NAFTA trade up 24% in February

By eTrucker Staff


Freight value remained 14.3 percent less than in February 2008.

Surface trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico was 24.1 percent higher in February than a year earlier, reaching $59.5 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The 24.1 percent increase is the largest year-over-year rise on record but freight value remained 14.3 percent less than the value in February 2008.

BTS reported the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 4.9 percent in February from January. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade totaled $36.3 billion in February, up 21.7 percent from February 2009. U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $23.2 billion in February, up 28 percent from February 2009.

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. In February, 87.6 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land.