Cross-border freight increases slightly in October

Cross-border freight hauled by trucks increased in October compared to the previous month and remains up compared to the previous year.

According to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, more than $83 billion worth of trucking freight was hauled across the borders in October. That is an increase of nearly 2% from September and an increase of nearly 13% compared to October 2021.

Cross-border freight hauled by trucks across the U.S. northern border rose by 0.5% compared to September. At the southern border, the value of freight increased by nearly 3%.

The top three truck commodities at the northern border are computers/parts ($5.7 billion), vehicles/parts ($4.7 billion) and electrical machinery ($2.4 billion). At the Mexican border, top commodities include electrical machinery ($11.1 billion), computers/parts ($11 billion) and vehicles/parts ($6.6 billion).

By weight, trucking cross-border freight went up nearly 6% compared to September.

Accounting for all modes of transportation, the total value of cross-border freight reached nearly $134 billion in October. That is a decrease of only 0.1% compared to the previous month, but an increase of nearly 14% compared to the previous year.

Canadian freight is down nearly 2% compared to the previous month, whereas Mexican freight increased by more than 1%.

By weight, freight crossing the borders went up by more than 1% compared to last October and increased by nearly 2% compared to September.

All modes except for pipeline and vessel freight experienced an increase in freight in October. Airfreight experienced the largest increase at nearly 5%, followed by truck and rail each at 1.7%. Pipeline freight went down nearly 12%. Vessel freight was down more than 2%. LL