U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada, Mexico in January up 11.5% year-over-year to US$75.5B: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Kendall Sinclair
WASHINGTON
,
March 27, 2012
(press release)
–
North American Surface Trade, Month of January 1995-2012 (Figure 1)
Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American neighbors, Canada and Mexico, was 11.5 percent higher in January 2012 than in January 2011, totaling $75.5 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 January 2012 value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico, the United States’ North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, rose 15.9 percent from January 2008, which was one month after the start of the recession, and 59.2 percent from January 2009, in the middle of the recession (Table 3).
The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in January increased by 82.8 percent compared to January 2002, a period of 10 years. Imports in January were up 72.7 percent since January 2002, while exports were up 96.5 percent (Table 3). See Transborder Press Releases for historical data.
Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones, and other. In January, 86.3 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 9.8 percent moved by vessel, and 3.9 percent moved by air (Figure 2). By All modes of transportation, U.S.-Canada trade and U.S.-Mexico trade accounted for 16.2 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively, of total U.S.-world trade in January 2012.
North American Surface Freight by Mode, January 2012 (Figure 2)
The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico increased 1.8 percent in January 2012 from December 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 January 2011 with U.S.-Canada reaching $44.1 billion, a 9.6 percent increase, and U.S.-Mexico reaching $31.4 billion, a 14.3 percent increase. For trade statistics by mode, see Table 4 for Canada and Table 6 for Mexico.
In January trade by state, Michigan led All states in surface trade with Canada as it has in previous years, at $5.6 billion, a 14.0 percent increase from January 2011 (Table 5). Of the top 10 states by value, Illinois had the largest percentage increase over January 2011, at 26.2 percent. About half of the $5.0 billion in Illinois-Canada trade was in the importation of oil and gas via pipeline. The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada by surface modes of transportation in January was oil and gas, valued at $8.3 billion (Table 8). Most of this trade, $7.3 billion, consisted of U.S. imports from Canada, including $6.7 billion of oil and gas imports via pipeline. U.S. imports of oil and gas from Canada via All surface modes peaked in July 2008 at $9.5 billion.
Texas also continued to lead All states in surface trade with Mexico at $11.5 billion, a 20.1 percent increase from January 2011 (Table 7). January 2012 was the second highest month on record for Texas – Mexico trade, which peaked in August 2011 at $11.9 billion. Of the top 10 states by value, Tennessee had the biggest percentage increase, 32.3 percent. Of the $703 million in Tennessee – Mexico trade, $188 million was in computer related machinery and parts. The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Mexico by surface modes of transportation in January was electrical machinery with $6.4 billion in trade (Table 8).
The news release and summary tables can be found at www.bts.gov. More information on TransBorder Freight Data, data from previous months, and individual state data are available online on the BTS website at http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/. BTS has scheduled release of February TransBorder numbers for May 1.
Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada and Mexico
(millions of dollars)
Month
2010
2011
2012
Percent Change 2010-2011
Percent Change 2011-2012
January
56,697
67,734
75,534
19.5
11.5
February
59,492
66,534
11.8
March
69,943
80,822
15.6
April
65,831
73,767
12.1
May
66,805
77,318
15.7
June
69,859
77,521
11.0
July
61,260
72,363
18.1
August
67,964
80,406
18.3
September
68,324
77,725
13.8
October
70,565
79,040
12.0
November
68,060
76,672
12.7
December
66,530
74,230
11.6
Year-to-date
56,697
67,734
75,534
19.5
11.5
Annual
791,329
904,133
14.3
Table 2. U.S. Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation
(millions of dollars)
Mode
January 2011
December 2011
January 2012
Percent Change Dec. 2011 - Jan. 2012
Percent Change January 2011 - 2012
All Surface Modes
Imports
36,740
40,469
40,953
1.2
11.5
Exports
30,993
33,761
34,581
2.4
11.6
Total
67,734
74,230
75,534
1.8
11.5
Truck
Imports
22,547
23,999
25,280
5.3
12.1
Exports
24,101
26,126
26,866
2.8
11.5
Rail
Imports
7,460
8,689
7,754
-10.8
3.9
Exports
3,634
4,463
4,562
2.2
25.5
Pipeline
Imports
5,466
6,398
6,720
5.0
23.0
Exports
780
583
710
21.6
-9.1
Table 3. January 2012 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with January of Prior Years
Comparedto January in...
Percent Change
Imports
Exports
Total Surface Trade
2011
11.5
11.6
11.5
2010
30.8
36.2
33.2
2009
60.3
57.8
59.2
2008
11.7
21.3
15.9
2007
17.0
34.9
24.5
2006
13.6
37.6
23.4
2005
36.1
55.5
44.3
2004
55.5
78.7
65.3
2003
62.3
86.7
72.6
2002
72.7
96.5
82.
Table 4. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation
Mode
January 2011
December 2011
January 2012
Percent Change Dec. 2011 - Jan. 2012
Percent Change January 2011 - 2012
All Surface Modes
Imports
21,635
23,819
24,079
1.1
11.3
Exports
18,625
20,404
20,056
-1.7
7.7
Total
40,260
44,223
44,135
-0.2
9.6
Truck
Imports
10,121
10,541
10,985
4.2
8.5
Exports
14,310
15,702
15,435
-1.7
7.9
Rail
Imports
5,163
5,805
5,580
-3.9
8.1
Exports
1,940
2,355
2,303
-2.2
18.7
Pipeline
Imports
5,446
6,375
6,700
5.1
23.0
Exports
416
348
445
28.1
7.1
Table 5. Top 10 States Trading with Canada by All Surface Modes of Transportation
State
January 2011
January 2012
Percent Change January 2011 - 2012
Value
Rank
Value
Rank
Michigan
4,976
1
5,671
1
14.0
Illinois
3,962
2
5,000
2
26.2
Ohio
2,613
3
2,785
3
6.6
California
2,587
4
2,701
4
4.4
Texas
2,425
5
2,669
5
10.1
New York
2,164
6
2,324
6
7.4
Pennsylvania
1,578
8
1,740
7
10.3
Washington
1,591
7
1,680
8
5.6
Minnesota
1,437
9
1,480
9
3.0
Indiana
1,229
10
1,398
10
13
Table 6. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation
Mode
January 2011
December 2011
January 2012
Percent Change Dec. 2011 - Jan. 2012
Percent Change January 2011 - 2012
All Surface Modes
Imports
15,105
16,649
16,875
1.4
11.7
Exports
12,368
13,357
14,524
8.7
17.4
Total
27,473
30,007
31,399
4.6
14.3
Truck
Imports
12,426
13,458
14,295
6.2
15.0
Exports
9,790
10,424
11,431
9.7
16.8
Rail
Imports
2,297
2,884
2,173
-24.6
-5.4
Exports
1,693
2,108
2,259
7.2
33.4
Pipeline
Imports
20
22
20
-9.8
3.2
Exports
365
236
264
12.0
-27.5
Table 7. Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by All Surface Modes of Transportation
Ranked by January 2012 Surface Trade Value
State
January 2011
January 2012
Percent Change January 2011-2012
Value
Rank
Value
Rank
Texas
9,610
1
11,545
1
20.1
California
3,991
2
4,605
2
15.4
Michigan
3,025
3
3,120
3
3.1
Arizona
1,084
4
1,129
4
4.1
Illinois
906
5
1,068
5
17.9
Ohio
742
6
810
6
9.1
Tennessee
532
7
703
7
32.3
Indiana
507
8
551
8
8.7
North Carolina
429
9
480
9
11.8
Wisconsin
385
13
435
10
12.9
Table 8. Top Five Commodities Transported between the U.S. and Canada by All Surface Modes of Transportation, January 2012
State
January 2011
January 2012
Percent Change January 2011-2012
Value
Rank
Value
Rank
Texas
9,610
1
11,545
1
20.1
California
3,991
2
4,605
2
15.4
Michigan
3,025
3
3,120
3
3.1
Arizona
1,084
4
1,129
4
4.1
Illinois
906
5
1,068
5
17.9
Ohio
742
6
810
6
9.1
Tennessee
532
7
703
7
32.3
Indiana
507
8
551
8
8.7
North Carolina
429
9
480
9
11.8
Wisconsin
385
13
435
10
12.9
Table 9. Top Five Commodities Transported between the U.S. and Mexico by All Surface Modes of Transportation, January 2012
Commodities
Exports
Imports
Total
Electrical Machinery; Equipment and Parts
2,604
3,839
6,444
Computer-Related Machinery and Parts
2,905
3,378
6,283
Vehicles Other than Railway
1,528
3,241
4,770
Plastics
1,075
277
1,352
Measuring and Testing Equipment
373
756
1,129
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