Cross-border trade grows despite no NAFTA deal

Total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement rose 11.3 percent year-over-year in April.    The total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement — Canada and Mexico — climbed another 11.3 percent to $102.7 billion in April compared with the same month a year ago, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).
    Year-over-year growth has been posted in each of the last 18 months for which after-the-fact data is available, despite ongoing negotiations among the United States, Mexico and Canada to revise the 24-year-old free trade deal.
   The April growth more than doubled the 5.5 percent rate seen in March and also outstripped February’s 8.7 percent year-over-year increase.
   According to BTS, four of the five major freight transportation modes between the United States, Canada and Mexico carried more cargo by value during April than in the same 2017 period.
   Freight moved by vessel showed the strongest gains by far, swelling 35.5 percent year-over-year to $7.76 billion, while cargo moved by truck grew 15 percent to $65.74 billion, air climbed 14.2 percent to $3.79 billion and pipeline increased 6.4 percent to $5.76 billion.
   Shipments by rail, on the other hand, slipped 1.5 percent to $14.7 billion compared with March 2017.
   Trucks continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for cross-border goods movement, accounting for 62 percent ($33.85 billion) of the $54.57 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 66.2 percent ($31.88 billion) of the $48.13 billion in exports, the bureau said.
   Rail remained the second-largest mode by value, moving 14.3 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel at 7.6 percent, pipeline at 5.6 percent and air at 3.7 percent.
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows rose 10.9 percent to $52.18 billion in March, while U.S.-Mexico trade values increased 14.8 percent to $50.52 billion.