BTS Report Shows Detroit, MI and El Paso, TX Continue as Top Gateways for Personal Vehicles Entering the U.S.

Contact BTS 02-03 Roger Lotz 202-366-2246

Wednesday, March 12, 2003 -- More personal vehicles — cars, trucks, SUVs, vans and other motorized ground vehicles — entered the United States from Canada through Detroit and from Mexico through El Paso, TX in 2001 than through any other gateway on those borders, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' National Transportation Statistics 2002, a new publication released today.

Top 5 U.S.-Canadian Gateways

Personal Vehicles Crossings into the U.S. (Millions)

Detroit, MI, where over 7.5 million inbound vehicle crossings from Canada took place in 2001, also held this top "gateway" spot throughout the 1990s. Although vehicular crossings through Detroit started to decline in 2000, the decline was more pronounced in 2001 due in part to the impact of 9/11.

Top 5 U.S.-Mexican Border Gateways

Personal Vehicles Crossings into the U.S. (Millions)

For the third year in a row, El Paso, TX remained the top vehicle entry point on the Mexican border. More than 16 million personal vehicles crossed into the U.S. through El Paso in 2001, over half a million less than in 2000.

San Ysidro, CA, where just over 15 million car, truck, SUV, van and motorcycle crossings took place in 2001 — or just under a million more than in 2000 — was one of the few ports of entry showing a rise in traffic.

BTS also reports gateway information on buses and pedestrians. Ground transportation is the primary mode of North American travel.

The National Transportation Statistics 2002 report provides comprehensive, multimodal data related to important transportation topics:

• It displays data on the relationship between transportation and the economy—transportation's contribution to the gross domestic product, employment by industry and occupation, and transportation-related consumer expenditures.
• It shows data on the extent, condition, and performance of the transportation network.
• It details transportation safety, providing data on fatalities, injuries, and accidents for each mode, and hazardous material incidents.
• It presents data on transportation energy use and related environmental impacts, such as air, noise, and water pollution and solid waste.

A summary of national transportation data, the annual NTS is a companion document to the Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2002, which provides analysis of trends across all modes of transportation. TSAR 2002 will be published in July.

To order free copies of the National Transportation Statistics 2002, call (202) 366-DATA (3282), fax (202) 366-3640, or write to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room 7412, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590. An electronic version of the report with continuously updated information is available on the BTS web site at www.bts.gov.