Canada-U.S. Truck Border Crossing Figures Reveal Surprises

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New analysis of data shows truck traffic between Canada and the U.S. has declined while it has increased between the U.S. and Mexico.

The Journal of Commerce reports U.S. Transportation Department figures show since the second quarter of 2005, truck crossings between Canada and the U.S. decreased 16 percent but grew 19 percent between the U.S. and its neighbor to the south.

Also, truck crossings at both U.S. borders have increased since 2009, as the level with Mexico approaches what the U.S. has with Canada.

It reports in the second quarter of this year, Mexican border truck crossings with the U.S. were up 2.6 percent year-over-year, while crossings at the U.S. Canadian border dropped 1.6 percent.

Compared to the first quarter of the year, Canadian truck crossings increased 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2015, while there was a 5.1 percent jump in June from May after falling in April from May.

At Detroit, the second-largest U.S. truck border crossing, truck volumes increased 3.4 percent from the first quarter, according to JOC, but were down 4.6 percent year-over-year.

Laredo, TX is the busiest U.S. truck border crossing. Activity there increased 3.9 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter and 4 percent year over year, breaking past the 500,000 truck mark for the first time in the second quarter.

There was a similar pattern at Buffalo, NY, the third-largest U.S. port of entry for trucks, when compared to Detroit, where traffic was up 7.6 percent from the first quarter but down 2.4 percent from a year ago.

According to JOC, Port Huron, MI, also gained traction, with truck traffic increasing 7.6 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter and 2.3 percent from a year ago. The second quarter improvement was the port’s first consecutive quarterly rise in truck crossings in a year.


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