NAFTA trade growth hits 14th straight month in December

The total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rose 7.4 percent year-over-year to $93.5 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 7.4 percent year-over-year to $93.5 billion in December 2017, 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 14 months for which after-the-fact data is available, despite ongoing negotiations between the U.S., Mexico and Canada to revise the free trade deal.
   According to BTS, all five of the major freight transportation modes carried more cargo by value during December than in the same month the previous year.
   Freight moved by vessel increased 37.8 percent year-over-year, thanks in part to an 11.4 percent increase in crude oil prices and a 22.2 percent increase in mineral fuel volumes, BTS said.
   Compared with December 2016, freight moved by pipeline, truck, air and rail grew 14.2 percent, 5.4 percent, 4.1 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.
   Trucks continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for cross-border goods movement, accounting for 57.4 percent ($29 billion) of the $50.5 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 64.7 percent ($27.8 billion) of the $43.0 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 at 8.4 percent, pipeline at 6.5 percent, and air at 4.1 percent.
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows rose 9.5 percent to $48.7 billion in December, while U.S.-Mexico trade values increased 5.2 percent to $44.8 billion.