1. 4th Bi-Annual Border to Border Transportation Conference
South Padre Island, Texas
November 13-15, 2012
US-Mexico Cross-Border
Freight Traffic Trends
Geza Pesti and Rafael Aldrete-Sanchez
Center for International Intelligent Transportation Research
Texas A&M Transportation Institute

2. Significance
• Imports from Mexico Using Land Modes of Transport (1996-
2011 average)
• Following the 2007 global financial crisis, U.S. trade sharply
declined worldwide.
• In 2009, imports from Mexico fall by 39.2%1.
• Has there been a sustained recovery after 2009?

3. • Identify trends in freight
activities across the US-
Mexico border
• Quantify temporal and
spatial variations in
surface trade.
Objectives
Analyze cross-border freight
activities by
• Mode of transport
• Commodities
• Border states
• Ports and destination
states
Approach
Trans-Border Surface Freight Database of
the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Primary Data Source:

4. 0
100
200
300
400
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
BillionsUSD
Surface Trade between U.S. and Mexico
19% 18%
11% 13%
23%
-5%
-1%
0%
12%
7%
13%
5% 2%
-14%
28%
15%
Early 2000s recession
2007 global financial
crisis

5. Imports
57%
Exports
43%
Surface Trade
(2004-2011 average)
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Millions USD
Import
Export
Surface Trade between U.S. and Mexico

6. Trade by Surface Mode
Truck
82%
Rail
16%
Other
2%
Truck
80%
Rail
15%
Other
5%
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Millions USD
All Surface Modes
Truck
Rail
Import
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Millions USD
All Surface Modes
Truck
Rail
Export

7. Seasonal Variation

8. Surface Trade of US States with Mexico
Ranked Based on Value of Traded Goods (2005-2011)
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Texas
California
Michigan
Arizona Illinois
MillionsUSD

9. Freight Flow by Commodities
Change in the freight value was evaluated based on six
commodity groups2:
• Group 1: Food, beverages, agricultural commodities (HS-code: 1-24)
• Group 2: Minerals, chemicals, plastic, fossil fuels (HS-code: 25-40)
• Group 3: Wood, fabrics, paper products, books (HS-code: 41-71)
• Group 4: Metals, metallic materials (HS-code: 72-81)
• Group 5: Manufactured goods (HS-code: 82-96)
• Group 6: Other goods (HS-code: 97-99)

10. Top Five Ports of Entry
Over 80 % of cross-border trade between the US and Mexico
is concentrated at the following five ports:
• Laredo, TX
• Hidalgo, TX
• El Paso, TX
• Otay Mesa Station, CA
• Nogales, AZ

11. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Food, beverages, agricul
tural commodities
Minerals, chemicals, pla
stic, fossil fuels
Wood, fabrics, paper
products, books
Metals, metallic goods
Manufactured goods
Other goods
0 10
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
0 10 200 10 20 30 0 10
Laredo El Paso Hidalgo
Otay
Mesa
Nogales
Import from Mexico (Billion USD)
Import by Commodity Groups

12. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Food, beverages, agricul
tural commodities
Minerals, chemicals, pla
stic, fossil fuels
Wood, fabrics, paper
products, books
Metals, metallic goods
Manufactured goods
Other goods
0 10
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
0 10 200 10 20 30 0 10
Laredo El Paso Hidalgo
Otay
Mesa
Nogales
Export to Mexico (Billion USD)
Export by Commodity Groups

13. Summary
Trends and spatial variations in US-
Mexico cross-border freight by
• Mode of transport
• Commodities
• Border states
• Ports and destination states
Results in:
CIITR Research Brief
US-Mexico Cross-Border Freight
Traffic Trends
Looked at…
Will be interesting to see ….
• Can the 2010-2011 positive trends be
sustained?
• What will be the impact of the predicted
“Fiscal Cliff” after January