Apparently, the U.S. has a whole Bureau dedicated to transportation statistics; the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. There is a lot of information on their website; bts.gov. In looking at the wealth of information available, it seems one of their efforts is dedicated to tracking trans-border shipments. It is easy to recall seeing lines of trucks at border crossings; most shown is the Mexico-U.S. border. And truck transport is indeed the number one mode of transport of goods across our borders. But rail plays an important, though often overlooked second-place role. Here is some data directly from their website for the month of April 2021:
Rail Freight: $15.7 billion (14.7% of all trans-border freight)
By border:
U.S.-Canada: $8.4 billion (16.0% of all northern border freight)
U.S.-Mexico: $7.3 billion (13.4% of all southern border freight)
Compared to April 2020:
U.S.-Canada up 132.4%
U.S.-Mexico up 213.9%
Three busiest rail border ports (49.0% of total transborder rail freight)
Laredo, TX $3.5 billion
Eagle Pass, TX $2.2 billion
Detroit, MI $2.0 billion
Top three rail commodities (54.9% of total transborder rail freight)
Motor vehicles and parts $6.0 billion
Mineral fuels $1.4 billion
Wood and articles $1.3 billion
Total Transborder Freight by Mode:
U.S.-Canada (both directions) (Dollars in Billions)
Truck: $30.0
Rail: $8.4
Pipeline: $5.9
Air: $2.7
Vessel: $2.4
U.S.-Mexico (both directions) (Dollars in Billions)
Truck: $38.4
Rail: $7.3
Vessel: $5.5
Air: $1.4
Pipeline: $0.6
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