Nafta Trade Drops 10.8%; Truck Freight Dips
U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico declined 10.8% in May and freight carried by trucks also declined, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported July 30.
Truck freight declined 5.9% as total trade declined to $92.7 billion.
The double-digit decrease in Nafta freight likely was due in part to a recession in Canada, according to BTS. The Bank of Canada reported this month that the country is in a recession after two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
Trucks carried 63.2% of the trade among North American Free Trade Agreement partners, making them the most heavily used mode of moving goods to and from Canada and Mexico.
The decline in May follows a 6.8% drop the prior month that was due in part to the reduced price of mineral fuel shipments, according to BTS.
Trucks transported $29.7 billion of exports and $28.8 billion of imports between the Nafta partners.
U.S.-Canada trade for the month by truck declined 9.8%, and rail dropped 12.9%. Trucks carried 57.3% of the $48.9 billion in freight to and from Canada.
Trade with Mexico by truck dipped 1.9% from last year and accounted for 69.8% of the $43.8 billion of freight moved to and from the country. Trucks transported $7.5 billion in electrical machinery, equipment and parts to and from Mexico, more than any other commodity.
Trade by pipeline dropped by 45.4% to $4.4 billion, and ship trade declined 22.4% to $7 billion.
