Cross-border freight back up in January

After a small dip in December, cross-border freight hauled by trucks went back up in January.

According to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, truck freight valued at more than $79 billion was hauled across the borders in January. That was an increase of nearly 9% from December and represented an increase of more than 2% compared to January 2023.

January’s rise in cross-border freight continued an upward trend that began at the end of 2020. Since November 2020, trucking freight hauled across the borders experienced a year-to-year drop only twice: February 2021 and December 2023.

Cross-border freight hauled by trucks across the U.S. northern border rose by more than 1% compared to January 2023. At the southern border, the value of freight decreased by 3%.

The top three truck commodities at the northern border were computers/parts ($5.7 billion, up 1.8%), vehicles/parts ($4.9 billion, up 2.2%) and electrical machinery ($2.3 billion, up 2.2%). At the Mexican border, top commodities included electrical machinery ($10.3 billion, up 3.4%), computers/parts ($9.4 billion, up 4.5%) and vehicles/parts ($6.3 billion, up 0.6%).

By weight, cross-border freight hauled by trucks went up by 0.5% compared to the previous year and increased by 15% compared to December. Year-to-year, North American truck freight by weight has increased only four times since July 2022.

Top Canadian commodities for trucking by weight included wood (up 3%), iron/steel (up 12.5%) and vehicles (up 6%). In Mexico, the top three commodities were edible vegetables/roots (down 6%), vehicles (down 2%) and edible fruits/nuts (down 3%).

Accounting for all modes of transportation, the total value of cross-border freight reached more than $124 billion in January. That was a decrease of more than 1% compared to the previous year but a gain of more than 2% compared to the previous month.

January’s year-to-year decline continued a downward trend that began in March 2023. In 2023, cross-border freight dropped in eight months, including a seven-month streak that started in March. Prior to that, North American freight saw a two-year growth streak.

Canadian freight was down 3.5% compared to the previous year, whereas Mexican freight rose by 1%.

By weight, freight crossing the borders went up by nearly 3% compared to January 2023 and increased by more than 3% compared to December.

All modes of freight transportation except trucking experienced a drop in freight by value in January compared to the previous year, with airfreight down 14%, pipeline down 7%, rail down 7% and vessel freight down 4%. LL