North American freight up 2.1% YoY to $131.6 bn in Feb

Transborder freight between the United States, Canada, and Mexico rose to $131.6 billion in February 2025, a 2.1 per cent increase compared to February 2024, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

US-Canada freight reached $63.2 billion, up 2.2 per cent from the previous year, while US-Mexico freight totalled $68.4 billion, reflecting a 2.0 per cent rise.

Trucks remained the dominant mode of transportation, carrying $86.6 billion worth of goods, up 3.9 per cent year-on-year. Pipeline shipments surged 23.1 per cent to $10.0 billion. Air freight also increased, rising 4.8 per cent to $4.8 billion. However, rail shipments fell 11.7 per cent to $15.1 billion, and vessel trade dropped 22.9 per cent to $7.7 billion, BTS said in a release.

For US-Canada trade, trucks moved $35.2 billion in goods, followed by pipelines at $9.3 billion, rail at $7.7 billion, air at $3.1 billion, and vessels at $2.6 billion. US-Mexico trade included $51.4 billion moved by truck, $7.5 billion by rail, $5.1 billion by vessel, $1.7 billion by air, and $0.7 billion by pipeline.

Detroit, Port Huron, and Buffalo were the top truck ports for trade with Canada, while Laredo, El Paso, and Otay Mesa led on the southern border. For rail, Detroit, Port Huron, and International Falls were key for US-Canada flows, whereas Laredo, Eagle Pass, and El Paso handled the most rail freight with Mexico. Pipeline connections were led by Chicago, Port Huron, and Minneapolis on the northern border, and El Paso, Hidalgo, and Laredo on the southern side. For waterborne energy shipments, the top US ports with Canada were Boston, Arthur, and Portland, while with Mexico they were Houston, Arthur, and Texas City.

Detroit and Laredo remained the most active land ports for both truck and rail trade.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)