North American transborder freight: Estimated 6.2% decrease between September 2024 to September 2025

This release is published on a fixed schedule as required by the Office of Management and Budget, and statistics in this release may be revised when inputs to the statistics are corrected or updated. Data on the program page of this website are the most up-to-date and complete.

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics TransBorder Freight Data.
The statistics in this release do not reflect changes in inflation or tonnage moved.

This report presents estimated North American Transborder Freight data for September 2025. Due to the temporary disruption of standard data flows caused by the recent lapse in appropriations, official data are not yet available. These estimates were derived by calculating the simple arithmetic mean (average) of the corresponding September data from the past four years. Actual values will be released once the necessary data systems and original sources are resumed.

Estimated Total Transborder Freight in September 2025 (Estimate), Compared to September 2024

Estimated transborder freight between the U.S. and North American countries Canada and Mexico:

Total estimated transborder freight: $127.8 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, a decrease of 6.2% compared to September 2024
Estimated freight between the U.S. and Canada: $62.3 billion, down 2.3% from September 2024
Estimated freight between the U.S. and Mexico: $65.5 billion, down 9.7% from September 2024
Trucks moved an estimated $80.3 billion of freight, down 9.2% compared to September 2024
Railways moved an estimated $16.7 billion of freight, down 2.2% compared to September 2024
Pipelines moved an estimated $9.8 billion of freight, down 15.2% compared to September 2024
Vessels moved an estimated $10.2 billion of freight, down 0.5% compared to September 2024
Air moved an estimated $4.6 billion of freight, up 0.14% compared to September 2024
Freight by Mode estimate comparison of Sept. 2024 and Sept. 2025, modes about the same in 2024. Though Truck had almost $10B more in 2024.
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics TransBorder Freight Data.

Total Estimated Transborder Freight by Border and Mode

U.S.-Canada (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions) U.S.-Mexico (both directions)
(Dollars in Billions)
Truck $34.2 Truck $46.1
Pipeline $9.0 Rail $7.7
Rail $8.9 Vessel $7.3
Vessel $2.9 Air $1.7
Air $2.8 Pipeline $0.9

Detroit, Port Huron, and Buffalo are the top truck ports for U.S. freight flows with Canada, while Laredo, El Paso, and Otay Mesa are the top truck ports with Mexico.

Detroit, Port Huron, and International Falls are the top rail connection ports for U.S. freight flows with Canada, while Laredo, Eagle Pass, and El Paso are the top rail connection ports with Mexico.

Chicago, Port Huron, and Minneapolis are the top pipeline connection regions for U.S. energy freight flows with Canada. El Paso, Hidalgo, and Laredo are the top pipeline connection regions with Mexico.

Port of Boston, Arthur, and Portland are the top water port connections for U.S. energy flows with Canada. Port of Houston, Arthur, and Texas City are the top water port connections for U.S. energy flows on the Southern border.

Top 5 Ports and Commodities

Port USD Commodity USD
Laredo - Texas 25,161,322,428 Vehicles 20,632,461,079
Detroit - Michigan 12,227,362,670 Mineral fuels 18,422,661,863
Port Huron - Michigan 8,653,138,986 Computers 18,208,260,556
Buffalo - New York 7,126,804,400 Electrical machinery 14,568,652,674
Ysleta - Texas 6,145,747,798 Plastics 4,930,792,540

Reporting Notes

The figures in this report are estimates. The primary data source for actual values are not available due to the lapse of appropriations. All monetary values are in current U.S. dollars and are not adjusted for inflation or seasonality. For previous statistical releases and summary tables, see transborder releases. See transborder freight data for data from previous months, and additional state, port, and commodity data. BTS has scheduled the next release of transborder numbers for Wednesday, January 7, 2026.