May 2009 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Fell 35.4 Percent from May 2008

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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Contact BTS 37-09 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Thursday, July 30, 2009 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 35.4 percent lower in May 2009 than in May 2008, the biggest decline from the same month of the previous year on record, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the value of North American surface trade dropped to $47.9 billion in the fifth consecutive month with a year-to-year decline of greater than 27 percent.  Imports from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. in May were down 38.1 percent from May 2008 while exports from the U.S. declined 32.0 percent (Table 2).

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 fell 3.7 percent in May 2009 from April 2009 (Table 2).  Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in May 2009 was down 9.9 percent compared to May 2004, and up 16.1 percent compared to May 1999, a period of 10 years (Table 3).  Imports in May were up 12.0 percent compared to May 1999, while exports were up 21.2 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

 U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $29.2 billion in May 2009, down 40.3 percent compared to May 2008 (Table 4).  The value of imports carried by truck was 35.7 percent lower in May 2009 compared to May 2008, while the value of exports carried by truck was 33.4 percent lower during this period.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in May 2009 with $2.8 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $18.6 billion in May 2009, down 26.0 percent compared to May 2008 (Table 6).  The value of imports carried by truck was 23.4 percent lower in May 2009 than May 2008 while the value of exports carried by truck was 21.1 percent lower.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in May 2009 with $6.2 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.  May 2009 TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of July 10.

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 June TransBorder numbers on Aug. 31.

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

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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, other and unknown modes of 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. May 2009 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with June 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/

Note: 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, other and unknown modes of 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 May 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. Surface Trade with Mexico by Mode of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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.  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, other and unknown modes of 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 May 2009 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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