North American Transborder Freight down 0.3% in March 2023 from March 2022

Thursday, May 25, 2023

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BTS 25-23
May 24, 2023
Contact: BTSnews@dot.gov

North American Transborder Freight down 0.3% in March 2023

from March 2022

The statistics in this release may not reflect changes in tonnage moved.

Total Transborder Freight by Border in March 2023, Compared to March 2022:
Transborder freight between the U.S. and North American countries Canada and Mexico:

Total transborder freight: $141.5 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, down 0.3% compared to March 2022
Freight between the U.S. and Canada totaled $69.4 billion, down 4.8% from March 2022
Freight between the U.S. and Mexico totaled $72.1 billion, up 4.5% from March 2022
Trucks moved $90.2 billion of freight, up 5.4% compared to March 2022 with increased exports of electrical machinery, computers, and vehicle parts from Mexico.
Railways moved $18.6 billion of freight, down 7.9% compared to March 2022
Pipelines moved $10.1 billion of freight, down 17.6% compared to March 2022
Vessels moved $10.8 billion of freight, down 9.8% compared to March 2022
Air moved $5.2 billion of freight, down 7.9% compared to March 2022

Bar chart showing North American freight by mode for March 2022 and 2023

Total Transborder Freight by Border and Mode:

U.S.-Canada (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions)
Truck: $39.4
Rail: $10.0
Pipeline: $9.5
Air: $3.3
Vessel: $2.8

U.S.-Mexico (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions)
Truck: $50.8
Rail: $8.6
Vessel: $8.0
Air: $1.8
Pipeline: $0.6

Detroit, Port Huron, and Buffalo are the top truck ports for U.S. freight flows with Canada, while Laredo, El Paso, and Otay Mesa are the top truck ports with Mexico. Detroit, Port Huron, and International Falls are the top rail connection ports for U.S. freight flows with Canada, while Laredo, Eagle Pass, and El Paso are the top rail connection ports with Mexico. Chicago, Port Huron, and Minneapolis are the top pipeline connection regions for U.S. energy freight flows with Canada. El Paso, Hidalgo, and Laredo are the top pipeline connection regions with Mexico. Port of Boston, Arthur, and Portland are the top water port connections for U.S. energy flows with Canada. Port of Houston, Arthur, and Texas City are the top water port connections for U.S. energy flows on the Southern border.

U.S.-Canada Trade Breakdown

Top three truck ports
Detroit, MI $11.0 billion
Port Huron, MI $6.9 billion
Buffalo, NY $6.6 billion

Top three truck commodities
Computers/parts $6.7 billion
Vehicles/parts $5.4 billion
Electrical machinery $2.6 billion

Top three rail ports
Port Huron, MI $2.8 billion
Detroit, MI $2.2 billion
Int'l Falls, MN $1.2 billion

Top three rail commodities
Vehicles/part $3.7 billion
Mineral fuel $0.8 billion
Plastics $0.6 billion

U.S.-Mexico Trade Breakdown

Top three truck ports
Laredo, TX $23.4 billion
El Paso-Ysleta, TX $6.9 billion
Otay Mesa, CA $5.3 billion

Top three truck commodities
Electrical machinery $11.3 billion
Computers/parts $10.0 billion
Vehicles/parts $7.3 billion

Top three rail ports
Laredo, TX $4.3 billion
Eagle Pass, TX $2.5 billion
Nogales, AZ $0.9 billion

Top three rail commodities
Vehicles/parts $4.2 billion
Computers/part $0.7 billion
Cereals $0.5 billion

Reporting Notes

All monetary values are in current US dollars and are not adjusted for inflation or seasonality. For previous statistical releases and summary tables, see transborder releases. See transborder freight data for data from previous months, and additional state, port, and commodity data. BTS has scheduled the next release of transborder numbers for June 21, 2023.