BTS - Bureau of Transportation Statistics : Three of Five Modes Carried More U.S. NAFTA Trade in November 2013 than in November 2012

January 29, 2014 at 02:49 pm

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Figure 1. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode:
November 2013 Compared to November 2012

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

Three of the five transportation modes - truck, rail and pipeline - carried more U.S.-NAFTA trade in November 2013 than in November 2012 as the value of overall U.S. trade with its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico rose 1.3 percent from year to year, according to the November NAFTA freight data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) (Table 1).

BTS reported that pipelines showed the most year-to-year growth at 7.4 percent. The increase in the value of freight carried by pipelines reflects the rise in prices for oil and other petroleum products, the primary commodity transported by pipelines.

Trade by Mode
Truck, which carries three-fifths of U.S.-NAFTA trade and is the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners, rose 2.5 percent in value year-to-year while rail rose 2.2 percent. Vessel declined 8.4 percent and air declined 4.0 percent (Figure 1).

Trucks carried 59.9 percent of the $96.1 billion of U.S.-NAFTA trade in November 2013 accounting for $30.2 billion of exports and $27.4 billion of imports (Table 2). Truck was followed by rail at 15.8 percent, vessels at 9.0 percent, pipeline at 6.6 percent and air at 4.0 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 82.3 percent of the total NAFTA freight flows.

Trade with Canada
U.S.-Canada trade by pipeline, consisting almost entirely of petroleum products of which 93.6 percent was imported, increased the most of any mode from November 2012 to November 2013, growing 6.6 percent. U.S.-Canada pipeline trade comprised 95.3 percent of total U.S.-NAFTA pipeline trade in November (Tables 2, 4). Despite the overall decline in vessel trade, vessel freight exports to Canada increased by 77.2 percent from November 2012, primarily due to an increase in exports of mineral fuels (Table 4).

For trade with Canada in November, trucks carried 54.9 percent of the $52.8 billion of freight, followed by rail at 17.0 percent, pipelines at 11.5 percent, vessel at 5.5 percent and air at 4.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.4 percent of the total U.S.-Canada freight flows (Table 4).

Figure 2. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Canada Freight Flows by Mode:
November 2012-November 2013

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

Trade with Mexico
The value of U.S.-Mexico trade by pipeline was the least of any mode but had the largest percentage increase from November 2012 to November 2013, growing 25.8 percent (Table 6). The increase in the value of freight carried by pipelines reflects the rise in prices for oil and other petroleum products, the primary commodity transported by pipelines.

Freight moved by vessel and air between the U.S. and Mexico decreased by 9.7 and 1.3 percent respectively (Figure 3).

For trade with Mexico in November, trucks carried 66.1 percent of the $43.3 billion of the freight, followed by rail at 14.3 percent, vessel at 13.3 percent, air at 3.1 percent and pipelines at 0.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 81.1 percent of the total U.S.-Mexico freight flows (Table 6).

Figure 3. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Mexico Freight Flows by Mode:
November 2012-November 2013

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

Commodities
In November 2013, the top commodity group transported between the U.S. and Canada was mineral fuels, valued at $10.6 billion, of which $6.0 billion moved by pipeline (Table 5). The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Mexico in November 2013 continues to be electrical machinery, of which $7.2 billion moved by truck (Table 7). Mineral fuels are the largest component in the year-over-year decline of vessel freight and cereal grains are the second largest component.

Reporting Notes
Beginning with January 2013, BTS monthly TransBorder press releases contain data for all modes of transportation. 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.

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 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 December TransBorder numbers for Feb. 27.

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

(millions of current dollars)

Month	2011	2012	2013	Percent Change 2011-2012	Percent Change 2012-2013
January	79,608	87,490	90,512	9.9	3.5
February	77,015	89,385	88,449	16.1	-1.0
March	94,228	99,510	95,566	5.6	-4.0
April	87,097	92,199	98,984	5.9	7.4
May	91,126	96,840	98,577	6.3	1.8
June	90,663	94,200	93,483	3.9	-0.8
July	84,952	87,691	93,192	3.2	6.3
August	93,450	94,593	96,526	1.2	2.0
September	90,771	89,875	94,350	-1.0	5.0
October	91,837	98,632	103,089	7.4	4.5
November	90,401	94,877	96,120	5.0	1.3
December	86,775	84,695		-2.4
Year-to-date	971,149	1,025,293	1,048,848	5.6	2.3
Annual	1,057,924	1,109,988		4.9

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.bts.gov/transborder/

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)

Mode		November 2012	November 2013	Percent Change November 2012-2013
All Modes	Imports	51,371	50,864	-1.0
	Exports	43,506	45,257	4.0
	Total	94,877	96,120	1.3
All Surface Modes	Imports	42,017	42,990	2.3
	Exports	34,954	36,145	3.4
	Total	76,970	79,135	2.8
Truck	Imports	27,235	27,382	0.5
	Exports	28,945	30,205	4.4
	Total	56,180	57,587	2.5
Rail	Imports	9,621	9,910	3.0
	Exports	5,236	5,269	0.6
	Total	14,858	15,179	2.2
Pipeline	Imports	5,160	5,698	10.4
	Exports	772	671	-13.1
	Total	5,933	6,369	7.4
Vessel	Imports	5,992	4,723	-21.2
	Exports	3,428	3,908	14.0
	Total	9,421	8,631	-8.4
Air	Imports	1,762	1,600	-9.2
	Exports	2,241	2,242	0.1
	Total	4,003	3,843	-4.0

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.bts.gov/transborder/

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: http://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataF....

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

November 2013 Compared to November in...	Percent Change
November 2013 Compared to November in...	Truck	Rail	Pipeline	Air	Vessel	All Modes
2012	2.5	2.2	7.4	-4.0	-8.4	1.3
2011	7.3	17.0	1.2	-3.4	-11.5	6.3
2010	18.9	36.3	30.1	-2.5	22.8	21.6
2009	38.9	58.0	42.6	4.8	63.7	41.6
2008	40.3	41.7	16.2	24.1	58.2	38.9
2007	17.5	21.6	28.8	9.4	9.5	17.6
2006	26.3	33.9	43.7	25.3	56.7	31.0
2005	30.9	43.7	28.3	34.1	64.0	35.3
2004	44.6	58.5	78.5	42.9	89.1	51.6

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.bts.gov/transborder/

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)

Mode		November 2012	November 2013	Percent Change November 2012-2013
All Modes	Imports	27,679	27,146	-1.9
	Exports	24,677	25,668	4.0
	Total	52,356	52,814	0.9
All Surface Modes	Imports	23,121	23,515	1.7
	Exports	20,184	20,519	1.7
	Total	43,306	44,035	1.7
Truck	Imports	11,738	11,655	-0.7
	Exports	17,063	17,325	1.5
	Total	28,801	28,980	0.6
Rail	Imports	6,242	6,183	-1.0
	Exports	2,569	2,805	9.2
	Total	8,812	8,987	2.0
Pipeline	Imports	5,141	5,677	10.4
	Exports	552	390	-29.3
	Total	5,693	6,067	6.6
Vessel	Imports	2,279	1,505	-34.0
	Exports	780	1,382	77.2
	Total	3,058	2,887	-5.6
Air	Imports	1,036	990	-4.4
	Exports	1,592	1,495	-6.1
	Total	2,628	2,485	-5.4

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.bts.gov/transborder/

Table 5. Top Commodity Transported between the U.S. and Canada for Each Mode of Transportation, November 2013

(millions of current dollars)

Mode	Commodities	Exports	Imports	Total
Truck	Vehicles Other than Railway	3,191	2,611	5,803
Rail	Vehicles Other than Railway	886	2,631	3,517
Pipeline	Mineral Fuels; Oils and Waxes	390	5,654	6,044
Vessel	Mineral Fuels; Oils and Waxes	1,181	1,252	2,433
Air	Computer-Related Machinery and Parts	363	142	504

Source: Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.bts.gov/transborder/

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)

Mode		November 2012	November 2013	Percent Change November 2012-2013
All Modes	Imports	23,692	23,718	0.1
	Exports	18,828	19,588	4.0
	Total	42,521	43,306	1.8
All Surface Modes	Imports	18,895	19,475	3.1
	Exports	14,770	15,626	5.8
	Total	33,665	35,100	4.3
Truck	Imports	15,496	15,727	1.5
	Exports	11,882	12,880	8.4
	Total	27,379	28,607	4.5
Rail	Imports	3,379	3,727	10.3
	Exports	2,667	2,465	-7.6
	Total	6,046	6,192	2.4
Pipeline	Imports	19	21	7.0
	Exports	220	281	27.5
	Total	240	302	25.8
Vessel	Imports	3,714	3,218	-13.3
	Exports	2,649	2,526	-4.6
	Total	6,362	5,744	-9.7
Air	Imports	727	610	-16.0
	Exports	649	747	15.1
	Total	1,376	1,357	-1.3

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, http://transborder.bts.gov/transborder/

(millions of current dollars)

Mode	Commodities	Exports	Imports	Total
Truck	Electrical Machinery; Equipment and Parts	2,647	4,591	7,238
Rail	Vehicles Other than Railway	683	2,813	3,496
Pipeline	Mineral Fuels; Oils and Waxes	281	21	302
Vessel	Mineral Fuels; Oils and Waxes	1,779	2,672	4,450
Air	Electrical Machinery; Equipment and Parts	230	225	456