BTS Releases North American Surface Trade Numbers for March:

BTS 26-06
Contact: Dave Smallen, Tel.: (202) 366-5568
Wednesday, May 31, 2006

BTS Releases North American Surface Trade Numbers for March:
Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Reached a Monthly Record High in March 2006
(State Rankings in Tables 5 and 7)

Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 14.8 percent higher in March 2006 than in March 2005, reaching $68.2 billion, the highest monthly level ever recorded, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (Table 1).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that total North American surface transportation trade rose 14.1 percent in March from February (Table 2). Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

The previous monthly high was $64.0 billion in October 2005. Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. About 90 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.

Total North American surface transportation trade value in March was up 35.8 percent compared to March 2001, and up 100.5 percent compared to March 1996, a period of 10 years (Table 3). Imports in March were up 114.6 percent compared to March 1996, while exports were up 84.8 percent.

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada

U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $44.0 billion in March, up 11.4 percent compared to March 2005 (Table 4). The value of imports carried by truck was 8.6 percent higher in March 2006 than March 2005 while the value of exports carried by truck was 13.3 percent higher.

Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in March with $6.7 billion (Table 5).

U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico

U.S. – Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $24.2 billion in March, up 21.5 percent compared to March 2005 (Table 6). The value of imports carried by truck was 18.1 percent higher in March 2006 than March 2005 while the value of exports carried by truck was 21.9 percent higher.

Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in March with $7.7 billion (Table 7).

The Transborder Freight Dataset is a special extract of the official U.S. foreign trade statistics. The data are tabulated for BTS monthly by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division. March transborder numbers include data received by BTS as of May 15.

The news release and summary tables can be found at www.bts.gov. More information on transborder freight data and data from previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://www.bts.gov/transborder/. BTS will release April transborder numbers on June 29.

Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S. Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico
(millions of dollars)
Month	2004	2005	2006	Percent Change 2004-2005	Percent Change 2005-2006
January	45,686	52,334	61,189	14.6	16.9
February	48,170	53,592	59,804	11.3	11.6
March	56,269	59,436	68,213	5.6	14.8
April	53,195	58,297		9.6
May	53,155	57,870		8.9
June	55,422	59,431		7.2
July	48,096	49,690		3.3
August	53,577	60,188		12.3
September	54,913	61,166		11.4
October	56,880	63,985		12.5
November	56,134	62,894		12.0
December	52,065	59,104		13.5
Year-to-date	150,125	165,362	189,206	12.9	14.4
Annual	633,563	697,987		10.2

Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 2. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada and Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation
(millions of dollars)
Mode		March 2005	February 2006	March 2006	Percent Change Feb. 2006– Mar. 2006	Percent Change March 2005-2006
All Surface Modes	Imports	33,627	34,603	38,440	11.1	14.3
	Exports	25,808	25,201	29,772	18.1	15.4
	Total	59,436	59,804	68,213	14.1	14.8

Truck	Imports	21,955	21,156	24,751	17.0	12.7
Truck	Exports	20,317	19,802	23,615	19.3	16.2

Rail	Imports	7,075	7,080	8,068	13.9	14.0
Rail	Exports	3,210	3,073	3,556	15.7	10.8

Pipeline	Imports	3,550	5,319	4,378	-17.7	23.3
Pipeline	Exports	359	244	368	50.7	2.6
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Note: The value of all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes. The value of trade for all surface modes includes shipments made by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation. For additional detail refer to the Transborder Surface Freight data "Sources and Reliability" statement: http://www.bts.gov/ntda/tbscd/srfin.html; Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 3: March 2006 Surface Trade with Canada and Mexico Compared with March of Prior Years
	Percent Change
Compared to March in…	Imports	Exports	Total Surface Trade
2005	14.3	15.4	14.8
2004	20.0	22.8	21.2
2003	34.0	44.0	38.2
2002	46.7	53.4	49.6
2001	34.8	37.1	35.8
2000	33.2	26.6	30.3
1999	58.4	55.0	56.9
1998	78.3	54.8	67.2
1997	102.6	81.1	92.6
1996	114.6	84.8	100.5
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Table 4. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation
(millions of dollars)
Mode		March 2005	February 2006	March 2006	Percent Change Feb. 2006– Mar. 2006	Percent Change March 2005-2006
All Surface Modes	Imports	22,234	23,167	24,644	6.4	10.8
	Exports	17,269	16,295	19,359	18.8	12.1
	Total	39,503	39,462	44,002	11.5	11.4

Truck	Imports	12,449	11,733	13,522	15.2	8.6
Truck	Exports	13,445	12,761	15,238	19.4	13.3

Rail	Imports	5,364	5,307	5,707	7.5	6.4
Rail	Exports	1,897	1,683	2,048	21.7	8.0

Pipeline	Imports	3,550	5,319	4,378	-17.7	23.3
Pipeline	Exports	331	186	310	67.3	-6.2
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/ Note: The value of all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes. The value of trade for all surface modes includes shipments made by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation. For additional detail refer to the Transborder Surface Freight data "Sources and Reliability" statement: http://www.bts.gov/ntda/tbscd/srfin.html; Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 5. Top 10 States Trading with Canada by Surface Modes of Transportation, Ranked by March 2006 Surface Trade Value
(millions of dollars)
Rank	State
1	Michigan
2	Illinois
3	New York
4	Ohio
5	California
6	Texas
7	Pennsylvania
8	Washington
9	Indiana
10	Tennessee
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/

Table 6. U.S. Merchandise Trade with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation
(millions of dollars)
Mode		March 2005	February 2006	March 2006	Percent Change Feb. 2006– Mar. 2006	Percent Change March 2005-2006
All Surface Modes	Imports	11,394	11,436	13,796	20.6	21.1
	Exports	8,539	8,906	10,414	16.9	22.0
	Total	19,933	20,342	24,210	19.0	21.5

Truck	Imports	9,506	9,423	11,229	19.2	18.1
Truck	Exports	6,872	7,041	8,376	19.0	21.9

Rail	Imports	1,712	1,774	2,361	33.1	37.9
Rail	Exports	1,313	1,389	1,508	8.6	14.8

Pipeline	Imports	0	0	0	NA	NA
Pipeline	Exports	28	59	58	-1.7	106.0
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/
Note: The value of all surface modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail and pipeline modes. The value of trade for all surface modes includes shipments made by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, foreign trade zones, other and unknown modes of transportation. For additional detail refer to the Transborder Surface Freight data "Sources and Reliability" statement: http://www.bts.gov/ntda/tbscd/srfin.html; Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 7. Top 10 States Trading with Mexico by Surface Modes of Transportation, Ranked by March 2006 Surface Trade Value
(millions of dollars)
Rank	State
1	Texas
2	California
3	Michigan
4	Arizona
5	Illinois
6	Ohio
7	Tennessee
8	Indiana
9	New York
10	North Carolina
Source: BTS Transborder Surface Freight Dataset, http://www.bts.gov/transborder/