BTS reports surface trade with NAFTA partners is up 18.3 percent in August at $80.4 billion

The United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported this week that trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was up 18.3 percent in August 2011 compared to August 2010, coming in at $80.4 billion.

BTS officials said this marks the second time that U.S.-NAFTA trade by land modes topped $80 billion in one month, with March 2011 being the other time it occurred. And August was up 11.1 percent in terms of total value of U.S. surface transportation trade from July.

The BTS said that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in August was up 21.2 percent compared to August 2006 and up 70.6 percent compared to August 2001, with imports up 59.7 percent and exports up 84.8 percent during that ten-year period.

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 19.1 percent year-over-year in August at $47.5 billion. Michigan paced all states in surface trade with Canada in August at $6.4 billion for a 19.3 percent annual gain.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Mexico was up 17.2 percent year over year in August at $32.9 billion. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in August at $11.9 billion, up 16.7 percent annually.