The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the US Department of Transportation (DOT) reported Tuesday that surface transportation trade between the US and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners jumped 15.7 percent year-over-year in May. Surface trade also gained 4.8 percent in May from April. The BTS also noted that surface trade in May climbed 61.5 percent in two years from May 2009, but has only risen 4.3 percent compared to early recession levels in May 2008.
Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline. In May, 84.8 percent of US trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 11.1 percent moved by vessel, and 4.1 percent moved by air.
Surface trade between the US and Canada reached $46.3 billion in May, a 15.1 percent year-on-year increase, while US-Mexico trade totaled $31 billion, a 16.6 percent jump.