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March 2011 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Topped $80 Billion for First Time on Record
March 2011 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Topped $80 Billion for First Time on Record
(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)
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North American Surface Trade, April 2009 - March 2011
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Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 15.6 percent higher in March 2011 than in March 2010, reaching $80.8 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1). March 2011 was the highest month since collection of data began in 1994, beating the previous record set in April 2008 by 8.8 percent, not adjusted for inflation.
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 March 2011 rose 58.3 percent in two years from March 2009. Trade value in March 2011 was up 14.2 percent from the early recession level of March 2008 (Table 3). See Transborder Press Releases for historic data. Values in this press release are not adjusted for inflation.
Freight value in March rose 21.5 percent from February 2011 (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 March, 85.8 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land, 9.8 percent moved by vessel, and 4.4 percent moved by air.
The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in March was up 18.5 percent compared to March 2006, and up 60.9 percent compared to March 2001, a period of 10 years. Imports in March were up 52.2 percent compared to March 2001, while exports were up 72.3 percent (Table 3).
U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada
U.S.Canada surface transportation trade totaled $48.7 billion in March, up 15.7 percent compared to March 2010. For trade numbers by mode, see Table 4.
Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in March with $6.1 billion (Table 5).
U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico
U.S.Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $32.1 billion in March, up 15.3 percent compared to March 2010. March was the first month on record that U.S.Mexico trade has exceeded $30 billion. For trade numbers by mode, see Table 6.
Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in March with $11.3 billion, the highest amount of trade on record between a U.S. state and Mexico (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. March TransBorder numbers include data received by BTS as of May 20.
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 April TransBorder numbers on June 29.
Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada and Mexico
(millions of dollars)
| 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 | 66,534 | 24.1 | 11.8 |
| March | 51,055 | 69,943 | 80,822 | 37.0 | 15.6 |
| 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 | 146,453 | 186,132 | 215,090 | 27.1 | 15.6 |
| 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)
| Mode | March 2010 | February 2011 | March 2011 | Percent Change February - March 2011 | Percent Change March 2010 - 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Surface Modes | Imports | 38,014 | 36,277 | 43,409 | 19.7 | 14.2 |
| Exports | 31,929 | 30,257 | 37,413 | 23.6 | 17.2 | |
| Total | 69,943 | 66,534 | 80,822 | 21.5 | 15.6 | |
| Truck | Imports | 24,177 | 22,307 | 27,489 | 23.2 | 13.7 |
| Exports | 24,772 | 23,527 | 29,036 | 23.4 | 17.2 | |
| Rail | Imports | 7,716 | 7,252 | 8,358 | 15.3 | 8.3 |
| Exports | 4,283 | 3,748 | 4,817 | 28.5 | 12.5 | |
| Pipeline | Imports | 5,219 | 5,554 | 5,954 | 7.2 | 14.1 |
| Exports | 603 | 711 | 729 | 2.5 | 21.0 |
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. March 2011 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with March of Prior Years
| Compared to March in... | Percent Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Imports | Exports | Total Surface Trade | |
| 2010 | 14.2 | 17.2 | 15.6 |
| 2009 | 59.8 | 56.6 | 58.3 |
| 2008 | 8.3 | 21.9 | 14.2 |
| 2007 | 8.8 | 25.3 | 15.8 |
| 2006 | 12.9 | 25.7 | 18.5 |
| 2005 | 29.1 | 45.0 | 36.0 |
| 2004 | 35.6 | 54.3 | 43.6 |
| 2003 | 51.3 | 81.0 | 63.7 |
| 2002 | 65.7 | 92.8 | 77.2 |
| 2001 | 52.2 | 72.3 | 60.9 |
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)
| March 2010 | February 2011 | March 2011 | Percent Change February - March 2011 | Percent Change March 2010 - 2011 | March2010 | February 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Surface Modes | Imports | 22,007 | 21,234 | 25,379 | 19.5 | 15.3 |
| Exports | 20,098 | 18,717 | 23,343 | 24.7 | 16.1 | |
| Total | 42,105 | 39,952 | 48,722 | 22.0 | 15.7 | |
| Truck | Imports | 11,136 | 10,039 | 12,493 | 24.4 | 12.2 |
| Exports | 15,273 | 14,402 | 18,077 | 25.5 | 18.4 | |
| Rail | Imports | 5,073 | 4,901 | 5,722 | 16.8 | 12.8 |
| Exports | 2,608 | 2,048 | 2,692 | 31.5 | 3.2 | |
| Pipeline | Imports | 5,205 | 5,536 | 5,936 | 7.2 | 14.1 |
| Exports | 475 | 475 | 400 | -15.7 | -15.8 |
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 5. Top 10 States Trading with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation
Ranked by March 2011 Surface Trade Value
(millions of dollars)
| Rank | State | March 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | 6,118 |
| 2 | Illinois | 4,720 |
| 3 | Ohio | 3,321 |
| 4 | New York | 2,936 |
| 5 | California | 2,889 |
| 6 | Texas | 2,651 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 1,838 |
| 8 | Washington | 1,817 |
| 9 | Indiana | 1,661 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 1,449 |
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)
| Mode | March 2010 | February 2011 | March 2011 | Percent Change February - March 2011 | Percent Change March 2010 - 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Surface Modes | Imports | 16,007 | 15,043 | 18,030 | 19.9 | 12.6 |
| Exports | 11,831 | 11,540 | 14,070 | 21.9 | 18.9 | |
| Total | 27,838 | 26,583 | 32,099 | 20.8 | 15.3 | |
| Truck | Imports | 13,042 | 12,268 | 14,996 | 22.2 | 15.0 |
| Exports | 9,499 | 9,125 | 10,959 | 20.1 | 15.4 | |
| Rail | Imports | 2,643 | 2,350 | 2,636 | 12.1 | -0.3 |
| Exports | 1,675 | 1,700 | 2,125 | 25.0 | 26.9 | |
| Pipeline | Imports | 14 | 18 | 18 | 1.7 | 28.5 |
| Exports | 127 | 237 | 329 | 39.0 | 158.2 |
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 7. Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation
Ranked by March 2011 Surface Trade Value
(millions of dollars)
| Rank | State | March 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 11,341 |
| 2 | California | 4,442 |
| 3 | Michigan | 3,612 |
| 4 | Arizona | 1,095 |
| 5 | Illinois | 1,059 |
| 6 | Ohio | 913 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 617 |
| 8 | Georgia | 583 |
| 9 | Indiana | 572 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 547 |
Source: BTS TransBorder Freight Data, http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/