August 2020 North American Transborder Freight Up 11% from July 2020

U.S. Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 10/27/2020 11:10 AM EDT
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BTS 74-20
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
BTS Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel:  202-366-5568

 

 

 

August 2020 North American Transborder Freight Up 11% from July 2020

 

 

August 2020 Transborder Infographic

 

 

Transborder freight between the U.S. and other North American countries (Canada and Mexico) in August 2020:

 

  • Total Transborder freight: $93.4 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, up 2.7% compared to July 2020 and up 13.9% from June 2020.
  • Transborder freight value in August was down 11.1% compared to August 2019.
  • Most-used mode: Trucks moved $60.9 billion of freight, up 0.2% compared to July 2020, down 7.9% compared to August 2019.
  • Second most-used mode: Railways moved $13.8 billion of freight, up 7.2% compared to July 2020, down 14.3% compared to August 2019.

  

Total Transborder Freight:

  • Compared to July 2020:
U.S.-Canada up 7.3%
U.S.-Mexico down 1.4%
  • Compared to August 2019:
U.S.-Canada down 10.4%
U.S.-Mexico down 11.8%

 

Truck Freight: $60.9 billion (65.1% of all transborder freight)

  • By border:
U.S.-Canada: $27.8 billion (59.7% of all northern border freight)
U.S.-Mexico: $33.0 billion (70.5% of all southern border freight)
  • Compared to July 2020:
U.S.-Canada up 6.0%
U.S.-Mexico down 4.2%
  • Compared to August 2019:
U.S.-Canada down 3.9%
U.S.-Mexico down 10.9%

 

 

  • Top Three Busiest truck border ports (46.3% of total transborder truck freight)
    • Laredo, TX                   $14.6 billion
    • Detroit, MI                     $8.9 billion
    • Buffalo-Niagara, NY                     $4.7 billion

 

 

  • Top three truck commodities (49.1% of total transborder truck freight)
    • Computers and parts      $11.6 billion
    • Electrical machinery                    $9.6 billion
    • Vehicles and parts                     $8.8 billion

 

August 2020 Transborder Figure 1

 

Rail Freight: $13.8 billion (14.8% of all transborder freight)

  • By border:
U.S.-Canada: $7.3 billion (15.7% of all northern border freight)
U.S.-Mexico: $6.5 billion (13.9% of all southern border freight)
  • Compared to July 2020:
U.S.-Canada up 14.8%
U.S.-Mexico down 0.2%
  • Compared to August 2019:
U.S.-Canada down 13.7%
U.S.-Mexico down 14.9%

 

  • Three busiest rail border ports (57.0% of total transborder rail freight)
    • Laredo, TX                        $3.5 billion
    • Detroit, MI                        $2.3 billion
    • Eagle Pass, TX                   $2.0 billion

 

 

  • Top three rail commodities (62.7% of total transborder rail freight)
    • Motor vehicles and parts             $7.2 billion
    • Computers and parts                  $0.8 billion
    • Plastics                                      $0.7 billion

 

 

 

 

Total Transborder Freight by Mode:

 

U.S.-Canada (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions)
Truck:              $27.8
Rail:                   $7.3
Pipeline:             $4.2
Air:                     $2.8
Vessel:               $1.5                        

 

U.S.-Mexico (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions)
Truck:              $33.0
Rail:                   $6.5
Vessel:               $4.3
Air:                     $1.2
Pipeline:             $0.4

 

Reporting Notes

Data in this Bureau of Transportation Statistics release are not seasonally adjusted and are not adjusted for inflation. For previous statistical releases and summary tables, see TransBorder Releases. See TransBorder Freight Data for data from previous months, and for additional state, port, and commodity data. BTS has scheduled the release of September TransBorder numbers for Nov. 20.