Another positive sign for the national trucking industry is that surface transportation between the United States, Canada and Mexico was significantly higher this summer than the same period the year before.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the U.S. Department of Transportation, surface trade, which mainly involves commercial trucking, was 18.1 percent higher in July 2011 than in July 2010. The total amount made from that trucking trade between the U.S. and its North American neighbors was $72.4 billion.

The increase in commercial trucking between North American countries is also 40 percent higher than July 2009, 29.4 percent higher than July 2006 and 77.1 percent higher than July 2001. As commercial trucking continues to grow it also continues to be the preferred form of shipping between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico. This past July, 85 percent of trade between the U.S. and its neighbors to the north and south moved via land, with the majority of those shipments taking place on commercial trucks.

The growth in trucking between countries is a sign that the economic outlook has some bright spots but it also demonstrates that commercial trucking continues to be a healthy industry that continues to look for quality trained commercial truck drivers that possess a CDL. Students at the Diesel Driving Academy of Baton Rouge are being prepared to fill the growing number of jobs that are required as ground trade continues to grow, not only internationally but domestically between states and regions.

The amount of trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico via commercial trucks is expected to continue to increase as the federal government works to ease trade restrictions that will make shipping internationally via truck much simpler. Recent trade agreements between the three countries have already led to improved ground trade, as seen in the recent Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ report.
The North American Transborder Freight Database, available since April 1993, contains freight flow data by commodity type and by mode of transportation (rail, truck, pipeline, air, vessel, and other) for U.S. exports to and imports from Canada and Mexico, according to the BTS website. This type of information is being used to monitor freight flows and changes to these since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by the United States, Canada and Mexico in December 1992 and its entry into force on January 1, 1994. The database is also being used for trade corridor studies, transportation infrastructure planning, marketing and logistics plans and other purposes. It allows users to analyze movement of merchandise by all land modes, waterborne vessels, and by air carriers.

More information on TransBorder Freight Data and data from previous months are posted on the BTS website at http://www.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/. BTS will release August TransBorder numbers on Nov. 1.