July 2009 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Fell 28 Percent from July 2008

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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Contact BTS 46-09 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 28 percent lower in July 2009 than in July 2008, dropping to $51.5 billion in the seventh 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 1.6 percent in July 2009 from June 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 July was up 7.2 percent compared to July 2004, and up 38.1 percent compared to July 1999, a period of 10 years (Table 3). Imports in July were up 30.1 percent compared to July 1999, while exports were up 48.6 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.Canada surface transportation trade totaled $31.0 billion in July, down 33.8 percent compared to July 2008 (Table 4). The value of imports carried by truck was 29.0 percent lower in July 2009 compared to July 2008, while the value of exports carried by truck was 24.3 percent lower during this period.

Illinois led all states in surface trade with Canada in July with $3.1 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $20.5 billion in July, down 17.1 percent compared to July 2008 (Table 6). The value of imports carried by truck was 13.7 percent lower in July 2009 than July 2008 while the value of exports carried by truck was 14.7 percent lower.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in July with $7.3 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. July TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of Sept. 10.

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 August TransBorder numbers on Oct. 29.

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. July 2009 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with July 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 July 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 July 2009 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

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