North American Transborder Freight rose 8.2% in January 2025 from January 2024

Thursday, March 27, 2025

BTS 17-25

North American Transborder Freight January 2025 Infographic

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
TransBorder Freight Data: https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/kijm-95mr
The statistics in this release do not reflect changes in inflation or tonnage moved.

Total Transborder Freight by Border in January 2025, Compared to January 2024:
Transborder freight between the U.S. and North American countries Canada and Mexico:

Total transborder freight: $134.4 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, increasing 8.2% compared to January 2024
Freight between the U.S. and Canada: $64.8 billion, up 8.6% from January 2024
Freight between the U.S. and Mexico: $69.6 billion, up 7.9% from January 2024
Trucks moved $87.6 billion of freight, up 10.2% compared to January 2024
Railways moved $15.2 billion of freight, down 2.7% compared to January 2024
Pipelines moved $10.4 billion of freight, up 7.0% compared to January 2024
Vessels moved $8.2 billion of freight, down 18.3% compared to January 2024
Air moved $6.1 billion of freight, up 48.3% compared to January 2024

Bar chart depicting North American Freight by mode January 2024 and 2025

Total Transborder Freight by Border and Mode:

U.S.-Canada (both directions) (Dollars in Billions)		U.S.-Mexico (both directions) (Dollars in Billions)
Truck	$35.6	Truck	$52.0
Pipeline	$9.6	Rail	$7.4
Rail	$7.8	Vessel	$5.3
Vessel	$2.9	Air	$2.1
Air	$4.0	Pipeline	$0.8

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 and Mexico Freight Breakdown

U.S.-Canada Trade Breakdown		U.S.-Mexico Trade Breakdown
Top three truck ports		Top three truck ports
Detroit, MI	$8.6 billion	Laredo, TX	$23.2 billion
Port Huron, MI	$7.3 billion	El Paso-Ysleta, TX	$7.7 billion
Buffalo, NY	$6.3 billion	Otay Mesa, CA	$4.9 billion
Top three truck commodities		Top three truck commodities
Computers/parts	$5.5 billion	Computers/parts	$13.0 billion
Vehicles/parts	$4.6 billion	Electrical machinery	$11.4 billion
Precious metals	$2.4 billion	Vehicles/parts	$6.7 billion
Top three rail ports		Top three rail ports
Detroit, MI	$2.2 billion	Laredo, TX	$3.7 billion
Port Huron, MI	$1.8 billion	Eagle Pass, TX	$2.1 billion
Int'l Falls, MN	$1.0 billion	Nogales, AZ	$0.7 billion
Top three rail commodities		Top three rail commodities
Vehicles/parts	$2.6 billion	Vehicles/parts	$3.6 billion
Mineral fuel	$0.8 billion	Beverages/spirits	$0.7 billion
Plastics	$0.6 billion	Computer machinery	$0.5 billion

Introducing the Forecast Model

TransBorder freight data are released with a two-month delay due to the nature of source data collection, processing, and validation. BTS has developed a model for projecting forecasts of this data gap. The overall goal is to improve the timeless and availability of this critical transportation data to support our researchers, analysts, and freight partners. The information can be found on the TransBorder Freight Data webpage at https://data.bts.gov/stories/s/Forecast/h73b-4dgk.

Reporting Notes

All monetary values are in current U.S. 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 Wednesday, April 23, 2025.