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January 2016 North American Freight Numbers
Figure 1. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode: January 2015-2016
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data
All five major transportation modes – truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air – carried less U.S. freight by value with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico in January 2016 than in January 2015. The total value of cross-border freight carried on all modes fell 7.7 percent from 2015 to $82.4 billion in current dollars, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) (Figure 1, Table 1).
Freight by Mode
The value of commodities moving by truck declined 1.5 percent, the smallest decrease from 2015 to 2016 of any mode. The value of freight on other modes also declined: vessel 37.3 percent; pipeline 32.7 percent; air 12.8 percent; and rail 3.5 percent (Figure 1, Table 2). A drop in the price of crude oil in 2015 played a key role in the large declines in the dollar value of goods shipped by vessel and pipeline. Crude oil (a component of mineral fuels) comprises a large share of the commodities carried by these modes. Average monthly prices for crude petroleum and refined fuel are available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Trucks carried 66.5 percent of U.S.-NAFTA freight and continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. Trucks accounted for $28.4 billion of the $44.6 billion of imports (63.7 percent) and $26.4 billion of the $37.9 billion of exports (69.7 percent) (Table 2).
Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.2 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, 5.3 percent; pipeline, 4.8 percent; and air, 3.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 86.4 percent of the total value of U.S.-NAFTA freight flows (Table 2).
U.S.-Canada Freight
Figure 2. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Canada Freight Flows by Mode: January 2015-2016
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data
From January 2015 to January 2016, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows fell 12.7 percent to $42.0 billion as all modes of transportation carried a lower value of U.S.-Canada freight than a year earlier.
Lower crude oil prices contributed to a year-over-year decrease in the value of freight moved between the U.S. and Canada. Crude oil is a large share of freight carried by vessel and pipeline, which were down 42.5 percent and 34.2 percent respectively year-over-year (Figure 2, Table 3).
Trucks carried 60.5 percent of the value of the freight to and from Canada but the total was down 4.0 percent from January 2015 primarily because of a 9.3 percent decline in the value of U.S. exports to Canada by truck. Rail carried 15.9 percent followed by pipeline, 8.8 percent; air, 4.4 percent; and vessel, 3.9 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 85.2 percent of the value of total U.S.-Canada freight flows (Table 3).
U.S.-Mexico Freight
Figure 3. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Mexico Freight Flows by Mode: January 2015-2016
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data
From January 2015 to January 2016, the value of U.S.-Mexico freight fell 1.8 percent to $40.5 billion as three out of the five transportation modes – air, truck and rail– carried more U.S.-Mexico freight value than in January 2015. Freight carried by rail increased by 8.2 percent. Truck freight value rose 0.7 percent while air freight value increased 0.6 percent. Vessel freight value decreased by 33.8 percent, while pipeline freight dropped by 4.0 percent, both due mainly to lower crude oil prices (Figure 3, Table 4).
Trucks carried 72.6 percent of the value of freight to and from Mexico. The total was up because the 4.0 percent growth in U.S. imports by truck outweighed the decline in exports. Rail, carried 14.4 percent followed by vessel, 6.3 percent; air, 2.9 percent; and pipeline, 0.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 87.7 percent of the value of total U.S.-Mexico freight flows (Table 4).
Commodities
In January 2016, the top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada by all modes was vehicles and parts, of which $4.6 billion, or 59.7 percent, moved by truck and $2.9 billion, or 37.8 percent, moved by rail (Figure 4). The top commodity category for all modes transported between the U.S. and Mexico in January 2016 was electrical machinery, of which $7.2 billion, or 91.5 percent, moved by truck and $0.5 billion, or 5.7 percent, moved by air (Figure 5).
Reporting Notes
BTS press releases and the BTS website define surface transportation modes as truck, rail and pipeline. See North American TransBorder Freight Data on the BTS website for additional data for surface modes since 1995 and all modes since 2004. The category of all modes of transportation cited in the following tables includes freight movements by truck, rail, vessel, pipeline, air, other and unknown modes of transport.
Data in this press release are not seasonally adjusted and are not adjusted for inflation. Additional summary data adjusted for inflation and exchange rates can be found on the BTS website under TransBorder Indexed Freight Flow Data. The BLS indexes used in the adjustments for inflation and exchange rates may be revised in each of the three months after original publication. For more information, see TransBorder Press Releases for previous press releases and summary tables. See TransBorder Freight Data for data from previous months, and for additional state, port, and commodity data. BTS has scheduled the release of February TransBorder numbers for April 28.
Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows
(millions of current dollars)
| Month | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Percent Change 2014-2015 | Percent Change 2015-2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 90,326 | 89,258 | 82,430 | -1.2 | -7.7 |
| February | 89,557 | 85,723 | -4.3 | ||
| March | 101,478 | 96,070 | -5.3 | ||
| April | 100,141 | 93,327 | -6.8 | ||
| May | 103,942 | 92,707 | -10.8 | ||
| June | 102,978 | 99,030 | -3.8 | ||
| July | 101,075 | 92,995 | -8.0 | ||
| August | 100,624 | 92,442 | -8.1 | ||
| September | 102,245 | 93,246 | -8.8 | ||
| October | 108,243 | 96,624 | -10.7 | ||
| November | 96,252 | 88,154 | -8.4 | ||
| December | 95,811 | 86,748 | -9.5 | ||
| Year to Date | 90,326 | 89,258 | 82,430 | -1.2 | -7.7 |
| Annual | 1,192,671 | 1,106,325 | -7.2 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.bts.gov/transborder/
Note: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent change based on numbers prior to rounding.
Table 2. Value of Monthly U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation
(millions of current dollars)
| Mode | January 2015 | January 2016 | Percent Change January 2015-2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Modes | Imports | 47,467 | 44,565 | -6.1 |
| Exports | 41,792 | 37,865 | -9.4 | |
| Total | 89,258 | 82,430 | -7.7 | |
| All Surface Modes | Imports | 40,690 | 39,847 | -2.1 |
| Exports | 33,789 | 31,393 | -7.1 | |
| Total | 74,479 | 71,240 | -4.3 | |
| Truck | Imports | 27,405 | 28,387 | 3.6 |
| Exports | 28,234 | 26,390 | -6.5 | |
| Total | 55,638 | 54,777 | -1.5 | |
| Rail | Imports | 8,380 | 8,343 | -0.4 |
| Exports | 4,582 | 4,163 | -9.1 | |
| Total | 12,962 | 12,506 | -3.5 | |
| Pipeline | Imports | 4,905 | 3,116 | -36.5 |
| Exports | 974 | 840 | -13.7 | |
| Total | 5,878 | 3,957 | -32.7 | |
| Vessel | Imports | 3,725 | 2,239 | -39.9 |
| Exports | 3,227 | 2,119 | -34.3 | |
| Total | 6,953 | 4,359 | -37.3 | |
| Air | Imports | 1,435 | 1,278 | -10.9 |
| Exports | 2,022 | 1,736 | -14.1 | |
| Total | 3,456 | 3,014 | -12.8 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.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 modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air 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://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.
Table 3. Value of Monthly U.S.-Canada Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation
(millions of current dollars)
| Mode | January 2015 | January 2016 | Percent Change January 2015-2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Modes | Imports | 25,405 | 22,164 | -12.8 |
| Exports | 22,648 | 19,799 | -12.6 | |
| Total | 48,053 | 41,963 | -12.7 | |
| All Surface Modes | Imports | 21,634 | 19,587 | -9.5 |
| Exports | 17,971 | 16,150 | -10.1 | |
| Total | 39,605 | 35,737 | -9.8 | |
| Truck | Imports | 11,370 | 11,709 | 3.0 |
| Exports | 15,078 | 13,677 | -9.3 | |
| Total | 26,448 | 25,387 | -4.0 | |
| Rail | Imports | 5,372 | 4,782 | -11.0 |
| Exports | 2,193 | 1,887 | -14.0 | |
| Total | 7,566 | 6,669 | -11.8 | |
| Pipeline | Imports | 4,892 | 3,096 | -36.7 |
| Exports | 700 | 585 | -16.3 | |
| Total | 5,591 | 3,681 | -34.2 | |
| Vessel | Imports | 1,601 | 1,031 | -35.6 |
| Exports | 1,209 | 587 | -51.5 | |
| Total | 2,810 | 1,617 | -42.4 | |
| Air | Imports | 941 | 797 | -15.3 |
| Exports | 1,344 | 1,039 | -22.7 | |
| Total | 2,285 | 1,836 | -19.6 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.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 modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air 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://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.
Figure 4. Top Commodity Transported between the U.S. and Canada for Each Mode of Transportation, January 2016
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data
NOTES: Import and export numbers might not add to totals due to rounding.
Table 4. Value of Monthly U.S.-Mexico Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation
(millions of current dollars)
| Mode | January 2015 | January 2016 | Percent Change January 2015-2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Modes | Imports | 22,062 | 22,401 | 1.5 |
| Exports | 19,144 | 18,066 | -5.6 | |
| Total | 41,205 | 40,467 | -1.8 | |
| All Surface Modes | Imports | 19,056 | 20,260 | 6.3 |
| Exports | 15,818 | 15,243 | -3.6 | |
| Total | 34,874 | 35,503 | 1.8 | |
| Truck | Imports | 16,034 | 16,678 | 4.0 |
| Exports | 13,156 | 12,712 | -3.4 | |
| Total | 29,190 | 29,390 | 0.7 | |
| Rail | Imports | 3,008 | 3,561 | 18.4 |
| Exports | 2,388 | 2,276 | -4.7 | |
| Total | 5,396 | 5,837 | 8.2 | |
| Pipeline | Imports | 13 | 21 | 59.7 |
| Exports | 274 | 255 | -7.0 | |
| Total | 287 | 275 | -4.0 | |
| Vessel | Imports | 2,124 | 1,208 | -43.1 |
| Exports | 2,019 | 1,533 | -24.1 | |
| Total | 4,143 | 2,741 | -33.8 | |
| Air | Imports | 493 | 481 | -2.5 |
| Exports | 678 | 697 | 2.9 | |
| Total | 1,171 | 1,178 | 0.6 |
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.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 modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air 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://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.
Figure 5. Top Commodity Transported between the U.S. and Mexico for Each Mode of Transportation, January 2016
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data
NOTES: Import and export numbers might not add to totals due to rounding.