May 2011 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Rose 15.7 Percent from May 2010

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North American Surface Trade, June 2009 - May 2011

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Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American neighbors, Canada and Mexico, was 15.7 percent higher in May 2011 than in May 2010, totaling $77.3 billion (Table 1), according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico, the United States North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, in May 2011 rose 61.5 percent in two years from May 2009, but has still only risen 4.3 percent above the early recession level of May 2008 (Table 3).

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in May increased by 17.2 percent when compared to May 2006, and also increased by 55.9 percent when compared to May 2001, a period of 10 years. Imports in May were up 46.4 percent since May 2001, while exports were up 68.5 percent (Table 3). See Transborder Press Releases for historic data. Values in this press release are not adjusted for inflation.

Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones, and other. In May, 84.8 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 11.1 percent moved by vessel, and 4.1 percent moved by air (Table 8).

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico gained 4.8 percent in May 2011 from April 2011 (Table 2). Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade both increased compared to May 2010 with U.S.-Canada reaching $46.3 billion, a 15.1 percent increase, and U.S.-Mexico reaching $31.0 billion, a 16.6 percent increase. For trade numbers by mode, see Table 4 for Canada and Table 6 for Mexico.

In May trade by state, Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada as it has in previous years, at $6.3 billion, a 15.6 percent increase from May 2010 (Table 5). Texas also continued to lead all states in surface trade with Mexico at $11.2 billion, an 18.8 percent increase from May 2010 (Table 7).

BTS has also recently released annual data on U.S. transshipments through Canada or Mexico to the public in a new database. Transshipments are shipments of merchandise from a country of origin to a country of ultimate destination through an intermediary country. U.S. transshipment data provide information on U.S. international merchandise transshipped through Canada or Mexico prior to reaching its ultimate destination, as well as shipments from their ultimate origin through Canada or Mexico to the U.S.

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 June TransBorder numbers on Aug. 30.

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

(millions of dollars)

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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)

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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. May 2011 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with May of Prior Years

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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)

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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 May 2011 Surface Trade Value

(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

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

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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 May 2011 Surface Trade Value

(millions of dollars)

Excel | CSV

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

Note: Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding

Table 8. Percentage of U.S. Trade by Value with Canada and Mexico by Major Modes

May 2011 (Actual U.S. 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 are based on actual numbers prior to rounding (if applicable).