NAFTA surface transportation rises in July

Oct. 17, 2005
Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico rose 3.3 percent in July 2005

Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico rose 3.3 percent in July 2005 from July 2004 to a total of $49.7 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

In monthly statistics, total North American surface transportation trade fell 16.4 percent in July from June. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors. Trucks carried 64 percent of imports and 79 percent of exports by value.

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 July was up 20.0 percent compared to July 2002, and up 94.7 percent compared to July 1995, a period of 10 years. Imports in July were up 107.4 percent compared to July 1995, while exports were up 79.6 percent.

United States – Canada surface transportation trade totaled $31.8 billion in July, up 4.8 percent compared to July 2004. Trucks carried 53 percent of imports and 79 percent of exports by value. The value of imports carried by truck rose 0.6 percent in July 2005 from July 2004 while the value of exports rose 7.7 percent.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in July with $3.6 billion.

United States – Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $17.9 billion in July, up 0.8 percent compared to July 2004. Trucks carried 85 percent of imports and 80 percent of exports by value. The value of imports carried by truck rose 1.9 percent in July 2005 from July 2004 while the value of exports fell 1.3 percent. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in July with $5.6 billion. The Transborder Surface Freight Dataset is a special extract of the official US foreign trade statistics. The data are tabulated for BTS monthly by the Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division.