NAFTA trade growth streak continues

The total value of U.S. cross-border trade with Canada and Mexico increased for the 19th straight month in May.    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 9.2 percent to $102.5 billion in May 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 19 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 May growth was slightly slower than the 11.3 percent pace seen in April, but still outstripped the 5.5 percent rate seen in March as well as February’s 8.7 percent year-over-year increase.
   According to BTS, all five of the major freight transportation modes between the United States, Canada and Mexico carried more cargo by value during May than in the same 2017 period.
   Freight moved by vessel showed the strongest gains by far, surging 29.6 percent year-over-year to $8.13 billion, followed by cargo moved by pipeline, up 13.4 percent to just shy of $6.4 billion; air, up 9.9 percent to $3.98 billion; truck, up 8.9 percent to $67.89 billion; and rail, up 0.7 percent to $15.32 billion compared with May 2017.
   Trucks continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for cross-border goods movement, accounting for 61.5 percent ($35.5 billion) of the $57.73 billion in U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico during the month and 65.4 percent ($33.39 billion) of the $49.52 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 6 percent and air at 3.7 percent.
   Year-over-year, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows rose 7.7 percent to $55.12 billion in May, while U.S.-Mexico trade values increased 10.8 percent to $52.13 billion.