February 2009 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Fell 30.9 Percent from February 2008

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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Contact BTS 20-09 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Thursday, April 30, 2009 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 30.9 percent lower in February 2009 than in February 2008, dropping to $47.9 billion, the biggest year-to-year percentage decline on record, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1).  February was the fourth consecutive month with a yearly decline of greater than 13 percent. 

During the first two months of 2009, the value of surface trade dropped 29.1 percent compared to the first two months of 2008.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 1.0 percent in February 2009 from January 2009 (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 February was down 0.5 percent compared to February 2004, a period of five years, and up 24.3 percent compared to February 1999, a period of 10 years (Table 3).  Imports in February were up 19.5 percent compared to February 1999, while exports were up 30.3 percent. 

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

 U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $29.8 billion in February, down 33.8 percent compared to February 2008 (Table 4).  The value of imports carried by truck was 32.0 percent lower in February 2009 compared to February 2008, while the value of exports carried by truck was 28.1 percent lower during this period.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in February with $3.1 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $18.1 billion in February, down 25.7 percent compared to February 2008 (Table 6).  The value of imports carried by truck was 26.4 percent lower in February 2009 than February 2008 while the value of exports carried by truck was 15.4 percent lower.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in February with $6.1 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.  February TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of  April 9. 

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 March TransBorder numbers on May 28.

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

(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.

Table 2. U.S. Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico by Mode of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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, and other transportation.  For additional detail refer to the “Data Fields” Section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.

Table 3. February 2009 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with February of Prior Years

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

Table 4. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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, and other transportation.  For additional detail refer to the “Data Fields” Section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.

Table 5. Top 10 States Trading with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation

Ranked by February 2009 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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

Table 6. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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, and other 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 February 2009 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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