BTS Follows International Trends

Truck crossings into the United States from Canada and Mexico fell by 4.2 percent from 2000 to 2001, the first annual decline since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the three countries took effect in 1994, according to border crossing data released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The truck crossing numbers were the first of three reports on international transportation the BTS released in recent weeks.

In the second report, BTS reported that the value of U.S. trade by truck, rail, and pipeline with Canada and Mexico fell in 2001 for the first annual decline in the seven years since the implementation of NAFTA. These numbers were derived from BTS’ unique transborder database, which contains monthly and annual summaries of data on United States-Canada and United States-Mexico surface transportation trade.

In the final report, BTS reported that U.S. air carriers carried more international travelers in 2000 than in 1990 and took them on longer flights. This information was contained in U.S. International Travel and Transportation Trends, a look at travel in the decade of the 1990s.

U.S. International Travel and Transportation Trends covers the period from 1990 to 2000 with an update to examine the impact of September 11 on international travel. Prior to the attacks, international passenger travel by all modes of transportation to and from the United States showed steady growth in most markets, for an average annual increase of 2 percent between 1990 and 2000. Outbound passenger travel from the U.S. grew 31 percent for the decade while inbound travel rose 6 percent.

The international travel report analyzes many different data sets to provide a picture of international travel to and from the United States. It contains a review of overseas and North American travel trends, including border issues and aviation security.

The BTS International Program area is active in three major areas: U.S. International Trade and Travel Research, Global Transportation Research, and International Exchange and Collaboration.

BTS maintains the Transborder Surface Freight Dataset that provides detailed geographic and commodity data for U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico by land modes of transportation. Thousands of customers use this dataset on a monthly basis.

A U.S. international trade and transportation trends report, which will include an analysis of the impact of September 11 on U.S. trade and transportation facilities, is scheduled for fall release.

To order a copy of U.S. International Travel and Transportation Trends, contact BTS by phone at 202-366-DATA (press 1), by fax at 202-366-3197, by e-mail at answers@bts.gov or by mail to Product Orders, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, USDOT, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., K-15, Washington, DC 20590.

Detailed transborder freight information can be found on the BTS website at www.bts.gov.