BTS reports surface trade with NAFTA partners is up 18.1 percent in July

The United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was up 18.1 percent in July 2011 compared to July 2010, coming in at $72.4 billion.

This output represents a 6.7 percent decline from the June.

The BTS said that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in July was up 29.4 percent compared to July 2006 and up 77.1 percent compared to July 2001, with imports up 60.7 percent and exports up 100.8 percent.

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 84.8 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land in May, with 11.1 percent moving by vessel, and 4.1 percent by air.

The BTS said the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada was up 17.0 percent year-over-year in July at $42.5 billion. Michigan paced all states in surface trade with Canada in May at $4.5 billion for a 27.7 percent annual gain.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Mexico was up 19.7 percent year over year in July at $29.9 billion. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in July at $10.7 billion, up 16.3 percent annually.