WASHINGTON, D.C. and ARLINGTON, VA – The value of freight moved between the U.S. and Canada plummeted while for-hire truck tonnage moving in the U.S. is near a record high, according to two new reports.

The value of U.S.-Canada freight totaled US$48.3 billion in September 2015, down 15.8 percent from September 2014, as all modes of transportation carried less value of U.S.-Canada freight than a year earlier, according to the U.S. Transportation Department.

Lower mineral fuel prices, especially crude oil, contributed to the decrease. Mineral fuels are a large share of freight carried by vessel and pipeline, which were down 35.7 percent and 42.1 percent, respectively, year-over-year.

The top commodity category for all modes transported between the U.S. and Canada during September was vehicles and parts, of which US$5.4 billion, or 60.8 percent, moved by truck.

Trucks carried 59.1 percent of the US$48.3 billion of freight to and from Canada, followed by rail, 15.1 percent; pipeline, 9.2 percent; air, 4.9 percent; and vessel, 4.0 percent.

The surface transportation modes of truck, rail and pipeline carried 83.4 percent of the total U.S.-Canada freight flows.

The same report showed the value freight moved between the U.S. and its neighbors of Canada and Mexico totaled US$93.2 billion in September, an 8.8 percent decline from September 2014, as all modes of transportation carried less value of freight than a year earlier, due to the reduced mineral fuel prices.

U.S. For-Hire Tonnage Approaching Record Level

A separate report shows for-hire freight south of the border is booming, with the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increasing 1.9 percent in October, following a downwardly revised decrease of 0.7 percent during September.

In October, the index equaled 135.7, up from 133.1 in September, and just below the all-time high of 135.8 reached in January 2015.

Compared with October 2014, it increased 2 percent, which was above the year-over-year increase of 1.6 percent in September. However, October’s year-over-year gain was well below the year-to-date figure through October, compared with the same period last year, when it was 3 percent.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 139.8 in October,  2.1 percent  above the previous month’s reading of 136.9.

“It was good to see tonnage increase nicely in October after contracting a total of 1.6% in August and September” says ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “However, tonnage has been overall pretty flat this year, as October’s reading is just shy of January’s level.

Despite the overall improvement he remains concerned about the high level of inventories throughout the supply chain.

“We recently learned that inventories throughout the supply chain and relative to sales rose in September, which is not a good sign. This will have a negative impact on truck freight volumes over the next few months,” Costello explained.

Watch this video to see Costello expand on this month’s tonnage report.