Cross-Border Freight on the Rise

The ebb and flow of U.S. cross-border freight offer a lens into the health of international trade. Recently, data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reveals a compelling narrative of resilience and growth in this sector, particularly in truck freight.

In November, the trucking industry demonstrated its robustness with over $82 billion in cross-border freight. Despite a dip from October, this figure reflects a near 5% year-over-year increase, continuing a remarkable 33-month growth streak since February 2021. The northern and southern U.S. borders both experienced growth in freight value – a balanced expansion in trade activity.

Here's the rundown:

• Northern border truck freight saw a 5%+ increase year-over-year.
• Southern border freight value rose nearly 4%.

The top commodities are driving this uptick:

• Northern Border: Computers/parts, vehicles/parts, and electrical machinery.
• Southern Border: Electrical machinery, computers/parts, and vehicles/parts.

In broader terms, total cross-border freight for all transport modes surpassed $131 billion in November. This marks a 4% increase over the previous year, with both Canadian and Mexican freight showing solid gains. The weight of freight crossing borders also rose by over 7% from the previous year, even though there was a slight decrease from October.

Every transport mode except pipeline registered year-over-year gains, with vessel freight leading the pack, followed by gains in rail, trucking, and airfreight.

Source: Land Line Media