Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
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Appendix Table. Top U.S. Freight Gateways Handling International Merchandise Valued Over $1 Billion, 2003

($ millions)

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Rank by value Gateway name Mode Total trade Exports Imports
1 Los Angeles, CA Water 122,051 16,865 105,186
2 John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY Air 111,926 46,621 65,306
3 Detroit, MI Land 101,890 54,549 47,341
4 Port of New York and New Jersey Water 101,176 24,303 76,873
5 Long Beach, CA Water 95,863 17,163 78,700
6 Laredo, TX Land 78,763 32,394 46,369
7 Los Angeles International Airport, CA Air 63,838 32,590 31,248
8 Port Huron, MI Land 62,294 22,698 39,596
9 Buffalo-Niagara Falls,NY Land 59,369 27,367 32,002
10 Chicago, IL Air 54,335 20,597 33,737
11 Houston, TX Water 49,893 21,439 28,454
12 San Franscisco International Airport, CA Air 46,625 20,570 26,055
13 Charleston, SC Water 39,375 13,374 26,000
14 El Paso, TX Land 39,204 16,714 22,491
15 Norfolk, VA Water 29,495 11,026 18,469
16 New Orleans, LA Air 27,370 13,692 13,678
17 Tacoma, WA Water 26,332 5,203 21,129
18 Baltimore, MD Water 25,956 5,686 20,270
19 Oakland, CA Water 25,144 7,762 17,382
20 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Air 23,562 11,391 12,170
21 Seattle, WA Water 23,078 5,688 17,390
22 Miami International Airport Cargo Facilities, FL Air 22,724 13,971 8,753
23 Anchorage, AK Air 22,125 5,638 16,486
24 Savannah, GA Water 21,349 7,418 13,931
25 Otay Mesa Station, Land 19,678 8,263 11,416
26 New Orleans, LA Water 19,411 11,237 8,174
27 Cleveland, OH Air 18,585 9,535 9,050
28 Atlanta, GA Air 18,187 8,297 9,890
29 Miami, FL Water 16,610 6,826 9,785
30 Champlain-Rouses Point, Land 14,439 5,222 9,217
31 Hidalgo,TX Land 14,428 6,285 8,143
32 Newark, NJ Air 12,970 2,606 10,363
33 San Juan International Airport, PR Air 12,220 5,185 7,035
34 Blaine, WA Land 12,005 5,239 6,766
35 Portland, OR Water 11,810 2,966 8,844
36 Jacksonville, FL Water 11,235 2,334 8,901
37 Port Everglades, FL Water 10,499 4,348 6,151
38 Nogales, AZ Land 10,354 3,538 6,816
39 Philadelphia, PA Water 10,315 634 9,681
40 Morgan City, LA Water 10,108 181 9,927
41 Brownsville, TX Land 10,062 5,186 4,876
42 Alexandria Bay, NY Land 10,035 3,838 6,198
43 Corpus Christie, TX Water 9,859 1,957 7,902
44 Beaumont, TX Water 9,616 954 8,662
45 Pembina, ND Land 9,476 5,034 4,441
46 Logan Airport Boston, MA Air 9,179 5,694 3,485
47 Calexico-East, Land 8,890 3,770 5,120
48 Philadelphia International Airport, PA Air 8,688 4,676 4,013
49 Sweetgrass, MT Land 7,470 3,596 3,874
50 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, WA Air 7,255 4,119 3,137
51 Houston Intercontinental Airport, TX Air 7,096 4,263 2,833
52 Texas City, TX Water 6,534 1,713 4,821
53 Portal, ND Land 6,243 3,392 2,851
54 Washington, DC Air 6,210 2,209 4,001
55 Gramercy, LA Water 5,892 3,781 2,111
56 Eagle Pass, TX Land 5,739 2,942 2,797
57 Boston, MA Water 5,681 715 4,966
58 Port Arthur, TX Water 5,553 412 5,141
59 Brunswick, GA Water 5,432 669 4,763
60 Port Hueneme, CA Water 5,362 139 5,222
61 Wilmington, DE Water 5,221 581 4,640
62 Lake Charles, LA Water 5,192 576 4,616
63 Highgate Springs/Alburg, VT Land 5,189 1,805 3,384
64 San Juan, PR Water 5,167 1,049 4,117
65 Eastport, ID Land 5,106 827 4,279
66 Freeport, TX Water 5,099 1,060 4,039
67 International Falls, MN Land 5,008 848 4,160
68 Christiansted, VI Water 4,989 253 4,736
69 Chester, PA Water 4,949 772 4,177
70 Baton Rouge, LA Water 4,629 948 3,681
71 San Diego, CA Water 4,539 76 4,463
72 Nashville, TN Air 4,219 196 4,022
73 Chicago, IL Land 4,058 26 4,032
74 Mobile, AL Water 3,968 1,465 2,503
75 Gulfport, MS Water 3,808 1,574 2,234
76 Great Falls, MT Land 3,768 7 3,761
77 Newport News, VA Water 3,440 1,222 2,218
78 Oakland, CA Air 3,344 3,250 94
79 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Air 3,296 1,432 1,864
80 Pascagoula, MS Water 3,212 436 2,775
81 Paulsboro, NJ Water 2,930 43 2,887
82 Calais, ME Land 2,909 618 2,291
83 Burlington, VT Land 2,899 2 2,897
84 Del Rio, TX Land 2,772 1,276 1,496
85 Tampa, FL Water 2,703 1,520 1,183
86 Providence, RI Water 2,686 56 2,630
87 Ogdensburg, NY Land 2,665 161 2,505
88 Indianapolis, IN Air 2,630 2,603 27
89 Duluth, MN Land 2,603 5 2,598
90 Cincinnati-Lawrenceburg, OH Air 2,577 1,372 1,205
91 Huntsville, AL Air 2,451 1,181 1,270
92 Philadelphia, PA Air 2,424 108 2,316
93 Memphis, TN Land 2,381 1 2,380
94 Memphis, TN Air 2,374 804 1,571
95 Honolulu International Airport, HI Air 2,337 307 2,030
96 Wilmington, NC Water 2,199 957 1,243
97 Anchorage, AK Water 2,196 2,066 129
98 Derby Line, VT Land 2,102 395 1,707
99 Richmond, CA Water 2,066 230 1,836
100 Houlton, ME Land 2,061 498 1,563
101 Sault Ste. Marie, MI Land 1,977 540 1,438
102 Honolulu, HI Water 1,961 159 1,802
103 Aguadilla, PR Air 1,770 1,715 55
104 Port Townsend, WA Land 1,648 1 1,647
105 West Palm Beach, FL Water 1,614 792 822
106 Denver, CO Land 1,576 28 1,548
107 El Segundo, CA Water 1,560 1 1,559
108 Orlando, FL Air 1,524 319 1,205
109 Galveston, TX Water 1,502 407 1,095
110 St. Rose, LA Water 1,480 763 716
111 Sumas, WA Land 1,451 446 1,006
112 Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Detroit, MI Air 1,441 363 1,077
113 Phoenix, AZ Air 1,397 377 1,020
114 Richmond-Petersburg,VA Water 1,349 637 713
115 Vancouver, WA Water 1,316 555 762
116 Detroit, MI Air 1,294 884 410
117 Kalama, WA Water 1,196 1,135 61
118 Noyes, MN Land 1,139 254 886
119 Denver, CO Air 1,103 624 479
120 Santa Teresa, NM Land 1,089 347 743
121 Trout River, NY Land 1,056 62 994
122 Louisville, KY Air 1,040 830 210
123 Portland International Airport, OR Air 1,028 583 446
124 New Haven, CT Water 1,013 63 950
125 Portland, ME Water 1,008 110 899
Air gateways          
Airports included in top 125 gateways above     509,146 228,604 280,542
All other airport gateways     14,197 6,998 7,199
Total all airport gateways     523,343 235,602 287,741
Land gateways          
Land ports included in top 125 gateways above     523,798 218,171 305,627
All other land border gateways     38,978 22,314 16,664
Total all land border gateways     562,776 240,486 322,291
Water gateways          
Seaports included in top 125 gateways above     786,620 194,299 592,321
All other seaport gateways     20,492 8,182 12,310
Total all seaport gateways     807,112 202,481 604,631
TOTAL U.S. overall--all modes     1,983,139 723,743 1,259,396
Top 125 above for air, land, and water gateways     1,819,565 641,075 1,178,490
Top 125 as a share of all U.S. gateways     91.8% 88.6% 93.6%

NOTE: All data—Trade levels reflect the mode of transportation as a shipment enters or exits a U.S. Customs port. Flows through individual ports are based on reported data collected from U.S. trade documents. Low value shipments (imports less than $1,250 and exports less than $2,500) and intransit shipment are not included in trade data. Air—Data for all airports are based on U.S. port classifications and include 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 include major airports in that geographic area in addition to small regional airports. Also due to U.S. Census Bureau confidentiality regulations, data for courier operations are included in the airport totals for JFK International Airport, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.

SOURCES: Air—U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, special tabulation, August 2004. Water— U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Office of Statistical and Economic Analysis, special tabulations from Waterborne Databank, August 2004. Land—U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transborder Land Freight Data as of August 2004.