NAFTA trade exceeds $100b in March

Total cross-border trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada in March exceeded $100 billion for the first time since October 2014, according to the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.    Total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which include Canada and Mexico, stood at $100.3 billion in March 2017, a 10.9 percent increase from 12 months prior, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
   The last month U.S.-NAFTA freight exceeded $100 billion was in October 2014.
   All five of the major transportation modes measured by the BTS – pipeline, vessel, air, rail and truck – moved more freight by value in March than a year prior, with pipeline up 81.3 percent, vessel up 38.2 percent, air up 13.5 percent, rail up 12.6 percent and truck up 5 percent.
   BTS attributed the substantial increase in pipeline and vessel trade values during the month partly to a 31 percent year-over-year boost in the price of crude oil.
   Trucks continued to be the most commonly utilized mode for transporting goods to and from both Canada and Mexico in March, accounting for 60 percent ($32.6 billion) of the $54.3 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 68.1 percent ($31.3 billion) of the $45.9 billion in exports.
   Rail was the second largest mode by value, moving 15.8 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by pipeline at 5.9 percent, vessel at 5.6 percent and air at 4.1 percent.
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows rose 10.4 percent to $51.2 billion in March, while U.S.-Mexico trade values increased 11.3 percent to $49.1 billion.