BTS says surface trade with NAFTA partners is up 4.6 percent in July

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 4.6 percent in July 2012 compared to July 2011 at $75.7 billion.

BTS said that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in May was up 5.7 percent compared to July 2008 and up 75.0 percent from May 2009. And it was up 82.8 percent compared to July 2002. July imports were up 66.7 percent and exports were up 105.1 percent during the same 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 86.3 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land in July, with 10.0 percent moving by vessel, and 3.7 percent by air.

The BTS said the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in July dipped 8.4 percent from June.

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade in July at $42.9 billion was up 1.0 percent annually. Illinois paced all states in surface trade with Canada in July at $4.9 billion for a 9.3 percent annual gain. BTS said this marks the first time Illinois was ahead of Michigan in this category since October 2009. And it added that the main reason for this is that “many automotive plants in Michigan retool their production facilities in July for the upcoming model year, which reduces Michigan trade with Canada, as much of that trade is in automobiles and auto parts.”

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Mexico was up 9.7 percent year over year in July at $32.7 billion. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in July at $11.9 billion, up 11.8 percent annually.