North American Transborder Freight down 0.1% in December 2023 from December 2022
BTS 10-24
The statistics in this release may not reflect changes in tonnage moved.
Total Transborder Freight by Border in December 2023, Compared to December 2022:
Transborder freight between the U.S. and North American countries Canada and Mexico:
- Total transborder freight: $121.6 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, down 0.1% compared to December 2022
- Freight between the U.S. and Canada: $61.1 billion, up 0.7% from December 2022
- Freight between the U.S. and Mexico: $60.4 billion, down 0.9% from December 2022
- Trucks moved $73.2 billion of freight, down 0.9% compared to December 2022
- Railways moved $16.4 billion of freight, up 2.6% compared to December 2022
- Vessels moved $11.0 billion of freight, up 7.0% compared to December 2022
- Pipelines moved $9.1 billion of freight, down 10.3% compared to December 2022
- Air moved $4.6 billion of freight, down 10.3% compared to December 2022
Total Transborder Freight by Border and Mode:
| U.S.-Canada (both directions) (Dollars in Billions) |
U.S.-Mexico (both directions) (Dollars in Billions) |
||
| Truck: | $32.1 | Truck: | $41.1 |
| Rail: | $9.2 | Rail: | $7.2 |
| Pipeline: | $8.6 | Vessel: | $8.1 |
| Air: | $2.9 | Air: | $1.8 |
| Vessel: | $2.9 | Pipeline: | $0.5 |
Detroit, Port Huron, and Buffalo are the top truck ports for U.S. freight flows with Canada, while Laredo, El Paso, and Otay Mesa are the top truck ports with Mexico. Detroit, Port Huron, and International Falls are the top rail connection ports for U.S. freight flows with Canada, while Laredo, Eagle Pass, and El Paso are the top rail connection ports with Mexico. Chicago, Port Huron, and Minneapolis are the top pipeline connection regions for U.S. energy freight flows with Canada. El Paso, Hidalgo, and Laredo are the top pipeline connection regions with Mexico. Port of Boston, Arthur, and Portland are the top water port connections for U.S. energy flows with Canada. Port of Houston, Arthur, and Texas City are the top water port connections for U.S. energy flows on the Southern border.
|
U.S.-Canada Trade Breakdown |
U.S.-Mexico Trade Breakdown |
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|
Top three truck ports |
Top three truck ports |
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| Detroit, MI | $9.1 billion | Laredo, TX | $19.8 billion |
| Buffalo, NY | $5.8 billion | El Paso-Ysleta, TX | $5.5 billion |
| Port Huron, MI | $5.1 billion | Otay Mesa, CA | $3.6 billion |
|
Top three truck commodities |
Top three truck commodities |
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| Computers/parts | $5.6 billion | Electrical machinery | $8.9 billion |
| Vehicles/parts | $4.6 billion | Computers/parts | $8.4 billion |
| Electrical machinery | $2.3 billion | Vehicles/parts | $6.0 billion |
|
Top three rail ports |
Top three rail ports |
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| Detroit, MI | $2.4 billion | Laredo, TX | $3.8 billion |
| Port Huron, MI | $2.2 billion | Eagle Pass, TX | $1.9 billion |
| Int’l Falls, MN | $1.1 billion | Nogales, AZ | $0.7 billion |
|
Top three rail commodities |
Top three rail commodities |
||
| Vehicles/parts | $3.6 billion | Vehicles/parts | $3.8 billion |
| Mineral fuel | $0.9 billion | Computers/parts | $0.5 billion |
| Plastics | $0.5 billion | Mineral Fuels | $0.4 billion |
Reporting Notes
All monetary values are in current US dollars and are not adjusted for inflation or seasonality. For previous statistical releases and summary tables, see transborder releases. See transborder freight data for data from previous months, and additional state, port, and commodity data. BTS has scheduled the next release of transborder numbers for March 4, 2024.