NAFTA Surface Trade Rises in February
Surface transportation trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico was 11.8% higher in February than a year earlier, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
Trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners rose to $66.5 billion, DOT’s Bureau of Trade Statistics said in its monthly report.
Freight value fell 1.8% from January 2011. Monthly changes are affected by seasonal factors, DOT said. The level was 38.8% over February 2009.
U.S. truck imports rose 12.3% year-over-year to $22.3 billion, while exports gained 12.6% to $23.5 billion.
Rail imports rose 7.2% to $7.2 billion, while exports increased 4.6% to $3.7 billion. Pipeline imports rose 11.6% to $5.6 billion and exports more than doubled, to $711 million.
U.S.-Canada trade rose 10.1% year-over-year to $40 billion, while U.S.-Mexico trade improved 14.5% to $26.6 billion, DOT said.
Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. Almost 90% of U.S. trade among NAFTA partners moves by land.
