North American Cross-Border Freight Data by Mode and Commodity

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics TransBorder Freight program provides U.S. cross-border freight data with Canada and Mexico. Data includes mode of transportation, commodity type, and geographic detail for exports and imports, used for trade corridor studies and infrastructure planning. BTS publishes a monthly statistical release highlighting key trends.

Use Cases

• Analyze trade flow volumes by mode of transportation (e.g., trucking, rail) to identify infrastructure bottlenecks.
• Study commodity type distribution across ports of entry or exit for logistics and supply chain optimization.
• Model U.S. export and import trends with Canada and Mexico for economic and trade policy analysis.

Strengths

• Data is published monthly by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, ensuring regular updates.
• Covers U.S. trade with its two largest partners, Canada and Mexico, providing a focused North American scope.
• Part of the official Census FT900 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services data, ensuring authoritative sourcing.

Limitations

• Specific data volume metrics like row count, column count, and file size are not provided in the input.
• The description indicates this is a subset of broader Census data, which may limit the scope of available variables.
• Relies on user interaction with dashboards for visualization; raw data structure and completeness are not detailed.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) TransBorder Freight program, a subset of U.S. Census Bureau FT900 data.

Collection Method

Official U.S. government foreign trade statistics program.

Time Range

Monthly time series data; specific start date not provided.

Freshness

Updated monthly; last metadata update was 2026-02-25.

Geography

U.S. cross-border freight movements with Canada and Mexico.