BTS 25-07
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel.: (202) 366-5568
Detroit and Laredo were Top 2006 Ports for Trade by Truck, According to New BTS
Special Report
Detroit on the Canadian border and Laredo, TX, on the Mexican border were the
top ports for the value of trade moved by truck in 2006, according to a new
special report on North American freight transportation from the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics (BTS).
BTS, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative
Technology Administration, reported that Detroit was the gateway for $64 billion
in merchandise carried by truck to Canada and $51 billion from Canada. The
merchandise transported through Detroit in 2006 was almost double the value of
the goods that passed through Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY, the next-ranking port
on the Canadian border. Port Huron, MI, was the third-ranking port.
On the Mexican border, $34 billion in merchandise was exported and $44 billion
was imported through Laredo by truck, almost double the value of the goods that
passed through El Paso, TX, the next-ranking port on the Mexican border. Otay
Mesa, CA, was the third-ranking port.
Other findings of the BTS report:
* The leading ports handle the majority of the transborder freight and serve as
national gateways. In 2006, the top 10 ports on the northern border handled 92
percent of the truck freight crossing to and from Canada. The top 10 ports on
the southern border handled 97 percent of the truck freight crossing to and from
Mexico.
* Trucks remain the dominant mode for transporting U.S.-North American freight,
carrying $534 billion, or 62 percent, of the total value in 2006.
* Ranked by value, motor vehicles and parts was the leading commodity group
transported by all modes between the United States and our NAFTA partners in
2006.
The special report on North American freight transportation provides analysis of
recent activity and trends in U.S. merchandise trade with Canada and Mexico from
a transportation perspective. It is available at
http://www.bts.gov/publications/bts_special_report/2007_05/ The report uses
BTS Transborder Freight Data, released monthly on the BTS website at
http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
For press releases on monthly TransBorder data, see
http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/north_american_surface_freight_data.html