BTS says surface trade with NAFTA partners up 17.4 percent annually in February 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 17.4 percent in February 2012 compared to February 2011 at $78.1 billion.

BTS said that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in February was up 12.6 percent compared to February 2008—two months ahead of the official start of the recession—and up 63.0 percent from February 2009. And it was up 87.3 percent compared to January 2002. February imports were up 75.9 percent and exports were up 102.8 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 87.4 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land in February, with 8.7 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 February was up 3.4 percent from January.

And the annual value in February was up year-over-year. U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade at $45.4 billion was up 13.7 percent. Michigan paced all states in surface trade with Canada in February at $5.9 billion for an 18.2 percent annual gain.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Mexico was up 23.0 percent year over year in February at $32.7 billion. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in February at $11.7 billion, up 29.3 percent annually.

The BTS recently reported that trade 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.