NAFTA trade growth accelerates in January

The total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rose 9.9 percent year-over-year to $87.96 billion for the month, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).    The 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, jumped another 9.9 percent year-over-year to $87.96 billion in January 2018, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
   NAFTA trade flows have been on a tear of late, posting year-over-year growth in each of the last 15 months for which after-the-fact data is available, despite ongoing negotiations between the U.S., Mexico and Canada to revise the 24-year-old free trade deal.
   According to BTS, all five of the major freight transportation modes between the U.S., Canada and Mexico carried more cargo by value during January than in the same month the previous year.
   Freight moved by pipeline – primarily mineral fuels like oil and gas – showed the strongest gains, surging 34.1 percent year-over-year, while cargo moved by truck, rail, vessel and air grew 10.2 percent, 0.6 percent, 9.7 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
   Trucks continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for cross-border goods movement, accounting for 60.1 percent ($31.4 billion) of the $52.2 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 65.7 percent ($29.2 billion) of the $44.4 billion in exports, the bureau said.
   Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 13.7 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by pipeline, which surpassed vessel to claim the number three spot at 7.8 percent, vessel at 7 percent, and air at 3.6 percent.
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows rose 8.8 percent to $48.9 billion in January, while U.S.-Mexico trade values increased 11 percent to $47.7 billion.