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August 2006 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 10.2 Percent from August 2005

August 2006 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 10.2 Percent from August 2005

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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BTS 51-06
Dave Smallen
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Monday, October 30, 2006 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 10.2 percent higher in August 2006 than in August 2005, reaching $66.4 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 rose 18.6 percent in August from July (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 August was up 40.8 percent compared to August 2001, and up 91.2 percent compared to August 1996, a period of 10 years (Table 3). Imports in August were up 99.5 percent compared to August 1996, while exports were up 81.3 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade totaled $42.2 billion in August, up 7.2 percent compared to August 2005 (Table 4). The value of imports carried by truck was 2.1 percent higher in August 2006 than August 2005, while the value of exports carried by truck was 8.5 percent higher.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in August with $6.1 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S. - Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $24.1 billion in August, up 16.0 percent compared to August 2005 (Table 6). The value of imports carried by truck was 16.7 percent higher in August 2006 than August 2005 while the value of exports carried by truck was 13.5 percent higher.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in August with $7.5 billion (Table 7).

The Transborder Freight Data are 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. August transborder numbers include data received by BTS as of Oct. 16.

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 September transborder numbers on Nov. 30.

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

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Month 2004 2005 2006 Percent Change 2004-2005 Percent Change 2005-2006
January 45,686 52,334 61,189 14.6 16.9
February 48,170 53,592 59,804 11.3 11.6
March 56,269 59,436 68,213 5.6 14.8
April 53,195 58,297 61,742 9.6 5.9
May 53,155 57,870 65,994 8.9 14.0
June 55,422 59,431 66,898 7.2 12.6
July 48,096 49,690 55,939 3.3 12.6
August 53,577 60,188 66,355 12.3 10.2
September 54,913 61,166   11.4  
October 56,880 63,985   12.5  
November 56,134 62,894   12.0  
December 52,065 59,104   13.5  
Year-to-date 413,570 450,838 506,134 9.0 12.3
Annual 633,563 697,987   10.2  

Source: BTS Transborder Freight Data, 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   August 2005 July 2006 August 2006 Percent Change July 2006-Aug. 2006 Percent Change August 2005-2006
All Surface Modes Imports 34,506 32,064 37,736 17.7 9.4
Exports 25,681 23,875 28,618 19.9 11.4
Total 60,188 55,939 66,354 18.6 10.2
Truck Imports 22,255 20,685 24,142 16.7 8.5
Exports 20,514 19,024 22,631 19.0 10.3
Rail Imports 6,788 6,094 7,605 24.8 12.0
Exports 2,861 2,760 3,514 27.3 22.8
Pipeline Imports 4,434 4,106 4,881 18.9 10.1
Exports 159 192 175 -8.8 10.5

Source: BTS Transborder Freight Data, 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 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. August 2006 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with August of Prior Years

Excel | CSV

Compared to August in. Percent Change
Imports Exports Total Surface Trade
2005 9.4 11.4 10.2
2004 20.8 28.1 23.8
2003 45.4 50.1 47.4
2002 41.1 43.2 42.0
2001 41.2 40.2 40.8
2000 33.8 29.4 31.9
1999 55.3 52.7 54.1
1998 91.8 77.7 85.4
1997 100.8 73.9 88.2
1996 99.5 81.3 91.2

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

Mode   August 2005 July 2006 August 2006 Percent Change July 2006-Aug. 2006 Percent Change August 2005-2006
All Surface Modes Imports 22,887 20,267 23,924 18.0 4.5
Exports 16,492 14,947 18,299 22.4 11.0
Total 39,379 35,214 42,223 19.9 7.2
Truck Imports 12,472 10,769 12,730 18.2 2.1
Exports 13,148 11,728 14,269 21.7 8.5
Rail Imports 5,136 4,455 5,438 22.1 5.9
Exports 1,504 1,565 2,041 30.4 35.7
Pipeline Imports 4,434 4,104 4,872 18.7 9.9
Exports 116 148 114 -22.5 -1.1

Source: BTS Transborder Freight Data, 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 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 August 2006 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank State August 2006
1 Michigan 6,149
2 Illinois 3,107
3 New York 2,840
4 Ohio 2,787
5 California 2,544
6 Pennsylvania 1,976
7 Texas 1,894
8 Washington 1,768
9 Indiana 1,490
10 Tennessee 1,362

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

Mode   August 2005 July 2006 August 2006 Percent Change July 2006-Aug. 2006 Percent Change August 2005-2006
All Surface Modes Imports 11,620 11,797 13,812 17.1 18.9
Exports 9,189 8,927 10,319 15.6 12.3
Total 20,809 20,725 24,132 16.4 16.0
Truck Imports 9,783 9,915 11,412 15.1 16.7
Exports 7,366 7,296 8,362 14.6 13.5
Rail Imports 1,652 1,639 2,167 32.2 31.1
Exports 1,357 1,196 1,473 23.2 8.6
Pipeline Imports 0 1 9 558.9 NA
Exports 43 45 61 36.9 41.6

Source: BTS Transborder Freight Data, 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 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 August 2006 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank State August 2006
1 Texas 7,480
2 California 4,303
3 Michigan 2,478
4 Illinois 862
5 Arizona 762
6 New York 526
7 Ohio 515
8 Tennessee 506
9 Indiana 460
10 North Carolina 455

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