Nafta Surface Trade Rises 7.5% in April

Surface trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 7.5% in April from the same month last year and increased 2.4% from March, the Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

Trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners increased to $99 billion, DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in its monthly report.

Trucks carried 60.6% of the total value of the freight traded among the Nafta partners.

Trucks accounted for 55.2% of the $54.7 billion in trade with Canada and 67.3% of the $44.2 billion traded with Mexico.

Freight moved by rail, which accounted for 17.2% of total trade, rose 7.3% year-over-year, BTS said.

Truck imports to the United States from the two countries rose 6.6% year-over-year to $28.6 billion, while exports rose 10.4% to $31.4 billion.

Rail imports increased 8.7% to $9.6 billion, while exports dipped 0.5% to $5.4 billion. Pipeline imports dropped 2.2% to $5.9 billion, while exports jumped 13.5% to $875 million.