February 2012 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 17.4 Percent from February 2011

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North American Surface Trade, Five Years: March 2007-February 2012 (Figure 1)

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American neighbors, Canada and Mexico, was 17.4 percent higher in February 2012 than in February 2011, totaling $78.1 billion (Table 1), according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the February 2012 value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico, the United States’ North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, rose 12.6 percent from February 2008, which was two months after the start of the recession, and 63.0 percent from February 2009, in the middle of the recession (Table 3).

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in February increased by 87.3 percent compared to February 2002, a period of 10 years. Imports in February were up 75.9 percent since February 2002, while exports were up 102.8 percent (Table 3).  See Transborder Press Releases for historical data.

Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones, and other. In February, 87.4 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 8.7 percent moved by vessel, and 3.9 percent moved by air (Figure 2).

North American Surface Freight by Mode, February 2012 (Figure 2)

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The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico increased 3.4 percent in February 2012 from January 2012 (Table 2). Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade in February 2012 both increased compared to February 2011 with U.S.-Canada reaching $45.4 billion, a 13.7 percent increase, and U.S.-Mexico reaching $32.7 billion, a 23.0 percent increase. For trade statistics by mode, see Table 4 for Canada and Table 6 for Mexico.

In February trade by state, Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada as it has in previous years, at $5.9 billion, an 18.2 percent increase from February 2011 (Table 5).  Of the top 10 states by value, Illinois had the largest percentage increase over February 2011, at 30.1 percent.  About half of the $5.1 billion in Illinois-Canada trade was imports of oil and gas via pipeline.

The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada by surface modes of transportation in February was vehicles (other than railway), valued at $8.7 billion (Table 8). 

Texas also continued to lead all states in surface trade with Mexico at $11.7 billion, a 29.3 percent increase from February 2011 (Table 7).  February 2012 was the second highest month on record for Texas–Mexico surface trade, which peaked in August 2011 at $11.9 billion.  Of the top 10 states by value, Tennessee had the biggest percentage increase, 32.5 percent.  Of the $725 million in Tennessee–Mexico trade, $203 million was in computer related machinery and parts.  The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Mexico by surface modes of transportation in February was electrical machinery with $6.6 billion in trade (Table 9). 

For more information, see Transborder Press Releases for previous’ press releases and summary tables. See TransBorder Freight Data for data from previous months, and individual state data.  BTS has scheduled release of March TransBorder numbers for May 29.

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/programs/international/transborder/

NOTE: Numbers might 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 Surface Modes of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

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SOURCE: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/

NOTES: Numbers might 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, please refer to the "Data Fields" section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

Table 3. February 2012 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/programs/international/transborder/

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

(millions of dollars)

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SOURCE: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/

NOTES: Numbers might 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, please refer to the "Data Fields" section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

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

Ranked by February 2012 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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

NOTES: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding.  Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding.

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 might 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, please refer to the "Data Fields" section of the TransBorder web page: http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

Table 7. Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by All Surface Modes of Transportation

Ranked by February 2012 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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

NOTE: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding

Table 8. Top Five Commodities Transported between the U.S. and Canada by All Surface Modes of Transportation, February 2012

(millions of dollars)

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SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based on Transborder Freight Data, available at http://www.bts.gov/transborder/, as of March 20, 2012.

NOTE: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 9. Top Five Commodities Transported between the U.S. and Mexico by All Surface Modes of Transportation, February 2012

(millions of dollars)

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SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of TransportationStatistics, based on Transborder Freight Data, available at http://www.bts.gov/transborder/, as of March 13, 2012.

NOTE: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.