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 North American Free Trade Agreement (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%.