US-NAFTA trade totaled $101.5 billion in March 2014, the second highest amount on record, as four of five transportation modes – air, vessel, pipeline, and trucks – carried more US-NAFTA trade than in March 2013, according to the TransBorder freight data released today by the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
The March 2014 trade total, a 6.2 percent increase from March 2013, was exceeded only by trade value in October 2013. US-NAFTA trade has increased from the same month of the previous year in eight of the last nine months, interrupted by a 0.2 percent decrease in January. The January decline reflected the severe weather in the northern states and along the US-Canada border.
Trucks carry nearly three-fifths of US-NAFTA trade and are the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both US-NAFTA partners. Trucks carried 60.1 percent of US-NAFTA trade in March 2014, accounting for $31.2 billion of exports and $29.8 billion of imports.
Although the value of freight carried by rail decreased from year to year, rail remained the second largest mode moving 14.8 percent of all US-NAFTA trade, followed by vessel at 8.4 percent, pipeline at 8.2 percent and air at 3.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.1 percent of the total US-NAFTA freight flows.
With a 7.5 percent decline in imports, overall vessel trade with Canada rose 19.9 percent. Trade using trucks rose by 2.7 percent while air freight grew 2.5 percent. US-Canada trade by rail declined 10.5 percent, with a 15.0 percent fall in imports, due in part to a decrease in trade of vehicles and parts.
Trucks carried 54.3 percent of the $56.6 billion of freight to and from Canada, followed by rail at 15.4 percent, pipeline at 14.0 percent, vessel at 5.3 percent and air at 4.4 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.7 percent of the total US-Canada freight flows (Table 4).
With US-Mexico trade more dependent on trucks than trade on the northern border, a 10.2 percent rise in truck freight fueled the overall 8.8 percent increase in southern border trade. Shipments by truck comprised 77.4 percent of the dollar value of the overall increase. For exports, a 14.1 percent increase in shipments using trucks made up 86.0 percent of the overall 10.7 percent increase.
In addition to the 10.2 percent rise in trade using trucks, rail freight rose 3.3 percent. Air freight rose 16.1 percent while freight moved by vessel rose 5.1 percent
Trucks carried 67.4 percent of the $44.9 billion of freight to and from Mexico, followed by rail at 14.0 percent, vessel at 12.2 percent, air at 2.9 percent and pipeline at 0.9 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.3 percent of the total US-Mexico freight flows.