Can-Am surface trade rises; NAFTA up 61% in two years

WASHINGTON – Trade hauled by truck from Canada to the U.S. increased by 11.2 percent in May from the year before and 6.5 percent from April 2011.

Canada bound trade also jumped by 12.7 percent from May 2010, while month-to-month exports edged up 2,1 percent, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Overall, trade using surface transportation – including rail and pipeline transport — between the United States and Canada and Mexico was 15.7 percent higher in May 2011, totaling $77.3 billion.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with the other NAFTA partners in May 2011 rose 61.5 percent in two years from May 2009, but has still only risen 4.3 percent above the early recession level of May 2008.