William B. Cassidy | Aug 02, 2011 1:21PM EDT
The value of goods transported by truck and rail between the U.S., Mexico and Canada rose 15.7 percent in May, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said.
That year-over-year increase follows a 12.1 percent gain in April and a 15.6 percent jump in March, when NAFTA surface trade set a monthly record of $80.8 billion.
The BTS figures underscore a recovery from the recession in trade among the North American nations, with the value of goods traded reaching pre-recession levels.
NAFTA trade by truck, rail and pipeline is 61.5 percent higher than in May 2009, but only 4.3 percent higher than its May 2008 level, according to the BTS.
The year-over-year percentage changes were even more dramatic last year, when BTS growth figures topped 30 percent from March through June. May’s trade level was up 17.2 percent compared with the same month in 2006.
Sequentially, the value of U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico was up 4.8 percent from April in May, but down 4.3 percent from its record peak in March. In May, 84.8 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 11.1 percent moved by vessel, and 4.1 percent moved by airplane.
The value of goods transported by truck across the U.S. border was up 13.3 percent year-over-year. Trucks accounted for 69.1 percent of all the total trade.
The value of goods transported by rail increased 15.3 percent, with railroads handling 17.1 percent of the total freight value, according to BTS data.
Surface trade with Mexico was up 16.6 percent year-over-year in May and 6.5 percent from April, according to the Department of Transportation agency.
U.S.-Canadian trade rose 15.1 percent in May and 3.7 percent from April.
--Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc