August 2019 North American Transborder Freight Numbers
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Transborder freight between the U.S. and other North American countries (Canada and Mexico) in August 2019:
- Total Transborder Freight: $105.1 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, down 1.7% compared to August 2018
- Most-used mode: Trucks moved $66.1 billion of freight, down 0.8% compared to August 2018
- Second mode: Railways moved $16.1 billion of freight, up 3.9% compared to August 2018
Truck Freight: $66.1 billion (62.8% of all transborder freight)
- By border:
U.S.-Canada: $28.9 billion (55.7% of all northern border freight)
U.S.-Mexico: $37.1 billion (69.9% of all southern border freight)
- Compared to August 2018:
U.S.-Canada down 3.1%
U.S.-Mexico up 1.0%
- Three busiest truck border ports (46.5% of total transborder truck freight)
- Laredo, TX $15.9 billion
- Detroit, MI $9.0 billion
- El Paso, TX $5.8 billion
- Top three truck commodities (51.8% of total transborder truck freight)
- Computers and parts $13.0 billion
- Electrical machinery $10.8 billion
- Motor vehicles and parts $10.4 billion
Figure 1: North American Freight by Mode, August 2019
| (Dollars in Billions) | 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | Value | 2 |
| Truck | 66.1 | 3 |
| Rail | 16.1 | 4 |
| Vessel | 7.9 | 5 |
| Pipeline | 5.9 | 6 |
| Air | 4.2 | 7 |
| 8 |
Rail Freight: $16.1 billion (15.3% of all transborder freight)
- By border:
U.S.-Canada: $8.5 billion (16.3% of all northern border freight)
U.S.-Mexico: $7.7 billion (14.4% of all southern border freight)
- Compared to August 2018:
U.S.-Canada down 2.3%
U.S.-Mexico up 11.7%
- Three busiest rail border ports (54.5% of total transborder rail freight)
- Laredo, TX $4.1 billion
- Detroit, MI $2.6 billion
- Eagle Pass, TX $2.1 billion
- Top three rail commodities (64.2% of total transborder rail freight)
- Motor vehicles and parts $8.3 billion
- Mineral fuels $1.2 billion
- Computers and parts $0.8 billion
Total Transborder Freight by Mode:
U.S.-Canada (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions)
Truck: $28.9
Rail: $8.5
Pipeline: $5.6
Air: $2.8
Vessel: $2.7
U.S.-Mexico (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions)
Truck: $37.1
Rail: $7.7
Vessel: $5.2
Air: $1.3
Pipeline: $0.4
Reporting Notes
Data in this Bureau of Transportation Statistics release are not seasonally adjusted and are not adjusted for inflation. For previous statistical releases and summary tables, see TransBorder Releases. See TransBorder Freight Data for data from previous months, and for additional state, port, and commodity data. BTS has scheduled the release of September TransBorder numbers for Nov. 26.