US-NAFTA freight totaled $97.4 billion as all five major transportation modes carried more freight by value with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico in August 2017 compared to August 2016, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
The 4.6 percent rise from August 2016 is the 10th consecutive month in which the year-over-year value in current dollars of US-NAFTA freight increased from the same month of the previous year.
The value of commodities moving by pipeline increased 13.2 percent, air by 8.4 percent, vessel by 4.5 percent, truck by 3.6 percent, and rail by 3.2 percent.
Trucks carried 64.7 percent of US-NAFTA freight and continued to be the most utilized mode for moving goods to and from both US-NAFTA partners. Trucks accounted for $31.9 billion of the $52.0 billion of imports (61.4 percent) and $31.1 billion of the $45.4 billion of exports (68.5 percent).
Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.1 percent of all US-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, 5.8 percent; pipeline, 5.5 percent; and air, 3.9 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 85.3 percent of the total value of US-NAFTA freight flows.
Comparing August 2016 to August 2017, the value of US-Canada freight flows increased by 4.7 percent to $49.5 billion as the value of freight on four major modes increased from a year earlier. In August 2017, the top commodity category transported between the US and Canada was vehicles and parts, of which $5.5 billion, or 58.1 percent, moved by truck and $3.7 billion, or 38.9 percent by rail.
The value of US-Mexico freight flows increased by 4.5 percent to $47.9 billion in August as the value of freight on four major modes increased from a year earlier. The top commodity category transported between the US and Mexico in August 2017 was vehicles and parts, of which $4.5 billion, or 48.7 percent, moved by truck and $3.8 billion, or 41.6 percent, moved by rail.