BTS reports another month of U.S.-NAFTA trade gains

The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)recently reported that United States trade with its北美自由贸易协定(NAFTA)partners Canada and Mexico rose 7.7% annually in June, the most recent month for which data is available.

This marks the eighth consecutive month in which there has been an annual increase.

Trucks carried 63.4% of U.S.-NAFTA freight and continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. Trucks accounted for $32.2 billion of the $53.2 billion of imports (60.6% and $31.0 billion of the $46.6 billion of exports (66.6%).

Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.5% of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, 6.4%; pipeline, 5.3%; and air, 3.8%. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 84.1% of the total value of U.S.-NAFTA freight flows.

BTS said that from June 2016 to June 2017, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows increased by 6.0% to $51.1 billion as the value of freight on three major modes increased annually. The value of freight carried on pipeline increased by 30.5%, rail by 8.1%, and truck by 2.3%. Air decreased by 2.9 percent, and vessel decreased by 10.3 percent.

And the value of U.S.-Mexico freight flows for the same period was up 9.4% to $48.7 billion, with four modes seeing the value of freight up annually, including vessel up 27.7%, rail up 11.9%, air up 10.4%, and truck up 6.3%. Pipeline was off 22.7%.