Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Jul 31, 2012 2:41PM EDT
Trade via surface transportation between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, Canada and Mexico, rose 8.3 percent in value in May from a year earlier, the Transportation Department said.
Adjusted for inflation and exchange rates, the May 2012 total was $60.7 billion in 2004 dollars, up 11.7 percent from May 2011.
U.S.-Mexico surface trade in May totaled $35.6 billion, up 14.9 percent year-over-year. U.S.-Canada trade totaled $48.1 billion, a 4 percent increase.
The top U.S.-Canada commodity in May was vehicles, valued at $9.5 billion. The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Mexico by surface transportation was electrical machinery, $7.6 billion
The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico increased 5 percent in May 2012 from April 2012. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.
In May, 86.5 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved via land, 9.6 percent moved by vessel, and 3.8 percent moved by air.
Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.
