BTS reports November surface trade with NAFTA partners is up 6.2 percent annually

The United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said today that trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was up 6.2 percent in November 2012 compared to November 2011 at $81.5 billion.

Surface transportation, according to the BTS, is comprised mainly of freight movements by truck, trail, and pipeline, mail and Foreign Trade Zones, and nearly 90 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves by land. According to the BTS 86.5 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land in April, with 9.8 percent moving by vessel, and 3.7 percent by air.

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade in November came in at $46.7 billion Michigan paced all states in surface trade with Canada in November at $6.6 billion. BTS said the top transported commodity in November was vehicles and parts at $9.6 billion

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Mexico was $34.8 billion in November. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico at $12.4 billion. Electrical machinery paced all commodities transported between the NAFTA neighbors at $7.9 billion.

For November 2012, BTS said $56.2 billion of U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico moved by truck, $14.9 billion moved by rail, and $5.9 billion moved by pipeline.