NAFTA Trade Up by Billions

Trade with Canada and Mexico has hit its highest point since records were begun in 1994. Here’s the full press release:

Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, Canada and Mexico, was 6.2 percent higher in March 2012 than in March 2011, totaling $85.8 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. March 2012 was the highest month for NATFA trade value since collection of data began in 1994, exceeding $85 billion for the first time and topping the previous record of $80.8 billion in March 2011.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the March 2012 value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 21.2 percent from March 2008, early in the recession, and 68.1 percent from March 2009, late in the recession. Numbers in the press release are not adjusted for inflation.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in March increased by 88.2 percent compared to March 2002, a period of 10 years. Imports in March were up 76.1 percent since March 2002, while exports were up 104.5 percent.

Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones, and other modes of transport. In March, 86.2 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 9.8 percent moved by vessel, and 4.0 percent moved by air.

U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade in March 2012 both increased compared to March 2011 with U.S.-Canada trade reaching $50.1 billion, a 2.9 percent increase, and U.S.-Mexico trade reaching $35.7 billion, an 11.2 percent increase. For trade statistics by mode, see Table 4 for Canada and Table 6 for Mexico.

See BTS Transborder Data Release for summary tables, state rankings and additional data. See North American Transborder Freight Data for historical data.