NAFTA Trucking Freight Falls; 19th Straight Overall Monthly Drop
U.S.-NAFTA freight value percent change from previous year over the last 24 months. Graphic: U.S. DOT
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U.S.-NAFTA freight value percent change from previous year over the last 24 months. Graphic: U.S. DOT
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Trucking and all other transportation modes except rail carried less cross-border freight by value in July compared to a year earlier, according to new U.S. Transportation Department figures.
This resulted in a 10% decrease in the total current dollar value of freight moved. The $83.7 billion in July 2016 cross-border freight is the lowest monthly amount since February 2011, which had $76.7 billion in cross-border freight.
July also marks 19th consecutive month that the total value of U.S. freight with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico declined from the same month of the previous year.
The value of commodities moving by truck fell by 8.8% as rail increased 0.9%. Also falling is air freight by 6.4%, vessel by 25.1% and pipeline by 26.9%. Truck freight imports fell by 7.3% while exports declined by a larger 10.3%.
According to the department, the increase in rail is due in part to the a 14% year-over-year increase in the value of vehicles and parts traded with Mexico. A drop in the price of crude oil also played a role in the large declines in the dollar value of products shipped by vessel and pipeline. Crude oil accounts a large share of the commodities carried by these modes. Mineral fuels, a commodity category that includes crude oil and coal, accounted for 10.1% of total value of U.S.-NAFTA trade in July.
Despite the overall decline, trucks carried 64.7% 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 $27.8 billion of the $44.6 billion of imports, or 62.4%, and $26.4 billion of the $39.1 billion of exports, or 67.4%%. Rail remained the second largest …Read the rest of this story
