Office of Operations Freight Management and Operations

Freight Facts and Figures 2010

Tables 2-8 and 2-8M. Value and Tonnage of U.S. Merchandise Trade with Canada and Mexico by Transportation Mode: 1999-2009

Trade with Canada and Mexico has grown rapidly over the past decade. Trucks carry about 62 percent of the value of goods traded with these countries.

Table 2-8 (standard units)

Table in Excel format | Historical data

Billions of current U.S. dollars and millions of short tons

Mode 1999 Value 1999 Weight 2004 Value 2004 Weight 2008 Value 2008 Weight 2009 Value 2009 Weight
Truck1 385 NA 453 NA 554 182 455 155
Rail1 78 NA 108 NA 140 148 96 108
Air 34 1 32 <1 41 <1 39 <1
Water 23 183 46 244 93 232 59 189
Pipeline1 12 NA 39 NA 88 99 49 99
Other1 25 NA 34 NA 47 7 37 6
Total1 559 NA 712 NA 964 668 735 557

Key: NA = not available.

1The U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimated the weight of exports for truck, rail, pipeline, and other modes using weight-to-value ratios derived from imported commodities that vary by country, mode, and commodity.

Notes:

1 short ton = 2,000 pounds. Mode "Other" includes shipments transported by mail, other and unknown modes, and shipments through Foreign Trade Zones. Totals for the most recent year differ slightly from the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) due to variations in coverage and FAF conversion of values to constant dollars. Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, North American Transborder Freight Data, available at http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/ as of July 27, 2010; U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, FT920 - U.S. Merchandise Trade: Selected Highlights (Washington, DC: annual issues).

 

Table 2-8M (metric units)

Table in Excel format | Historical data

Billions of current U.S. dollars and millions of metric tonnes

Mode 1999 Value 1999 Weight 2004 Value 2004 Weight 2008 Value 2008 Weight 2009 Value 2009 Weight
Truck1 385 NA 453 NA 554 165 455 141
Rail1 78 NA 108 NA 140 134 96 98
Air 34 <1 32 <1 41 <1 39 <1
Water 23 166 46 222 93 211 59 172
Pipeline1 12 NA 39 NA 88 89 49 89
Other1 25 NA 34 NA 47 6 37 5
Total1 559 NA 712 NA 964 606 735 506

Key: NA = not available.

1The U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimated the weight of exports for truck, rail, pipeline, and other modes using weight-to-value ratios derived from imported commodities that vary by country, mode, and commodity.

Notes:

1 metric tonne = 1.1023 short tons. 1 short ton = 2,000 pounds. Mode "Other" includes shipments transported by mail, other and unknown modes, and shipments through Foreign Trade Zones. Totals for the most recent year differ slightly from the Freight Analysis Framework due to variations in coverage and FAF conversion of values to constant dollars. Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.

Sources:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, North American Transborder Freight Data, available at http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/ as of July 27, 2010; U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, FT920 - U.S. Merchandise Trade: Selected Highlights (Washington, DC: annual issues).

 


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