January 2011 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 19.5 Percent from January 2010

(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

Contact

BTS 18-11
Dave Smallen
202-366-5568

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - 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 2011 than in January 2010, reaching $67.7 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, reported that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in January 2011 rose 42.7 percent in two years from January 2009, which at $47.5 billion had the lowest amount of trade of any month since January 2004 (Tables 2, 3). Trade value in January 2011 was up 4.0 percent from the early recession level of January 2008 (Table 3). See Transborder Press Releases for historic data. Values in this press release are not adjusted for inflation.

Freight value in January rose 1.8 percent from December 2010 (Table 2). Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones and other. In January, 85.1 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land, 10.7 percent moved by vessel and 4.3 percent moved by air.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in January was up 10.7 percent compared to January 2006, and up 46.2 percent compared to January 2001, a period of 10 years. Imports in January were up 36.6 percent compared to January 2001, while exports were up 59.6 percent (Table 3).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $40.3 billion in January, up 17.8 percent compared to January 2010. For trade numbers by mode, see Table 4.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in January with $5.0 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $27.5 billion in January, up 22.1 percent compared to January 2010. For trade numbers by mode, see Table 6.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in January with $9.6 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 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/programs/international/transborder/. BTS will release February TransBorder numbers on May 3.

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

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Month	2009	2010	2011	Percent Change 2009-2010	Percent Change 2010-2011
January	47,459	56,697	67,734	19.5	19.5
February	47,938	59,492		24.1
March	51,055	69,943		37.0
April	49,729	65,831		32.4
May	47,881	66,805		39.5
June	50,753	69,859		37.6
July	51,545	61,260		18.8
August	54,254	67,964		25.3
September	57,294	68,324		19.3
October	61,400	70,565		14.9
November	58,922	68,060		15.5
December	58,465	66,530		13.8
Year-to-date	47,459	56,697	67,734	19.5	19.5
Annual	636,695	791,329		24.3

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

Mode		January 2010	December 2010	January 2011	Percent Change December 2010 - January 2011	Percent Change January 2010 - 2011
All Surface Modes	Imports	31,316	36,345	36,740	1.1	17.3
	Exports	25,380	30,185	30,993	2.7	22.1
	Total	56,697	66,530	67,734	1.8	19.5
Truck	Imports	18,834	22,480	22,547	0.3	19.7
Truck	Exports	19,804	23,390	24,101	3.0	21.7
Rail	Imports	6,609	7,106	7,460	5.0	12.9
Rail	Exports	3,160	3,785	3,634	-4.0	15.0
Pipeline	Imports	4,915	5,157	5,466	6.0	11.2
Pipeline	Exports	452	549	780	42.1	72.6

Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/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/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html

Table 3. January 2011 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with January of Prior Years

Excel | CSV

Compared to January in…	Percent Change
Compared to January in…	Imports	Exports	Total Surface Trade
2010	17.3	22.1	19.5
2009	43.8	41.5	42.7
2008	0.3	8.7	4.0
2007	4.9	20.9	11.7
2006	1.9	23.3	10.7
2005	22.1	39.4	29.4
2004	39.5	60.2	48.3
2003	45.6	67.4	54.8
2002	54.9	76.1	63.9
2001	36.6	59.6	46.2

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

Table 4. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Mode		January 2010	December 2010	January 2011	Percent Change December 2010 - January 2011	Percent Change January 2010 - 2011
All Surface Modes	Imports	18,681	21,432	21,635	0.9	15.8
	Exports	15,508	18,330	18,625	1.6	20.1
	Total	34,189	39,762	40,260	1.3	17.8
Truck	Imports	8,526	10,399	10,121	-2.7	18.7
Truck	Exports	11,868	14,106	14,310	1.5	20.6
Rail	Imports	4,528	4,707	5,163	9.7	14.0
Rail	Exports	1,798	2,095	1,940	-7.4	7.9
Pipeline	Imports	4,901	5,142	5,446	5.9	11.1
Pipeline	Exports	352	227	416	83.3	18.1

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

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

Ranked by January 2011 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank	State	January 2011
1	Michigan	4,976
2	Illinois	3,962
3	Ohio	2,613
4	California	2,587
5	Texas	2,425
6	New York	2,164
7	Washington	1,591
8	Pennsylvania	1,578
9	Minnesota	1,437
10	Indiana	1,229

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

Table 6. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Mode		January 2010	December 2010	January 2011	Percent Change December 2010 - January 2011	Percent Change January 2010 - 2011
All Surface Modes	Imports	12,635	14,913	15,105	1.3	19.5
	Exports	9,873	11,855	12,368	4.3	25.3
	Total	22,508	26,768	27,473	2.6	22.1
Truck	Imports	10,309	12,081	12,426	2.9	20.5
Truck	Exports	7,936	9,284	9,790	5.4	23.4
Rail	Imports	2,081	2,399	2,297	-4.2	10.4
Rail	Exports	1,362	1,690	1,693	0.2	24.3
Pipeline	Imports	13	15	20	26.8	45.4
Pipeline	Exports	100	322	365	13.2	263.1

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

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

Ranked by January 2011 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

Rank	State	January 2011
1	Texas	9,610
2	California	3,991
3	Michigan	3,025
4	Arizona	1,084
5	Illinois	906
6	Ohio	742
7	Tennessee	532
8	Indiana	507
9	North Carolina	429
10	Georgia	409

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

Research and Innovative Technology Administration

Main menu

You are here