US-NAFTA trade totaled $103.9 billion in May 2014 as four of five transportation modes – vessel, pipeline, rail, and trucks – carried more US-NAFTA trade than in May 2013, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released Friday by the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
The value of May 2014 trade was 5.4 percent more than in May 2013. US-NAFTA trade has increased from the same month of the previous year for four consecutive months and in 10 of the last 11 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 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 59.9 percent of US-NAFTA trade in May 2014, accounting for $31.8 billion of exports and $30.4 billion of imports.
Rail remained the second largest mode, moving 15.2 percent of all US-NAFTA trade, followed by vessel at 8.7 percent, pipeline at 7.9 percent, and air at 3.4 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.0 percent of the total US-NAFTA freight flows.
Trade with Canada by rail increased 4.5 percent, followed by truck at 2.7 percent. Vessel freight decreased 7.7 percent and air freight decreased 9.8 percent. Trucks carried 53.9 percent of the $57.7 billion of freight to and from Canada, followed by rail at 16.4 percent, pipeline at 13.5 percent, vessel at 5.6 percent and air at 4.0 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.8 percent of the total US-Canada freight flows.
Year-to-year, the value of US-Mexico trade by vessel increased the most of any mode, growing 16.9 percent, due to an increase in mineral fuels exports. Trade with Mexico by rail rose 8.7 percent followed by pipeline at 8.1 percent and truck at 4.9 percent. Air freight declined 4.2 percent. Trucks carried 67.3 percent of the $46.3 billion of freight to and from Mexico, followed by rail at 13.8 percent, vessel at 12.6 percent, air at 2.7 percent and pipeline at 0.9 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.0 percent of the total US-Mexico freight flows.