June 2009 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Fell 31.5 Percent from June 2008

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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Contact BTS 41-09 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Monday, August 31, 2009 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 31.5 percent lower in June 2009 than in June 2008, dropping to $50.8 billion in the sixth consecutive month with a year-to-year decline of greater than 27 percent, 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 U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 6.0 percent in June 2009 from May 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 June was down 8.4 percent compared to June 2004, and up 17.6 percent compared to June 1999, a period of 10 years (Table 3).  Imports in June were up 11.8 percent compared to June 1999, while exports were up 24.9 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

 U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $31.0 billion in June, down 36.6 percent compared to June 2008 (Table 4).  The value of imports carried by truck was 34.8 percent lower in June 2009 compared to June 2008, while the value of exports carried by truck was 28.8 percent lower during this period.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in June with $2.9 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $19.7 billion in June, down 21.8 percent compared to June 2008 (Table 6).  The value of imports carried by truck was 18.0 percent lower in June 2009 than June 2008 while the value of exports carried by truck was 14.3 percent lower.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in June with $6.8 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.  June TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of Aug. 12.

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 July TransBorder numbers on Sept. 30.

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, 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. June 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/

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 June 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 June 2009 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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