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Freight Border Crossings
The
number of trucks entering the United States from Canada and Mexico rose from
7.7 million in 1994 to 11.4 million in 2004 (figure 1-18). While this resulted
in annual growth of almost 4 percent per year, the number of trucks crossing
into the
United States
declined in 2001 and
2003, compared with the previous year. For instance, the number of trucks
entering from
Canada
fell by 3.8 percent and
from
Mexico
by 4.9 percent in 2001.
Truck entries in 2003 declined at 52 of the 72 U.S.-Canada ports of entry and
14 of the 22 U.S.-Mexico ports [1].
Between
1996 and 2004, the number of full rail containers entering from
Canada
increased 350 percent,
without declining in 2001 (figure 1-19). From
Mexico
, the number of these rail
containers rose 115 percent during the same period; however, most of the
increase occurred between 1996 and 2000. Since 2000, growth has been slight.
Rail crossings are also measured in number of trains (figure 1-20). These data
show a different pattern, with uneven growth for both
Canada
and
Mexico
between 1994 and 2004.
Total train crossings hit a low of 38,949 in 1999 and a high of 41,911 in 2003.
Trucks
accounted for 64 percent ($453 billion) of total trade in 2004 between the
United States
and its two largest trading
partners,
Canada
and
Mexico
. When rail is included,
surface transportation carried 89 percent of this trade. The other 11 percent
of cross border trade was transported by maritime vessels ($46 billion) and
aircraft ($32 billion). Over $32 billion of the vessel trade was with
Mexico
and $23 billion of the
air transported trade was with
Canada
[2]. Data are not
available on the numbers of vessels and aircraft entering the
United States
from
Canada
and
Mexico
, however, as they are for
surface transportation.
Sources
1. U.S. Department of Transportation, Research
and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics,
using data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Office of Management Reporting, Data Warehouse CD-ROM, May 2005.
2.
U.S.
Department of
Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of
Transportation Statistics,
U.S.
-North American Trade and Freight Transportation
Highlights Transborder Freight Data (Washington, DC: 2005).
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