October Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Fell 2.1 Percent from October 2007

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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Contact BTS 1-09 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Thursday, January 08, 2009 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 2.1 percent lower in October 2008 than in October 2007, reaching $72.7 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 1.2 percent in October from September (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 in October was up 38.8 percent compared to October 2003, and up 74.9 percent compared to October 1998, a period of 10 years (Table 3).  Imports in October were up 75 percent compared to October 1998, while exports were up 74.8 percent. 

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $44.8 billion in October, down 6.1 percent compared to October 2007 (Table 4).  The value of imports carried by truck was 17.5 percent lower in October 2008 compared to October 2007, while the value of exports carried by truck was 9.5 percent lower.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in October with $5.3 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $27.9 billion in October, up 5.1 percent compared to October 2007 (Table 6).  The value of imports carried by truck was 5.9 percent lower in October 2008 than October 2007 while the value of exports carried by truck was 18.4 percent higher.     

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in October with $9.0 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.  October TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of Dec. 17. 

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 November TransBorder numbers on Jan. 29.

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

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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)

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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. October 2008 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with October of Prior Years

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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)

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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 October 2008 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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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

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 October 2008 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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