NAFTA freight in July up slightly from 2018

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that in July trucks moved 62% of NAFTA freight – with trains, planes, ships and pipelines picking up the rest. Four of five modes experienced a yearly increase, accounting for a modest net increase.

The value of freight hauled across the borders decreased by 1.3% compared with June, when freight decreased by 5.5% from the previous month.

Compared to July 2018, freight was up 1.2% after a 2.3% decrease in June and a 2.4% increase in May. December’s decrease broke a 25-month streak of year-to-year increases. The last year-to-year decrease before that occurred in October 2016.

In 2018, NAFTA freight increased by 1% compared to the previous year, with 63% of that freight carried by trucks. July’s increase puts NAFTA at a 10.5% increase for the year so far.

Trucks carried nearly $64 billion of the more than $102 billion of imports and exports in July.

Year-to-year, Canada truck freight decreased by 1.2%, whereas Mexico freight increased by 4.2%. Top truck commodities were computers and parts, motor vehicles and parts, electrical machinery, plastics, and measuring/testing instruments.

Freight totaled $102.441 billion, down more than $1 billion from the previous month but an increase of more than $1 billion from July 2018. February was the last month NAFTA reached a total value this low at $94.189 billion. However, NAFTA has been consistently above $100 billion since March.

Air freight accounted for the largest increase, at 13.8% after a decrease of 4.3% in June. Pipeline freight had the second highest increase at 4.3%, followed by rail freight with a 3% decrease. Vessel freight experienced the only yearly decrease at 11.1%.

Approximately 55% of U.S.-Canada freight was moved by trucks, followed by rail at 15.4%. Of the more than $52 billion of freight moving in and out of Mexico, trucks carried nearly 70% of the loads.