North America trade increases 32% in April

Trade using surface transportation between the United States and Canada and Mexico increased 32.4 percent in April compared with a year earlier, reaching $65.8 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The increase is the third consecutive monthly gain of at least 24 percent from the previous year. Freight value in April remained 11.4 percent less than the value in April 2008.

BTS reported that the value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 5.9 percent in April from March. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.

U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade totaled $39.9 billion in April, up 32.1 percent from April 2009. U.S.-Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $25.9 billion in April, up 32.8 percent from April 2009.

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. In April, 86.6 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land.