BTS Bureau of Transportation Statistics : November 2016 North American Freight Numbers

PDF | Excel

Figure 1. U.S.-NAFTA Freight Value Percent Change from Previous Year (Last 24 months)

Table Version | Excel

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $91.1 billion in current dollars as all five major transportation modes carried more freight by value with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico in November 2016 compared to November 2015, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) (Figure 1, Table 1).

The 3.3 percent rise from November 2015 was only the second time since December 2014 in which the year-over-year value of U.S.-NAFTA freight increased from the same month of the previous year.

Freight by Mode

Figure 2. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode: November 2015-2016

Table Version | Excel

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

The value of commodities moving by pipeline increased 30.6 percent, vessel by 12.5 percent, air by 6.2 percent, rail by 5.1 percent, and truck by 0.6 percent (Figure 2, Table 2).

Trucks carried 64.5 percent of U.S.-NAFTA freight and continued to be the most heavily utilized mode for moving goods to and from both U.S.-NAFTA partners. Trucks accounted for $30.7 billion of the $49.8 billion of imports (61.6 percent) and $28.0 billion of the $41.3 billion of exports (67.8 percent) (Table 2).

Rail remained the second largest mode by value, moving 15.3 percent of all U.S.-NAFTA freight, followed by vessel, 5.9 percent; pipeline, 5.3 percent; and air, 3.9 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 85.1 percent of the total value of U.S.-NAFTA freight flows (Table 2).

U.S.-Canada Freight

Figure 3. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Canada Freight Flows by Mode: November 2015-2016

Table Version | Excel

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

From November 2015 to November 2016, the value of U.S.-Canada freight flows increased by 2.2 percent to $46.1 billion as the value of freight on three modes increased from a year earlier. The value of freight carried on pipeline increased by 30.1 percent, reflecting the increased value of mineral fuels year over year. Air increased by 6.3 percent, and rail by 0.6 percent (Figure 3, Table 3). Truck decreased by 0.1 percent and vessel by 3.3 percent. During this 12-month period, much of the mineral fuel freight between Texas and Canada shifted from vessel to pipeline as the value of mineral fuel shipments carried by vessel between Texas and Canada decreased while the value of pipeline shipments rose. Texas-Canada mineral fuel trade made up about 15.6 percent of all U.S.-Canada mineral fuel shipments in November 2016

Trucks carried 59.0 percent of the value of the freight to and from Canada. Rail carried 16.0 percent followed by pipeline, 9.8 percent; air, 4.8 percent; and vessel, 3.4 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 84.9 percent of the value of total U.S.-Canada freight flows (Table 3).

U.S.-Mexico Freight

Figure 4. Percent Change in Value of U.S.-Mexico Freight Flows by Mode: November 2015-2016

Table Version | Excel

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

From November 2015 to November 2016, the value of U.S.-Mexico freight flows increased by 4.5 percent to $45.0 billion as the value of freight on all five major modes increased from a year earlier. The value of goods moved in pipeline increased by 37.3 percent, vessel by 20.6 percent, rail by 10.6 percent, air by 6.0 percent, and truck by 1.2 percent (Figure 4, Table 4).

Trucks carried 70.1 percent of the value of the freight to and from Mexico. Rail carried 14.6 percent of the value of freight to and from Mexico followed by vessel, 8.5 percent; air, 3.0 percent; and pipeline, 0.7 percent. The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 85.4 percent of the value of total U.S.-Mexico freight flows (Table 4).

Commodities

In November 2016, the top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada by all modes was vehicles and parts, of which $5.0 billion, or 56.6 percent, moved by truck and $3.6 billion, or 41.0 percent, moved by rail (Figure 5). The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Mexico by all modes in November 2016 was electrical machinery, of which $8.5 billion, or 92.6 percent, moved by truck (Figure 6).

Reporting Notes

BTS press releases and the BTS website define surface transportation modes as truck, rail and pipeline. See North American TransBorder Freight Data on the BTS website for additional data for surface modes since 1995 and all modes since 2004. The category of all modes of transportation cited in the following tables includes freight movements by truck, rail, vessel, pipeline, air, other and unknown modes of transport.

Data in this press release are not seasonally adjusted and are not adjusted for inflation. Additional summary data adjusted for inflation and exchange rates can be found on the BTS website under TransBorder Indexed Freight Flow Data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indexes used in the adjustments for inflation and exchange rates might be revised in each of the three months after original publication. For previous press releases and summary tables, see TransBorder Press Releases. See TransBorder Freight Data for data from previous months, and for additional state, port, and commodity data. BTS has scheduled the release of December TransBorder numbers for Feb. 23.

Table 1. Value of Monthly U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows

(millions of current dollars)

Month	2014	2015	2016	Percent Change 2014-2015	Percent Change 2015-2016
January	90,326	89,258	82,430	-1.2	-7.7
February	89,557	85,723	84,038	-4.3	-2.0
March	101,478	96,070	90,462	-5.3	-5.8
April	100,141	93,327	90,380	-6.8	-3.2
May	103,942	92,707	89,840	-10.8	-3.1
June	102,978	99,030	92,671	-3.8	-6.4
July	101,075	92,995	83,725	-8.0	-10.0
August	100,624	92,442	93,126	-8.1	0.7
September	102,245	93,246	91,126	-8.8	-2.3
October	108,243	96,624	93,165	-10.7	-3.6
November	96,252	88,154	91,089	-8.4	3.3
December	95,811	86,748		-9.5
Year-to-date	1,096,861	1,019,577	982,052	-7.0	-3.7
Annual	1,192,671	1,106,325		-7.2

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, TransBorder Freight Data

Note: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent change based on numbers prior to rounding.

Table 2. Value of Monthly U.S.-NAFTA Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation

(millions of current dollars)

Mode	November 2015	November 2016	Percent Change November 2015-2016
All Modes	Imports	46,834	49,781	6.3
	Exports	41,319	41,308	0.0
	Total	88,154	91,089	3.3
All Surface Modes	Imports	41,952	43,982	4.8
	Exports	33,420	33,561	0.4
	Total	75,373	77,543	2.9
Truck	Imports	30,030	30,680	2.2
	Exports	28,319	28,027	-1.0
	Total	58,349	58,707	0.6
Rail	Imports	8,918	9,462	6.1
	Exports	4,378	4,508	3.0
	Total	13,296	13,970	5.1
Pipeline	Imports	3,004	3,841	27.9
	Exports	723	1,025	41.7
	Total	3,727	4,866	30.6
Vessel	Imports	2,309	2,733	18.4
	Exports	2,484	2,659	7.0
	Total	4,793	5,391	12.5
Air	Imports	1,346	1,580	17.4
	Exports	1,969	1,940	-1.5
	Total	3,314	3,520	6.2

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, TransBorder Freight Data

Notes: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please refer to the 'Data Fields' section of the TransBorder web page: http://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.

Table 3. Value of Monthly U.S.-Canada Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation

(millions of current dollars)

Mode	November 2015	November 2016	Percent Change November 2015-2016
All Modes	Imports	22,728	24,395	7.3
	Exports	22,383	21,716	-3.0
	Total	45,111	46,111	2.2
All Surface Modes	Imports	20,364	21,632	6.2
	Exports	17,701	17,495	-1.2
	Total	38,065	39,126	2.8
Truck	Imports	12,134	12,502	3.0
	Exports	15,095	14,697	-2.6
	Total	27,229	27,199	-0.1
Rail	Imports	5,242	5,300	1.1
	Exports	2,108	2,093	-0.7
	Total	7,350	7,393	0.6
Pipeline	Imports	2,988	3,829	28.1
	Exports	498	705	41.7
	Total	3,486	4,535	30.1
Vessel	Imports	806	909	12.8
	Exports	816	660	-19.2
	Total	1,623	1,569	-3.3
Air	Imports	827	961	16.2
	Exports	1,234	1,230	-0.3
	Total	2,062	2,192	6.3

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, TransBorder Freight Data

Notes: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please refer to the 'Data Fields' section of the TransBorder web page: http://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.

Figure 5. Top Commodity Transported between the U.S. and Canada for Each Mode of Transportation, November 2016

Table Version | Excel

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

NOTES: Import and export numbers might not add to totals due to rounding.

Table 4. Value of Monthly U.S.-Mexico Freight Flows by Mode of Transportation

(millions of current dollars)

Mode	November 2015	November 2016	Percent Change November 2015-2016
All Modes	Imports	24,106	25,386	5.3
	Exports	18,937	19,592	3.5
	Total	43,043	44,978	4.5
All Surface Modes	Imports	21,588	22,351	3.5
	Exports	15,720	16,066	2.2
	Total	37,308	38,417	3.0
Truck	Imports	17,897	18,177	1.6
	Exports	13,224	13,331	0.8
	Total	31,121	31,508	1.2
Rail	Imports	3,676	4,162	13.2
	Exports	2,270	2,416	6.4
	Total	5,946	6,577	10.6
Pipeline	Imports	16	12	-24.9
	Exports	226	320	41.6
	Total	241	331	37.3
Vessel	Imports	1,502	1,823	21.3
	Exports	1,668	1,999	19.8
	Total	3,170	3,822	20.6
Air	Imports	518	618	19.4
	Exports	734	710	-3.4
	Total	1,252	1,328	6.0

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data, TransBorder Freight Data

Notes: Numbers might not add to totals due to rounding. Percent changes based on numbers prior to rounding. The value of trade for all modes is not equal to the sum of truck, rail, pipeline, vessel and air modes, it also includes shipments made by mail, foreign trade zones, and other transportation. For additional detail, please refer to the 'Data Fields' section of the TransBorder web page: http://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_DataFields.html.

Figure 6. Top Commodity Transported between the U.S. and Mexico for Each Mode of Transportation, November 2016

Table Version | Excel

SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TransBorder Freight Data

NOTES: Import and export numbers might not add to totals due to rounding.