 58-06 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Thursday, December 7, 2006 - John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York maintained the position of top U.S. international freight gateway by value of shipments in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that JFK handled $59.3 billion in export trade and $75.6 billion in imports, totaling $134.9 billion in merchandise that moved through the port in 2005 (See Table).

JFK airport has been the number one U.S. international gateway by value for all but one year between 1999 and 2005, the exception being 2003 when the water Port of Los Angeles took the number one spot.  In 2005, JFK handled $547 million more freight than the second largest gateway, the Port of Los Angeles.  Ranked third is the land port of Detroit, MI with $131 billion. The top three gateways represent each of the transportation modes - water, air, and surface transportation on land, illustrating the diversity of freight movements into and out of the United States.

On a regional multimodal basis, Los Angeles area gateways handled $51 billion more trade in 2005 than the air and water ports in the New York-New Jersey area.  The water ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined with Los Angeles International Airport processed about $332 billion of trade, topping the combined $281 billion that moved through the New York-New Jersey area -- $135 billion through JFK, $16 billion through Newark-Liberty International Airport and $130 billion through the water port of New York and New Jersey.

The top U.S. freight gateways serve as national and multi-state regional trade gateways, in addition to serving local markets.  The top gateways handle freight originating or terminating far outside their local markets.  For example, 70 percent of the value of shipments passing through Detroit, the busiest U.S. land port, originate or terminate outside Michigan.  At the busiest U.S.-Mexico port, Laredo, 74 percent of shipments by value start or end outside Texas.

In 2005, over $2.5 trillion in U.S. exports and imports moved through more than 400 international freight gateways across the United States. The top 20 international freight gateways handled nearly $1.5 trillion or 57.7 percent of all U.S. international freight.

A list of the top 50 international freight gateways in 2005 can be found at http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/Gateways2005/Top_50_US_Gateways_by_Value_2005.htm. Additional information on international freight and gateways is available at the International page of the BTS website at http://www.bts.gov/international/.

Top 20 U.S. International Freight Gateways, Ranked By Value of Shipments: 2005

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NOTES: Trade excludes imports of less than $1,250 and exports of less than $2,500.  Air: Includes a low level (generally less than 2%-3% of the total value) of small user-fee airports located in the same region. Air gateways not identified by airport name (e.g., Chicago, IL) include major airport(s) in that area and small regional airports. Due to Census Bureau confidentiality regulations, courier operations are included in airport totals for only JFK, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Anchorage. Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based on data from multiple sources: Air—U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, special tabulation, October 2006. Water—U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navigation Data Center, special tabulation, preliminary data, November 2006. Land (includes truck, rail, pipeline, and other land mode freight movements)—U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Freight Data, October 2006.