NAFTA Surface Trade Rose 12 Percent in October

The value of trade using surface transportation between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico rose 12 percent to $79 billion in October, the Transportation Department reported.

Totals were up for trade with both U.S. partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S.-Canada trade posted a 14.1 percent year-over-year gain to $46.4 billion. U.S.-Mexico trade rose 9.1 percent to $32.6 billion.

The October total was up 28.7 percent from two years ago and up 8.7 percent from October 2008, at the start of the recession.

The statistics cover freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, Foreign Trade Zones, and other modes. In October, 86.1 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 9.6 percent moved by vessel, and 4.3 percent moved by air.

-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.