NAFTA Supply Chain Weakens Slightly

The United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) said today that trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was down 0.1 percent in September 2012 compared to September 2011 at $77.7 billion, unadjusted for inflation. When adjusted for inflation and exchange rates, September’s value was $56.3 billion, representing a 1.4 percent annual gain.

BTS officials said this was the first annual decrease since November 2009.

BTS said that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in September is up 35.6 percent compared to September 2009, after the end of the recession and was up 69.6 percent compared to September 2002. Imports and exports are up 57.4 percent and 85.9 percent, respectively, since September 2002.

Surface transportation, according to the BTS, is comprised mainly of freight movements by truck, trail, and pipeline, mail and Foreign Trade Zones, and nearly 90 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves by land. According to the BTS 86.5 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land in April, with 9.8 percent moving by vessel, and 3.7 percent by air.

The BTS said the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in May was up 5.0 percent from April.

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade in September at $45.7 billion was down 0.9 percent annually, due to a decrease in imports, said BTS. Michigan paced all states in surface trade with Canada in September at $6.1 billion for a 2.9 percent annual gain.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Mexico was up 1.2 percent year over year in May at $32.0 billion. Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in September at $11.6 billion, up 4.5 percent annually.

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