January 2010 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 19.5 Percent from January 2009

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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Contact BTS 16-10 Dave Smallen 202-366-5568

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 19.5 percent higher in January 2010 than in January 2009, reaching $56.7 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1). The 19.5 percent increase was the largest year over year rise since March 2000.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 3.0 percent in January 2010 from December 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. In January, 86.1 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in January was up 8.3 percent compared to January 2005, and up 31.6 percent compared to January 2000, a period of 10 years (Table 3). Imports in January were up 28.4 percent compared to January 2000, while exports were up 35.8 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.Canada surface transportation trade totaled $34.2 billion in January, up 18.0 percent compared to January 2009 (Table 4). The value of imports carried by truck was 7.2 percent higher in January 2010 compared to January 2009, while the value of exports carried by truck was 17.1 percent higher during this period.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in January with $4.0 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $22.5 billion in January, up 21.7 percent compared to January 2009 (Table 6). The value of imports carried by truck was 18.9 percent higher in January 2010 than January 2009 while the value of exports carried by truck was 11.5 percent higher.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in January with $8.1 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. January TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of March 12.

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 February TransBorder numbers on April 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. January 2010 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with January 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)

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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 January 2010 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 January 2010 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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