Figure 1.  Percent Change in Value of U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode: 
August 2013 - August 2014

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $100.6 billion in August 2014 as all five major transportation modes – air, vessel, pipeline, rail, and trucks – carried more U.S.-NAFTA freight than in August 2013, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) (Figure 1, Table 1). August was the sixth consecutive month with U.S.-NAFTA freight flows exceeding $100 billion.

Freight by Mode

In August, the value of commodities moving by vessel grew by the largest percentage of any mode, 11.7 percent. Pipeline freight increased 6.8 percent followed by a rail increase of 3.4 percent, a truck increase of 3.3 percent, and an air increase of 2.3 percent (Figure 1, Table 2).

Of the $4.2 billion increase in the value of US-NAFTA freight from August 2013, truck freight contributed the most, $1.9 billion, followed by rail, $514 million (Table 2). The trucking increase was due almost entirely to growth in truck freight with Mexico as U.S.-Canada truck trade remained almost unchanged (Tables 4, 6).

Trucks carry three-fifths of U.S.-NAFTA freight and are the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. Trucks carried 59.6 percent of U.S.-NAFTA freight in August 2014, accounting for $31.2 billion of exports and $28.8 billion of imports.  

Rail remained the second largest mode, moving 15.5 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel at 9.2 percent, pipeline at 7.4 percent, and air at 3.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.5 percent of the total U.S.-NAFTA freight flows (Table 2).

U.S.-Canada Freight

Figure 2.  Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Canada Freight Flows by Mode:
August 2013 - August 2014

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

Year-over-year, the percent change in the value of U.S.-Canada freight moved by vessel increased the most of any mode, growing 46.9 percent (Figure 2), driven primarily by exports of mineral fuels. Freight moved by pipeline increased 6.1 percent and rail increased by 2.2 percent, while truck and air were essentially unchanged.

Trucks carried 53.0 percent of the $55.5 billion of freight to and from Canada, followed by rail at 16.4 percent, pipeline at 12.8 percent, vessel at 7.1 percent and air at 4.3 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.2 percent of the total U.S.-Canada freight flows (Table 4).

U.S.-Mexico Freight

Figure 3.  Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Mexico Freight Flows by Mode:
August 2013 - August 2014

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

Year-over-year, the value of pipeline freight rose 21.1 percent, the largest percentage increase of any U.S.-Mexico mode (Figure 3). Freight moved by air increased 6.7 percent, truck by 6.6 percent and rail by 5.2.  Vessel decreased by 5.3 percent; the decrease in vessel freight was principally due to a decline in mineral fuels imports.

Trucks carried 67.7 percent of the $45.1 billion of freight to and from Mexico, followed by rail at 14.4 percent, vessel at 11.7 percent, air at 2.9 percent and pipeline at 0.8 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.9 percent of the total U.S.-Mexico freight flows (Table 6).

Commodities
In August 2014, the top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada was mineral fuels, of which $7.1 billion, or 56.0 percent, moved by pipeline (Table 5). The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Mexico in August 2014 was electrical machinery, of which $7.5 billion, or 91.7 percent, moved by trucks (Table 7). 

Reporting Notes
Press releases and the BTS website define surface transportation modes as truck, rail and pipeline. See North American TransBorder Freight Data on the BTS website for additional data for surface modes since 1995 and all modes since 2004. The category of all modes of transportation cited in the following tables includes freight movements by truck, rail, vessel, pipeline, air, other, and unknown modes of transport.      

BTS is revising the TransBorder Freight Data beginning with January 2009 to include a masking of Aircraft and Airplane parts data.  The revision brings the TransBorder Freight Data into conformity with current U.S. Census Bureau policies and practices.  In addition, an error involving the exportation of autos and auto parts by rail at the port of Ambrose, North Dakota, from December 2009 to August 2013 has been corrected.  Finally, the revised data for 2009 to 2013 also include the Census Bureau’s annual foreign trade data revisions.  

Data in this press release are not adjusted for inflation. Additional summary data adjusted for inflation and exchange rates can be found on the BTS website under TransBorder Indexed Freight Flow Data. The BLS indexes used in the adjustments for inflation and exchange rates may be revised in each of the three months after original publication. For more information, see TransBorder Press Releases  for previous press releases and summary tables. See TransBorder Freight Data for data from previous months, and more state, port, or commodity data.  BTS has scheduled the release of September TransBorder numbers for Nov. 25.

Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows

(millions of current dollars)

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q/

Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. Percent change based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 2. Value of Monthly U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation

(millions of current dollars)

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q/

Notes: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please refer to the "Data Fields" section of the TransBorder web page: https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q.

Table 3. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q/

Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. Percent change based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 4. Value of Monthly U.S.-Canada Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation

(millions of current dollars)

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q/

Notes: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please refer to the "Data Fields" section of the TransBorder web page: https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q.

Table 5. Top Commodity Transported between the U.S. and Canada for Each Mode of Transportation, August 2014

(millions of current dollars)

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q/

Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 6. Value of Monthly U.S.-Mexico Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation

(millions of current dollars)

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q/

Notes: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please refer to the "Data Fields" section of the TransBorder web page: https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q.

Table 7. Top Commodity Transported between the U.S. and Mexico for Each Mode of Transportation, August 2014

(millions of current dollars)

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/myhq-rm6q/

Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.