NAFTA trade values continue to slide in February

The total value of cross-border freight between the United States and North American trading partners Canada and Mexico slipped 2 percent year-over-year following a 7.7 percent drop in January, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.    The total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Canada and Mexico continued its slide in February 2016.
   NAFTA freight value slipped 2 percent to $84.0 billion for the month compared with the previous year after dropping 7.7 percent year-over-year in January, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
   The agency noted two of the five major transportation modes carried more freight by value in February, with commodities moving by rail jumping 6 percent thanks to an increase in imports of automobiles and parts, and trucking increasing 4.7 percent from February 2015.
   Trucks carried 67.4 percent of U.S.-NAFTA freight and continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both Canada and Mexico. Trucks accounted for 65.1 percent ($29.3 billion) of the $45 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 70 percent ($27.3 billion) of the $39 billion in exports, BTS said.
   Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.6 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel (4.3 percent), pipeline (4.0 percent), and air (3.8 percent).
   The value of cargoes moving by other modes, however, all fell, with airfreight slipping 1.7 percent, pipeline down 35.6 percent and ocean vessel trade dropping 41 percent. BTS primarily attributed the decline in pipeline and vessel freight value to the precipitous drop in crude oil prices over the past year.
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows slid 5.5 percent to $42.6 billion, while U.S.-Mexico trade values ticked up 2 percent to $41.4 billion.
   BTS said lower crude oil prices contributed to the decrease in the value of freight moved between the U.S. and Canada and slowed U.S.-Mexico trade growth.