(The U.S. Department of Transportation issued the following on March 3, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 10.5 percent higher in December 2009 than in December 2008, with a value of $58.5 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The increase was the first over the same month of the previous year since September 2008 but the value of trade in December still remained 4.0 percent below the value in December 2007.
BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 0.8 percent in December 2009 from November 2009. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.
U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $35.4 billion in December, up 7.8 percent compared to December 2008. U.S.–Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $23.0 billion in December, up 15.0 percent compared to December 2008.
Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail, and pipeline. About 85 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves by land modes.