BTS: Transborder freight moved by rail rose in February

Transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation between the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 1.9 percent to a value of $95.9 billion worth of goods in February compared with February 2019 levels, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) announced yesterday.

Rail, the second-most used mode, moved $14.4 billion worth of freight during February, a 10.3 percent increase compared with the same period a year ago. Year over year, freight moved by rail between the United States and Canada rose 2.9 percent to $7.3 billion worth of goods; and freight moved by rail between the United States and Mexico rose 19.3 percent to $7 billion worth of goods.

The U.S.-Mexico rail increase was driven by a 29.6 percent rise in imports of vehicles other than railway, according to a BTS press release. Non-railway vehicles are 76.9 percent of imports by rail from Mexico.

Freight moved by rail in February represented 15 percent of all transborder freight during moved during the month.

The three busiest rail border ports and value of goods moved in February were in Laredo, Texas, $3.7 billion; Detroit, $2.3 billion; and Eagle Pass, Texas, $1.8 billion.

The top three rail commodities and their value were: motor vehicles and parts, $7.4 billion; mineral fuels, $1.2 billion; and computers and parts, $700 million.

Transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation in February dropped 1.2 percent from January, which is a smaller decline than the 1.5 percent decline during the same period a year earlier.