February 2010 North American Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 24.1 Percent from February 2009

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

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Thursday, April 29, 2010 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 24.1 percent higher in February 2010 than in February 2009, reaching $59.5 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1). The 24.1 percent increase is the largest year-over-year rise on record but freight value still remained 14.3 percent less than the value in February 2008.

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 4.9 percent in February 2010 from January 2010 (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 February, 87.6 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 February was up 11.0 percent compared to February 2005, and up 29.6 percent compared to February 2000, a period of 10 years (Table 3). Imports in February were up 28.3 percent compared to February 2000, while exports were up 31.2 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.Canada surface transportation trade totaled $36.3 billion in February, up 21.7 percent compared to February 2009 (Table 4). The value of imports carried by truck was 6.4 percent higher in February 2010 compared to February 2009, while the value of exports carried by truck was 23.5 percent higher during this period.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in February with $5.2 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $23.2 billion in February, up 28.0 percent compared to February 2009 (Table 6). The value of imports carried by truck was 27.6 percent higher in February 2010 than February 2009 while the value of exports carried by truck was 18.3 percent higher.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in February 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. February TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of April 13.

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 June 1.

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

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Month	2008	2009	2010	Percent Change 2008-2009	Percent Change 2009-2010
January	65,160	47,459	56,697	-27.2	19.5
February	69,406	47,938	59,492	-30.9	24.1
March	70,787	51,055		-27.9
April	74,317	49,729		-33.1
May	74,128	47,881		-35.4
June	74,139	50,753		-31.5
July	71,628	51,545		-28.0
August	72,254	54,254		-24.9
September	71,801	57,294		-20.2
October	72,683	61,400		-15.5
November	60,661	58,922		-2.9
December	52,910	58,465		10.5
Year-to-date	134,566	95,398	116,189	-29.1	21.8
Annual	829,875	636,695		-23.3

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 torounding.

Table 2. U.S. Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico by Mode of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Mode		February 2009	January2010	February 2010	Percent Change January-February 2010	Percent Change February 2009-2010
All Surface Modes	Imports	25,586	31,316	32,545	3.9	27.2
	Exports	22,352	25,380	26,947	6.2	20.6
	Total	47,938	56,697	59,492	4.9	24.1
Truck	Imports	16,981	18,834	19,865	5.5	17.0
Truck	Exports	17,199	19,804	20,894	5.5	21.5
Rail	Imports	4,279	6,609	6,764	2.3	58.1
Rail	Exports	2,661	3,160	3,583	13.4	34.6
Pipeline	Imports	3,277	4,915	4,979	1.3	51.9
Pipeline	Exports	508	452	341	-24.7	-32.9

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. February 2010 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with February of Prior Years

Excel | CSV

Compared to February in…	Percent Change
Compared to February in…	Imports	Exports	Total Surface Trade
2009	27.2	20.6	24.1
2008	-17.7	-9.8	-14.3
2007	-4.2	4.9	-0.3
2006	-5.9	6.9	-0.5
2005	5.5	18.5	11.0
2004	16.9	32.6	23.5
2003	28.0	46.4	35.7
2002	35.7	52.0	42.6
2001	28.4	38.3	32.7
2000	28.3	31.2	29.6

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		February 2009	January2010	February 2010	Percent Change January-February 2010	Percent Change February 2009-2010
All Surface Modes	Imports	15,630	18,681	19,226	2.9	23.0
	Exports	14,165	15,508	17,047	9.9	20.3
	Total	29,795	34,189	36,273	6.1	21.7
Truck	Imports	8,528	8,526	9,076	6.5	6.4
Truck	Exports	10,529	11,868	13,004	9.6	23.5
Rail	Imports	3,026	4,528	4,563	0.8	50.8
Rail	Exports	1,512	1,798	2,067	15.0	36.7
Pipeline	Imports	3,270	4,901	4,964	1.3	51.8
Pipeline	Exports	466	352	280	-20.4	-39.9

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

Table 5. Top 10 States Trading with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation

Ranked by February 2010 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank	State	February 2010
1	Michigan	5,239
2	Illinois	3,294
3	Ohio	2,276
4	New York	2,156
5	California	2,074
6	Texas	1,872
7	Washington	1,660
8	Pennsylvania	1,544
9	Indiana	1,289
10	Tennessee	966

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		February 2009	January2010	February 2010	Percent Change January-February 2010	Percent Change February 2009-2010
All Surface Modes	Imports	9,956	12,635	13,319	5.4	33.8
	Exports	8,187	9,873	9,900	0.3	20.9
	Total	18,143	22,508	23,219	3.2	28.0
Truck	Imports	8,453	10,309	10,789	4.7	27.6
Truck	Exports	6,670	7,936	7,890	-0.6	18.3
Rail	Imports	1,253	2,081	2,201	5.8	75.7
Rail	Exports	1,149	1,362	1,515	11.2	31.9
Pipeline	Imports	7	13	14	7.7	105.9
Pipeline	Exports	42	100	61	-39.6	43.3

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

Table 7. Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation

Ranked by February 2010 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank	State	February 2010
1	Texas	8,149
2	California	3,378
3	Michigan	2,601
4	Arizona	898
5	Illinois	783
6	Ohio	589
7	Tennessee	479
8	Indiana	411
9	North Carolina	388
10	Wisconsin	366

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

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