NAFTA trade decline continues in April

The total value of cross-border freight between the United States and North American trading partners Canada and Mexico slipped another 3.2 percent year-over-year in April 2016, 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 to decline in April 2016.
   NAFTA freight value slipped 3.2 percent to $90.4 billion for the month compared with April 2015 after dropping 5.8 percent year-over-year in March, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. BTS noted total cross-border trade values have now fallen in each of the last 16 months compared with the same month the previous year.
   Of the five major transportation modes measured by the BLS, only trucks carried more freight by value in April, increasing 0.8 percent as the value of incoming freight from Mexico (up 6.5 percent) and Canada (up 3.0 percent) exceeded a 3.6 percent decrease in outgoing shipments from the U.S.
   Trucks carried 66.8 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 65.9 percent ($31.4 billion) of the $47.6 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 67.8 percent ($29.0 billion) of the $42.8 billion in exports, BTS said.
   The value of cargoes moving by all other modes fell, however, with commodities moving by rail down 3.4 percent, airfreight dropping 10.4 percent, pipeline down 30.5 percent and ocean vessel trade sliding 26.4 percent. BTS primarily attributed the decline in freight value for these modes to the precipitous drop in crude oil prices over the past year.
   Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.6 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel (5 percent), air (3.8 percent), and pipeline (3.7 percent).
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows fell 6.0 percent to $45.9 billion, while U.S.-Mexico trade values slipped 0.1 percent to $44.5 billion.
   BTS said lower crude oil prices contributed significantly to the decrease in the value of freight moved between the U.S. and its North American trading partners.