NAFTA trade growth streak continues

The total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement rose 8.7 percent year-over-year to $86.47 billion in February.     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 8.7 percent year-over-year to $86.47 billion in February, 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 16 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, three of the five  major freight transportation modes between the U.S., Canada and Mexico carried more cargo by value during February than in the same month the previous year.
   Freight moved by vessel showed the strongest gains, surging 44.9 percent year-over-year, while cargo moved by truck and air grew 8.9 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.
   Shipments by rail and pipeline, on the other hand, slipped 2.9 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, from February 2017.
   Trucks continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for cross-border goods movement, accounting for 51.5 percent ($30.6 billion) of the $50.2 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 48.5 percent ($28.8 billion) of the $43.8 billion in exports, the bureau said.
   Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 14.5 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, which surpassed pipeline to reclaim the number three spot at 7.6 percent, pipeline at 5.8 percent, and air at 11.8 percent.
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows rose 6.8 percent to $44.4 billion in February, while U.S.-Mexico trade values increased 10.6 percent to $42.1 billion.