For all the recent contentious talk of tariffs and trade, the dollar value of crossborder freight moving between the United States, Canada and Mexico in November was unchanged from the previous year.
Crossborder freight totaled $131 billion moved by all modes of transportation, unchanged from November 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
Freight between the U.S. and Canada was valued at $61.8 billion, down 5.2% y/y. Freight moving between the U.S. and Mexico came to $69.1 billion, up 5.1% from November 2023.
It was the 21st straight month Mexico led Canada in freight dollar value.
Mexico and Canada are the number one and number two U.S. trade partners, respectively, ahead of China at number three.
Trucks moved $82.6 billion of freight, up 0.4%, while railroads accounted for $16.3 billion, off 5.8%.
Maritime vessels moved $9.7 billion of freight, down 6.6%, which included 11.3% less mineral fuels by dollar value.
Pipelines’ share was $7.9 billion, a decrease of 25.2% compared to November 2023, including a decline of 25.2% in mineral fuels by dollar value.
A total of $5.2 billion of freight moved by air, up 7.3% compared to November 2023.
Detroit, Buffalo, and Port Huron, Mich., are the top truck ports for U.S. freight flows with Canada, according to the BTS release. Laredo and El Paso, Texas, and Otay Mesa, California, are the top truck ports with Mexico.
Detroit, Port Huron, and International Falls, Minnesota, are the top rail connection ports with Canada; Laredo, El Paso, and Eagle Pass, Texas are the leading rail connections.
The ports of Houston, Arthur, and Texas City, Texas, are the top water port connections for U.S. energy flows on the southern border.
U.S. – Canada and Mexico Freight Breakdown
| U.S.-Canada | U.S.-Mexico | ||
| Top three truck ports | Top three truck ports | ||
| Detroit, MI | $8.5 billion | Laredo, TX | $23.9 billion |
| Port Huron, MI | $6.7 billion | El Paso-Ysleta, TX | $7.2 billion |
| Buffalo, NY | $5.8 billion | Otay Mesa, CA | $5.2 billion |
| Top three truck commodities | Top three truck commodities | ||
| Computers/parts | $5.2 billion | Computers/parts | $14.4 billion |
| Vehicles/parts | $4.3 billion | Electrical machinery | $11.9 billion |
| Electrical machinery | $2.6 billion | Vehicles/parts | $7.1 billion |
| Top three rail ports | Top three rail ports | ||
| Detroit, MI | $2.9 billion | Laredo, TX | $3.9 billion |
| Port Huron, MI | $1.6 billion | Eagle Pass, TX | $2.7 billion |
| Int’l Falls, MN | $0.9 billion | El Paso, TX | $0.6 billion |
| Top three rail commodities | Top three rail commodities | ||
| Vehicles/parts | $3.3 billion | Vehicles/parts | $4.4 billion |
| Mineral fuel | $0.7 billion | Mineral fuels | $0.5 billion |
| Plastics | $0.5 billion | Computers/parts | $0.5 billion |
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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