U.S. Freight Shipments with Canada and Mexico Reached a Record High in 2005, According to Three-Country Database

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Contact BTS 53-06 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - Goods valued at more than $790 billion crossed the U.S. border in trade with Canada and Mexico in 2005, reaching a new high, 11 percent higher than the previous record set in 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). 

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, released the data today as part of the second annual update of the North American Transportation Statistics (NATS) online database.

Freight weighing nearly 679 million tons was transported through U.S. land borders, airports, and seaports to and from locations in Canada and Mexico in 2005. 

U.S. merchandise trade with Canada and Mexico, its two largest trading partners, rose by more than $137 billion or by one-fifth between 2000 and 2005 (See Table). 

This second annual update of the North American Transportation Statistics (NATS) database releases the most comparable transportation-related data available from the United States, Canada, and Mexico in a one-stop online resource.  The NATS database is co-sponsored by BTS and the U.S. Census Bureau with the federal-level transportation and statistical agencies of Canada and Mexico.

The value of freight shipments moving between the United States, Canada and Mexico grew at an average rate of nearly 4 percent per year between 2000 and 2005.  The total value of U.S. freight shipments with Mexico grew 18 percent or 3.3 percent annually.  Goods shipped in trade with Canada grew 23 percent or 4.2 percent annually.

Trucks carried over 62 percent of this freight measured by value - $491 billion in 2005. Rail carried 15 percent, followed by maritime and pipeline with 7 percent each, and air with 4 percent.  Trucks saw the largest modal increase in shipment value from 2004 to 2005 - $38 billion, followed by pipeline (up $14 billion), and maritime (up $12 billion).

A product of the North American Transportation Statistics Interchange established in 1991, the NATS database provides three-country comparative information on transportation activity and its impact. It covers the following subject areas: country overview, transportation and the economy, transportation safety, transportation's impact on energy and the environment, domestic freight activity, North American merchandise trade, international merchandise trade, domestic passenger travel, North American passenger travel, international passenger travel, transportation infrastructure, and vehicles.

In addition to the release of updated statistics, the NATS online database showcases a newly redesigned interface.  This new image was agreed to at the 20^th trilateral meeting of the North American Transportation Statistics Interchange, held in Washington, DC, in June 2006.  The redesign provides users with improved access to North American transportation statistics. 

With text available in English, French, and Spanish, the NATS database can be found at http://nats.sct.gob.mx/.

U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada and Mexico by Freight Transportation Mode

(Billions of current dollars)

Excel | CSV

NOTE: Individual modes do not sum to total trade figures because the total excludes freight moved by "other modes" such as aircraft from manufacturer to customers, pedestrians carrying freight, and miscellaneous.

NOTE: Due to the rounding of certain numbers tabulated, sum totals of U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico trade vary slightly.

SOURCE: North American Transportation Statistics database. Available at http://nats.sct.gob.mx/nats, October 2006.