BTS: Value of freight moved via surface transportation between NAFTA partners jumped in June

The value of trade moved by surface transportation modes between the United States and Canada and Mexico in June totaled $82.6 billion, up 6.6 percent compared with June 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Surface transportation includes freight movements by rail, truck, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones and other modes. In June, 87.7 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 8.3 percent by vessel and 4 percent by air. The value of railed imports climbed 16.4 percent to $9.4 billion and value of railed exports jumped 17.2 percent to $5.3 billion compared with June 2011.

U.S.-Canada trade in June reached a value of $48.4 billion, up 5 percent, and U.S.-Mexico trade reached a value of $34.2 billion, up 8.8 percent year over year.

“U.S. trade by surface transportation with Mexico has increased at a faster pace than trade with Canada,” BTS officials said in a prepared statement.

In June, the value of railed imports between the United States and Canada rose 16.6 percent to $6 billion and value of railed exports soared 25.5 percent to $3 billion. The value of railed imports between the United States and Mexico climbed 16.1 percent to $3.3 billion and value of railed exports increased 7.7 percent to $2.3 billion.

The top commodity transported between the U.S. and Canada via surface transportation was vehicles, which were valued at $9.9 billion; and the top commodity moved between the U.S. and Mexico was electrical machinery, which was valued at $7 billion, BTS officials said.