You are here

Home

February Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 11.6 Percent from February 2005

February Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 11.6 Percent from February 2005

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

PDF

Contact
BTS 21-06
Dave Smallen
202-366-5568

Friday, April 28, 2006 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 11.6 percent higher in February 2006 than in February 2005, reaching $59.8 billion, 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 fell 2.3 percent in February from January (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 90 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.

Total North American surface transportation trade value in February was up 33.4 percent compared to February 2001, and up 82.1 percent compared to February 1996, a period of 10 years (Table 3). Imports in February were up 99.4 percent compared to February 1996, while exports were up 62.8 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade totaled $39.5 billion in February, up 11.6 percent compared to February 2005 (Table 4). The value of imports carried by truck was 3.0 percent higher in February 2006 than February 2005 while the value of exports carried by truck was 9.4 percent higher.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in February with $6.3 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S. - Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $20.3 billion in February, up 11.5 percent compared to February 2005 (Table 6). The value of imports carried by truck was 10.7 percent higher in February 2006 than February 2005 while the value of exports carried by truck was 12.2 percent higher.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in February with $6.6 billion (Table 7).

The Transborder 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. February transborder numbers include data received by BTS as of April 14.

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 March transborder numbers on May 31.

Table 1: Value of Monthly U.S. Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Month 2005 2006 Percent Change 2005-2006
January 52,334 61,189 16.9
February 53,592 59,804 11.6
March 59,436    
April 58,297    
May 57,870    
June 59,431    
July 49,690    
August 60,188    
September 61,166    
October 63,985    
November 62,894    
December 59,104    
Year-to-date 105,926 120,993 14.2
Annual 697,987    

Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

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

Table 2: U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada and Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Mode   February 2005 January 2006 February 2006 Percent Change Jan. 2006- Feb. 2006 Percent Change February 2005-2006
All Surface Modes Imports 30,844 36,051 34,603 -4.0 12.2
Exports 22,748 25,138 25,201 0.3 10.8
Total 53,592 61,189 59,804 -2.3 11.6
Truck Imports 19,899 21,318 21,156 -0.8 6.3
Exports 17,938 20,103 19,802 -1.5 10.4
Rail Imports 6,676 7,638 7,080 -7.3 6.1
Exports 2,805 2,863 3,073 7.3 9.5
Pipeline Imports 3,240 5,555 5,319 -4.2 64.2
Exports 219 235 244 4.1 11.7

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; Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 3: February 2006 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with February of Prior Years

Excel | CSV

Compared to February in. Percent Change
Imports Exports Total Surface Trade
2005 12.2 10.8 11.6
2004 24.3 24.0 24.2
2003 36.1 36.9 36.4
2002 44.2 42.2 43.4
2001 36.5 29.4 33.4
2000 36.4 22.7 30.3
1999 61.6 47.0 55.1
1998 79.2 45.5 63.3
1997 90.2 59.9 76.2
1996 99.4 62.8 82.1

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)

Excel | CSV

Mode   February 2005 January 2006 February 2006 Percent Change Jan. 2006- Feb. 2006 Percent Change February 2005-2006
All Surface Modes Imports 20,453 24,275 23,167 -4.6 13.3
Exports 14,902 15,722 16,295 3.6 9.3
Total 35,354 39,996 39,462 -1.3 11.6
Truck Imports 11,388 11,768 11,733 -0.3 3.0
Exports 11,663 12,430 12,761 2.7 9.4
Rail Imports 4,967 5,626 5,307 -5.7 6.8
Exports 1,609 1,576 1,683 6.8 4.6
Pipeline Imports 3,240 5,555 5,319 -4.2 64.2
Exports 179 177 186 4.8 3.9

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; Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 5: Top 10 States Trading with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation, Ranked by February 2006 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank State February 2006
1 Michigan 6,322
2 Illinois 2,869
3 New York 2,864
4 Ohio 2,581
5 California 2,283
6 Texas 1,833
7 Washington 1,583
8 Pennsylvania 1,540
9 Tennessee 1,353
10 Indiana 1,206

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)

Excel | CSV

Mode   February 2005 January 2006 February 2006 Percent Change Jan. 2006- Feb. 2006 Percent Change February 2005-2006
All Surface Modes Imports 10,392 11,776 11,436 -2.9 10.0
Exports 7,846 9,416 8,906 -5.4 13.5
Total 18,237 21,192 20,342 -4.0 11.5
Truck Imports 8,511 9,550 9,423 -1.3 10.7
Exports 6,274 7,674 7,041 -8.2 12.2
Rail Imports 1,709 2,011 1,774 -11.8 3.8
Exports 1,196 1,287 1,389 7.9 16.2
Pipeline Imports 0 0 0 NA NA
Exports 40 58 59 1.9 46.2

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; Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 7: Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation, Ranked by February 2006 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank State February 2006
1 Texas 6,647
2 California 3,212
3 Michigan 2,054
4 Arizona 898
5 Illinois 650
6 Ohio 487
7 Indiana 431
8 Tennessee 430
9 New York 394
10 Pennsylvania 353

Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/