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More than a Quarter Million People a Day Enter the U.S. from Canada, BTS Reports
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Contact |
BTS 21-01
David Smallen
202-366-5568
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Tuesday, November 6, 2001 -- More than 260,000 people a day, an annual total of 96 million, entered the United States from Canada by land in 2000 and 94 percent of these
border-crossers rode in personal vehicles, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS).
Two of every five people entering the United States from Canada in 2000 by land crossed the border at Detroit or in the Buffalo-Niagara area, according to
the BTS special tabulation. The tabulation includes returning Americans and repeat visitors.
The information about people entering the United States from Canada is contained in North American Trade and Travel Trends, a new BTS publication that
examines recent trends in U.S. international trade and passenger travel with Canada and Mexico. The report reviews modal shares of North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partner trade and travel, examines the geography of the trade and travel flows, and identifies key influencing factors.
"The report provides important information on cross-border transportation with Canada and Mexico, our largest trading and travel partners," Dr. Ashish
Sen, BTS Director, said. "With this report, transportation decision-makers will have more data for decisions about security at border facilities and about
capacity needs."
In 2000, almost 800,000 people per day, an annual total of 290 million, crossed U.S. land borders from Mexico, according to the BTS tabulation. The
ports of El Paso, TX and San Ysidro, CA handled one-third of these crossings. Overall, 83 percent of these crossings were by personal vehicles while 16
percent were pedestrian arrivals.
On the average day in 2000, trucks moved nearly $1.2 billion in goods with U.S. NAFTA partners, or 66 percent of U.S. total trade with Canada and
Mexico.
In 2000, the most heavily traveled land border crossing was Detroit, MI, which processed almost 5,000 southbound trucks carrying $240 million in
merchandise on a daily basis. At Laredo, TX, the busiest truck crossing on the U.S. border with Mexico and the second most heavily trafficked for NAFTA
trade overall, about 4,100 northbound truck crossings took place daily in 2000, transporting more than $160 million in goods through the port.
North American Trade and Travel Trends will be available on the BTS website at www.bts.gov beginning Nov. 9. To order a printed copy, contact BTS by
phone at (202) 366-DATA (press 1), by fax on (202) 366-3197, or by writing to Product Orders, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S.DOT, 400 Seventh
Street, S.W., Room 3430, Washington, DC 20590.
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