Detroit on the Canadian border and Laredo, Texas, on the Mexican border were the top U.S. ports for the value of trade moved by truck in 2006, according to a special report on North American freight transportation from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which is part of the Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Detroit was the gateway for $64 billion in merchandise carried by truck to Canada and $51 billion from Canada. That’s almost twice the value of goods passing through the next ranking Canadian port, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
On the Mexican border, $34 billion in merchandise was exported and $44 billion was imported through Laredo by truck. That, too, was almost double the value of the goods that passed through El Paso, Texas, the next-ranking port.
In 2006, trucks transported $534 billion in U.S.-North American freight – 62 percent of all freight movements across the borders.
For a copy of the BTS report, click here.
