BTS says surface trade with NAFTA partners up 11.5 percent annually in January 2012

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 11.5 percent in January 2012 compared to January 2011 at $75.5 billion.

BTS said that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in January was up 15.9 percent compared to January 2008 and up 59.2 percent from January 2009. And it was up 82.8 percent compared to January 2002. January imports were up 72.7 percent and exports were up 96.5 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 January, with 9.8 percent moving by vessel, and 3.9 percent by air.

The BTS said the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in January was down 1.8 percent from December.

And the annual value in January was up year-over-year. U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade at $44.1 billion was up 9.6 percent. Michigan paced all states in surface trade with Canada in January at $5.6 billion for a 14.0 percent annual gain.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Mexico was up 14.3 percent year over year in January at $31.4 billion. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in January at $11.5 billion, up 20.1 percent annually.

The BTS recently reported that rade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was up 14.3 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, increasing to $904 billion.