Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 11.4 Percent from September 2004 to Record High in September 2005
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Tuesday, November 29, 2005 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico rose 11.4 percent in September 2005 from September 2004 to a total of $61.2 billion, the highest monthly level ever recorded, 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 (RITA), reported that total North American surface transportation trade rose 1.6 percent in September from August (Table 2). Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors. Trucks carried 63 percent of imports and 79 percent of exports by value.
The previous monthly high was $60.2 billion in August 2005. Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. About 90 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.
Total North American surface transportation trade value in September was up 33.6 percent compared to September 2002, and up 93.4 percent compared to September 1995, a period of 10 years (Table 3). Imports in September were up 107.4 percent compared to September 1995, while exports were up 77.0 percent.
U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada
U.S. - Canada surface transportation trade reached a new monthly high of $40.4 billion in September, up 14.1 percent compared to September 2004 (Table 4). The previous monthly high for U.S.-Canada trade was $39.5 billion in March 2005. Trucks carried 53 percent of imports and 79 percent of exports by value. The value of imports carried by truck rose 8.9 percent in September 2005 from September 2004 while the value of exports rose 11.4 percent.
Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in September with $6.6 billion (Table 5).
U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico
U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $20.8 billion in September, up 6.5 percent compared to September 2004 (Table 6). The September trade value was just $12 million, or 0.1 percent, below the record high set in August 2005. Trucks carried 82 percent of imports and 80 percent of exports by value. The value of imports carried by truck rose 7.3 percent in September 2005 from September 2004 while the value of exports rose 5.1 percent.
Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in September with $6.8 billion (Table 7).
The Transborder Surface Freight Dataset is a special extract of the official U.S. foreign trade statistics. The data are tabulated for BTS monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division. September transborder numbers include data received by BTS as of Nov. 14, 2005.
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 October transborder numbers on Dec. 30.
Table 1: Value of Monthly U.S. Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico
(millions of dollars)
Month | 2004 | 2005 | Percent Change 2004-2005 |
---|---|---|---|
January | 45,686 | 52,334 | 14.6 |
February | 48,170 | 53,592 | 11.3 |
March | 56,269 | 59,436 | 5.6 |
April | 53,195 | 58,297 | 9.6 |
May | 53,155 | 57,870 | 8.9 |
June | 55,422 | 59,431 | 7.2 |
July | 48,096 | 49,690 | 3.3 |
August | 53,577 | 60,188 | 12.3 |
September | 54,913 | 61,166 | 11.4 |
October | 56,880 | ||
November | 56,134 | ||
December | 52,065 | ||
Year-to-date | 468,483 | 512,004 | 9.3 |
Annual | 633,563 |
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Table 2: U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada and Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation
(millions of dollars)
Mode | September 2004 | August 2005 | September 2005 | Percent Change August-September | Percent Change September2004-2005 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All Surface Modes | Imports | 31,458 | 34,506 | 35,485 | 2.8 | 12.8 |
Exports | 23,455 | 25,681 | 25,682 | 0.0 | 9.5 | |
Total | 54,913 | 60,188 | 61,166 | 1.6 | 11.4 | |
Truck | Imports | 20,596 | 22,255 | 22,281 | 0.1 | 8.2 |
Exports | 18,689 | 20,514 | 20,393 | -0.6 | 9.1 | |
Rail | Imports | 6,858 | 6,788 | 7,174 | 5.7 | 4.6 |
Exports | 2,669 | 2,861 | 2,935 | 2.6 | 10.0 | |
Pipeline | Imports | 3,072 | 4,434 | 4,681 | 5.6 | 52.4 |
Exports | 141 | 159 | 152 | -4.3 | 7.7 |
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Note: The value of all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes. The value of trade for all surface modes includes shipments made by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation. For additional detail refer to the Transborder Surface Freight data "Sources and Reliability" statement: http://www.bts.gov/ntda/tbscd/srfin.html
Table 3: September 2005 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with September of Prior Years
Compared to September in. | Percent Change | ||
---|---|---|---|
Imports | Exports | Total Surface Trade | |
2004 | 12.8 | 9.5 | 11.4 |
2003 | 26.3 | 23.7 | 25.2 |
2002 | 35.5 | 31.0 | 33.6 |
2001 | 45.0 | 42.7 | 44.0 |
2000 | 26.7 | 21.3 | 24.4 |
1999 | 46.4 | 34.2 | 41.0 |
1998 | 65.2 | 44.2 | 55.7 |
1997 | 78.3 | 46.6 | 63.4 |
1996 | 88.0 | 61.8 | 76.0 |
1995 | 107.4 | 77.0 | 93.4 |
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Table 4: U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation
(millions of dollars)
Mode | September 2004 | August 2005 | September 2005 | Percent Change August-September | Percent Change September 2004-2005 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All Surface Modes | Imports | 20,441 | 22,887 | 23,659 | 3.4 | 15.7 |
Exports | 14,943 | 16,492 | 16,711 | 1.3 | 11.8 | |
Total | 35,385 | 39,379 | 40,370 | 2.5 | 14.1 | |
Truck | Imports | 11,545 | 12,472 | 12,573 | 0.8 | 8.9 |
Exports | 11,861 | 13,148 | 13,217 | 0.5 | 11.4 | |
Rail | Imports | 5,082 | 5,136 | 5,258 | 2.4 | 3.5 |
Exports | 1,452 | 1,504 | 1,578 | 4.9 | 8.7 | |
Pipeline | Imports | 3,072 | 4,434 | 4,681 | 5.6 | 52.4 |
Exports | 121 | 116 | 82 | -29.3 | -32.4 |
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Note: The value of all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes. The value of trade for all surface modes includes shipments made by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation. For additional detail refer to the Transborder Surface Freight data "Sources and Reliability" statement: http://www.bts.gov/ntda/tbscd/srfin.html
Table 5: Top 10 States Trading with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation, Ranked by September 2005 Surface Trade Value
(millions of dollars)
Rank | State | September 2005 |
---|---|---|
1 | Michigan | 6,586 |
2 | New York | 2,860 |
3 | Illinois | 2,844 |
4 | Ohio | 2,659 |
5 | California | 2,413 |
6 | Washington | 1,620 |
7 | Texas | 1,605 |
8 | Pennsylvania | 1,370 |
9 | Tennessee | 1,317 |
10 | Indiana | 1,270 |
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Table 6: U.S. Merchandise Trade with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation
(millions of dollars)
Mode | September 2004 | August 2005 | September 2005 | Percent Change August-September | Percent Change September 2004-2005 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All Surface Modes | Imports | 11,017 | 11,620 | 11,826 | 1.8 | 7.3 |
Exports | 8,512 | 9,189 | 8,971 | -2.4 | 5.4 | |
Total | 19,528 | 20,809 | 20,796 | -0.1 | 6.5 | |
Truck | Imports | 9,051 | 9,783 | 9,707 | -0.8 | 7.3 |
Exports | 6,828 | 7,366 | 7,176 | -2.6 | 5.1 | |
Rail | Imports | 1,776 | 1,652 | 1,916 | 16.0 | 7.9 |
Exports | 1,217 | 1,357 | 1,357 | 0.0 | 11.6 | |
Pipeline | Imports | 0 | 0 | 0 | NA | NA |
Exports | 20 | 43 | 70 | 62.6 | 249.4 |
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Note: The value of all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes. The value of trade for all surface modes includes shipments made by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation. For additional detail refer to the Transborder Surface Freight data "Sources and Reliability" statement: http://www.bts.gov/ntda/tbscd/srfin.html
Table 7: Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation, Ranked by September 2005 Surface Trade Value
(millions of dollars)
Rank | State | September 2005 |
---|---|---|
1 | Texas | 6,830 |
2 | California | 3,547 |
3 | Michigan | 2,248 |
4 | Illinois | 700 |
5 | Arizona | 621 |
6 | Ohio | 503 |
7 | Tennessee | 457 |
8 | Indiana | 446 |
9 | New York | 375 |
10 | Pennsylvania | 374 |
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/