North American Transborder Freight grew 3.4% in September 2024 from September 2023
BTS 54-24
This release is published on a fixed schedule as required by the Office of Management and Budget, and statistics in this release may be revised when inputs to the statistics are corrected or updated. Data on the program page of this website are the most up-to-date and complete.
*The statistics in this release do not reflect changes in tonnage moved.
Total Transborder Freight by Border in September 2024, Compared to September 2023:
Transborder freight between the U.S. and North American countries Canada and Mexico:
- Total transborder freight: $136.3 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, up 3.4% compared to September 2023
- Freight between the U.S. and Canada: $63.8 billion, down 1.4% from September 2023
- Freight between the U.S. and Mexico: $72.5 billion, up 8.0% from September 2023
- Mexico continued to lead Canada in freight dollar value for the last 19 months.
- Trucks moved $88.5 billion of freight, up 7.7% compared to September 2023
- Railways moved $17.0 billion of freight, down 5.4% compared to September 2023
- Vessels moved $10.1 billion of freight, down 13.5% compared to September 2023
- Vessels moved 17.3% less mineral fuels.
- Pipelines moved $8.5 billion of freight, down 7.7% compared to September 2023
- Air moved $4.6 billion of freight, down 5.3% compared to September 2023
Total Transborder Freight by Border and Mode:
| U.S.-Canada (both directions) (Dollars in Billions) |
U.S.-Mexico (both directions) |
| Truck: $35.4 | Truck: $53.1 |
| Pipeline: $8.0 | Rail: $8.1 |
| Rail $8.9 | Vessel: $7.0 |
| Vessel: $3.1 | Air: $1.9 |
| Air: $2.7 | Pipeline: $0.4 |
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 and Mexico Freight Breakdown
|
U.S.-Canada |
U.S.-Mexico |
||
|
Top three truck ports |
Top three truck ports |
||
| Detroit, MI | $9.2 billion | Laredo, TX | $24.2 billion |
| Port Huron, MI | $6.9 billion | El Paso-Ysleta, TX | $7.3 billion |
| Buffalo, NY | $6.3 billion | Otay Mesa, CA | $5.2 billion |
|
Top three truck commodities |
Top three truck commodities |
||
| Computers/parts | $5.7 billion | Computers/parts | $14.4 billion |
| Vehicles/parts | $5.0 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 | $3.0 billion | Laredo, TX | $4.1 billion |
| Port Huron, MI | $1.7 billion | Eagle Pass, TX | $2.5 billion |
| Buffalo, NY | $1.1 billion | Nogales, AZ | $0.7 billion |
|
Top three rail commodities |
Top three rail commodities |
||
| Vehicles/part | $4.1 billion | Vehicles/parts | $4.4 billion |
| Mineral fuel | $0.7 billion | Computers/parts | $0.6 billion |
| Plastics | $0.5 billion | Mineral fuel | $0.5 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 Wednesday, January 8, 2025.