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TransportNewsCA · US · MX corridorFreight markets and cross-border tradeWednesday, November 4, 2026
Cross-Border

Cross-border freight reaches $160.6 billion in August as truck freight value jumps nearly 30%

U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics figures show U.S. freight trade with Canada and Mexico up 22.6% from a year earlier, with trucks carrying about two-thirds of the value.

By Transport News Staff ·

Freight moving between the United States and its two North American neighbors was worth $160.6 billion in August 2026, up 22.6% from August 2025. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) released the figures on Oct. 21.

Trucks moved $109.0 billion of that freight, up 29.8% from a year earlier. That is about two-thirds of all cross-border freight value, and trucks grew faster than any other mode.

By border

  • U.S.-Mexico: $94.3 billion, up 26.7%
  • U.S.-Canada: $66.3 billion, up 17.1%

Trucks moved $73.9 billion of U.S.-Mexico freight and $35.2 billion of U.S.-Canada freight.

Other modes

  • Rail: $17.2 billion, up 8.7%
  • Pipeline: $10.2 billion, up 22.7%
  • Vessel: $9.7 billion, up 12.0%
  • Air: $6.7 billion, up 3.8%

Rail carried $8.7 billion of freight with Canada and $8.5 billion with Mexico.

Busiest crossings

By value across all modes, Laredo, Texas, was by far the busiest port at about $37.7 billion. It was followed by Ysleta, Texas ($15.8 billion), Detroit ($13.9 billion), Port Huron, Michigan ($8.4 billion) and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York ($7.1 billion). The rest of the top 10 were Santa Teresa, New Mexico; Otay Mesa, California; Eagle Pass, Texas; Hidalgo, Texas; and Pembina, North Dakota.

For trucks, BTS named Detroit, Port Huron and Buffalo as the top crossings with Canada. Laredo, El Paso, Texas, and Otay Mesa were the top truck crossings with Mexico.

The highest-value commodity group was computer-related machinery and parts at about $40.9 billion. Next came vehicles other than railway ($21.1 billion), electrical machinery and equipment ($19.7 billion) and mineral fuels ($19.2 billion).

What it means for carriers

The growth is strongest where trucks dominate: southbound and northbound freight through Texas and the Detroit-Windsor corridor. Mexico freight is growing faster than Canada freight. Carriers with Laredo or El Paso operations are seeing that growth directly.

There is one caveat. BTS reports these values in current U.S. dollars, not adjusted for inflation. Part of the gain may come from higher prices for the goods and from tariff effects on what goods are worth, not only from more loads. Freight value is not the same as truckload counts, so use these figures to judge which corridors are growing, not to measure capacity.

BTS said figures in its monthly release may be revised. Its TransBorder program page has the most current and complete data.

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