MY ETT News » trade

Annual NAFTA trade up 24.3% in 2010

Rhonda Flathman — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:36:23 +0000

Though the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation indicate a significant increase in surface transportation trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico from 2009 to 2010, the value of North American surface trade remains below 2007 and 2008 levels. From 2009 to 2010, trade among North American Free Trade Agreement partners rose 24.3 percent, the largest year-to-year increase since the agreement took effect in 1994. U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade totaled $471 billion in 2010, an increase of 22.1 percent compared to 2009, while U.S.-Mexico surface
transportation trade totaled $320.3 billion in 2010, an increase of 27.6 percent compared to 2009.

NAFTA Trade Numbers Grow, Though Value Remains Down
Surface transportation trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico increased by 24.3 percent in 2010 compared to 2009, reaching $791 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The 24.3 percent increase in trade was the largest year-to-year increase for the years covered by these data. NAFTA went into effect in 1994.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that despite the increase from 2009 to 2010, the value of North American surface trade in 2010 remained below the levels of 2007 and 2008.

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Mex-Am border deal will not limit trucks

Rhonda Flathman — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:02:44 +0000

Unlike the Bush Administration’s truck pilot project with Mexico which capped the number of approved carriers at 100, the new border program between the two countries will allow an unlimited number of truckers to register. However, they will have to comply with a number of rules. For starters, participants must be fluent in English, be subject to frequent drug tests and meet higher safety requirements, such as their trucks being equipped with
electronic on-board recorders. The program will begin with provisional authorization of select carriers, followed by thorough screenings of cross-border truck traffic for three months that will taper off in the fourth month. Once the agreement is signed in June, Mexico will drop half of its retaliatory tariffs, which were implemented when the first pilot program was de-funded.

Mexico City – Unlike the former Mexican truck pilot project, the new cross-border transport pact between Mexico and the U.S. will not limit the number of Mexican truckers who will have full access to the American market.

According to CNN, Mexican officials unveiled several details of the recent agreement that ended a two-year trade war between the two NAFTA countries.

The Bush Administration’s “demonstration” program capped the number of approved carriers at 100, but Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Minister Dionisio Perez-Jacome told media this week that an unlimited number of truckers can register for cross-border transport.

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U.S. truckers like Can-Am border pact

Rhonda Flathman — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:28:06 +0000

Cross-border trading between the U.S. and Canada could get a little smoother thanks to efforts between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama. The two intend to streamline the flow of goods at the border, that would both help the two countries as well as their customers. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has lauded the move as a necessary and welcome move. ATA staff met with U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin to discuss ways to improve cross-border trucking operations.

ARLINGTON, Va., Stephen Harper and Barack Obama’s planned efforts to streamline the flow of goods at the Canada-U.S. border and cut red tape is being lauded by the American Trucking Associations.

“The trucking industry appreciates the efforts of President Obama and Prime Minister Harper to advance the cause of trade between the United States and Canada,” said ATA President Bill Graves. “This agreement is a positive first step to increasing the competitiveness of businesses on both sides of the border.”

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Canada still selling less and buying more

Rhonda Flathman — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:51:16 +0000

Canada’s exports continued to drop, while imports rose, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada. For July, exports declined 0.7 percent, or from $33 billion in June to $32.8 billion in July, marking the fourth decrease in six months. Leading the decrease was industrial machinery such as aircraft, engines and parts. Other export drops included consumer products and forestry products, which fell after 10 straight months of growth. Exports to Canada’s largest trading partner, the United States, fell by 2.2 percent, while imports rose by 2.9 percent. Energy products accounted for over half the growth in overall imports, followed by automotive products and machinery and equipment. For the complete report, visit Stats Canada.

OTTAWA — In July, Canadian exports dropped 0.7 percent while imports grew by 2 percent.

Net result: Canada’s trade deficit with the world widened to $2.7 billion in July from $1.8 billion in June, Stats Canada reports.

Specifically, exports declined from $33 billion in June to $32.8 billion in July. It was the fourth decrease in six months. Aircraft, engines and parts, (-9.6%) and other industrial machinery led the decrease.

Exports of consumer (-7.3%) and forestry products (-5.3% after 10 straight months of growth) also fell.

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FedEx’s Memphis Hub Remains Busiest Cargo Airport

Rhonda Flathman — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:46:20 +0000

For the 18th straight year, Memphis International Airport held its position as the world’s busiest for cargo. Before the recession dampened global demand, some had predicted that Hong Kong could overtake the Tennessee airport. FedEx Corp.’s home airport actually widened the gap with Hong Kong, due to a drop in shipments from Asia as well as the boost it received from the closure of Deutsche Post AG’s DHL unit, which halted its U.S. domestic operations in late 2008 and early 2009.

FedEx Corp.’s Memphis, Tenn., home airport remained the world’s busiest for cargo for the 18th straight year as the gap with Hong Kong widened because of a drop in shipments from Asia, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Memphis International Airport handled 3.698 million metric tons of freight in 2009, a gain of 0.04% from 2008, according to airport data, while Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo traffic fell 7.7% to 3.35 million metric tons, Bloomberg said.

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Alberta, Saskatchewan cut red tape for truckers

Rhonda Flathman — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:26:51 +0000

Two of Canada’s provinces are making an effort to break down barriers in order to boost transportation efficiency. Officials in Alberta and Saskatchewann signed a Memorandum of Understanding that is intended to help grow both provinces’ economies. The agreement is set to harmonize permit conditions for, among others: oversize and overweight loads; the movement of manufactured homes; and relating to the National Safety Code. The memorandum also calls for the establishment of an interprovincial heavy-haul clearance corridor, and a joint research and pilot project on wide-base single tires.

REGINA, Sask. — The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan have agreed to cut red tape for commercial truckers operating in the region.

The two provincial governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow truckers and shippers to transport goods more efficiently between the two provinces.

“Transportation is fundamental to supporting Alberta’s economy and we are committed to seeing that regulations don’t impede the economic competitiveness of either province,” said Luke Ouellette, Alberta Minister of Transportation. “This MOU supports highway safety and the reduction of barriers to inter-provincial transportation.”

“For Saskatchewan’s export-based economy, this means businesses will be more competitive in reaching inter-provincial, national and worldwide markets,” Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure Minister Jim Reiter added. “Our two governments are acting to reduce red tape and enhance our business climate to continue to grow our provincial economies.”

Specifically, the two provinces have agreed to: harmonize permit conditions for turnpike doubles, oversize and overweight loads and GVWs for B-trains; establish an interprovincial heavy-haul clearance corridor; harmonize permit conditions for the movement of manufactured homes; harmonize the regulation and permit conditions based on the National Safety Code; and cooperate on commercial motor vehicle enforcement activities. The provinces will also conduct a joint research and pilot project on wide-base single tires.

The agreement was welcomed by the trucking associations in both provinces.

“The trucking industry is pleased to see this spirit of co-operation to allow us to move more seamlessly between the two provinces and to literally help us keep the economy moving,” president of Saskatchewan Trucking Association, Glen Ertell, said.

And Richard Warnock, president of the Alberta Motor Transport Association added “From a trucking industry perspective this is good news because it highlights all the work that has been done on transportation between Alberta and Saskatchewan over the years to benefit the economy.”

[source - trucknews.com]

Pro-free traders call for rally against NAFTA protectionism

Rhonda Flathman — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:51:41 +0000

Struggling economic times tend to heighten protectionist urges, but the former U.S. Ambassador to Canada is espousing the need for free-trade initiatives. Speaking recently in Quebec City, Gordon Griffin cited the growth that both Canada and the United States have experienced as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). From 1993 to 2006, trade between the two countries more than tripled, and in the U.S., employment, manufacturing output and real hourly wages saw double-digit increases.

Protectionist Buzz Spurs More Vocal NAFTA Support

QUEBEC CITY — As protectionist impulses heighten, former ambassadors have risen up to defend NAFTA and call for more vocal support for continued free trade initiatives.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Gordon Giffin, speaking at the annual conference of the North American Supercorridor Coalition (NASCO) in Quebec City, said economic inefficiencies and dire consequences would be the direct result of increased anti-trade policies and more vocal opposition is needed in order to drown out protectionist cries.

“Even in good times, there is a healthy skepticism about free trade and free-trade deals in the United States,” he said. “That tendency is enhanced and exacerbated by the stresses of our current economic challenges, which results in a perverse policy prescription like ‘Buy American’ which is being advanced by our Congress in the United States and which is, in effect, protectionism on steroids.”

He used a litany of statistics to prove that both Canada and the U.S. have benefited from NAFTA — including that from 1993 to 2006, trade between the two countries grew from $297 billion to $930 billion, U.S. employment rose 25 percent, real hourly wages in the United States rose 24 percent, and U.S. manufacturing output rose 58 percent.

“Without going on and on, by any measure, this has been a success,” he said.

Nevertheless, he added, opponents of free trade have been banging protectionist drums, and he believes it’s time for NAFTA supporters to respond. “If we don’t speak out as advocates, the naysayers will carry the day.”

He said NAFTA has become shorthand for the perceived shortcomings of globalized free trade, and political opponents are working for measures that, in his view, resemble the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which brought U.S. tariffs to their highest protective levels ever and arguably worsened the impending Depression.

His concerns over protectionism were echoed by Michael Kergin, former Canadian ambassador to the U.S., who said North Americans can profit from their own natural economies of scale and increase their cooperation to compete even more effectively in the global economy.

“Economic downturns inevitably increase pressures to resort to protectionism. Yet the impulse behind NAFTA was to insulate somewhat all three partners from these protectionist prescriptions for instant economic gratification,” he said. “I know of no serious economist who lays the blame for the current U.S. job losses exclusively, or even in part, at NAFTA’s doorstep.”

He said free-trade movements in other parts of the world — including the expansion of the European Union to include countries of the former Warsaw Pact, the Mercosur regional trade agreement spearheaded by Brazil, and the consolidation of Chinese ties by the Association of South-East Asian nations (ASEAN) — prove the need for continued, and even expanded free trade in North America.

In his address to delegates from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, Kergin called for dismantling the barriers that prevent NAFTA suppliers from participating in federal and local projects financed though official stimulus funds.

This last point is particularly important, he said, given there have been incidents in all three NAFTA countries where North American companies have been shut out of infrastructure projects.

“Now is an opportune time for our leaders to show the vision, tempered by pragmatism, of their predecessors some 15 years ago,” said Kergin. “All three countries, not just the United States, have some form of exclusionary legislation, principally at state and provincial levels,” he said.

[source - todaystrucking.com]

Lawyer for CANACAR: U.S.-Mexico border should be open to all truckers

Rhonda Flathman — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:39:38 +0000

The latest move in a decades-long battle to open the U.S.-Mexican borders to Mexican trucks is a $6 billion lawsuit filed by Mexico’s trucking lobby for financial losses the industry has experienced in the last three years. Under the Bush administration in 2007, registered Mexican truckers were allowed to operate inside the U.S. border, but various groups have questioned whether those trucks met higher U.S. safety standards. The 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, signed into law by President Obama, eliminated that cross-border project. CANACAR, Mexico’s trucking lobby, says the creation of a new program, which Obama has expressed interest in doing, could lead to negotiations but that the suit would probably not be dropped entirely.

Mexican Trucking Lobby Files Suit Over Closed U.S. Borders, Citing Financial Losses

Despite the escalation in rhetoric over the cross-border trucking debate, a lawyer for the National Chamber of Autotransporte de Carga (CANACAR), the Mexico’s trucking lobby, told Fleet Owner that a compromise is still possible to avoid further damage to the U.S.-Mexican trade relationship.

Pedro M. Ojeda Cárdenas who filed a $6 billion suit under NAFTA Chapter 11 rules against the U.S. on behalf of CANACAR, said if the U.S. restarts the controversial cross-border trucking program in some form it “could open the door to compromise” of the suit.

“I see the position of the Mexican trucking industry,” Attorney Ojeda said. “We don’t want to harass anyone here. If [the U.S.] government comes with a program that is good and beneficial, the Mexican trucking industry would be open to discussions.”

Ojeda said financial losses to the Mexican trucking industry due to U.S. border policies in the past three years– pegged at $2 billion a year– is how the $6 billion figure was obtained. The suit will be heard at a later date by an international arbitrator under NAFTA rules.

The lawyer said the suit is not a reaction to the U.S. killing the cross-border demonstration project, but rather a response to years of border trade issues. “The Mexican trucking industry never agreed with the program,” Ojeda said. “The fact is we are open to the United States but they are not open to Mexico.”

According to Ojeda, the cancellation of the border program by Congress and President Barack Obama, who has said he would like to see another program in place soon, is just the latest dustup in a dispute that dates back to 1982. Prior to 1982, Ojeda said, Mexican truckers “were able to go into the United States. In 1982, the Teamsters and other groups started to oppose the entrance to the U.S.”

The Law of Moratorium was then agreed to by the countries, permitting only those Mexican carriers with current permits to continue operating inside the U.S. border, and then only within a 25-mi. commercial zone. Eventually, in 1994, NAFTA was ratified and borders were supposed to be open to promote commerce across North America. The U.S. agreed in 1998, according to Ojeda, to open the border to Mexican trucking fleets. “But the United States did not open its border,” whereas Mexico did, he said.

A NAFTA Tribunal agreed with Mexico in the dispute, ordering the U.S. to open the border in 2001, which Ojeda said the Bush administration indicated it would. Mexican companies then bought equipment to meet stricter U.S. safety rules. “They lost that money,” Ojeda stated.

Ultimately, the Bush administration came up with the cross-border demonstration project in 2007 that allowed registered Mexican carriers to operate inside the border of the U.S. That program was eliminated when Congress passed the 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, which Obama signed into law.

Since then, Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have both said they will work toward putting another program in place. In retaliation for the cancellation of the program, the Mexican government slapped $2.4 billion worth of tariffs on U.S. goods.

While Ojeda said a new program would not necessarily mean the suit would be dropped, it could open the door to negotiations. After all, he pointed out, the Mexican trucking industry just wants what the U.S. trucking industry has – free access.

[source - fleetowner.com]

NAFTA Trade Falls 30.9% in Record Decline

Rhonda Flathman — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:25:15 +0000

NAFTA trade posted the biggest decline on record, as U.S.-Canada trade and U.S.-Mexico trade plunged more than 33 percent and 25 percent respectively from the previous year. Truck, rail and pipeline imports and exports among the three countries fell.

NAFTA Trade Posts Record Decline

Surface transportation trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico plunged 30.9% in February from a year earlier, the biggest year-to-year decline on record, the Department of Transportation said Thursday.

During the first two months of 2009, the value of surface trade among the North American Free Trade Agreement partners fell 29.1% from the same period last year, DOT’s Bureau of Trade Statistics said in its monthly report.

Truck imports to the United States plunged 29.3% to $17 billion, while exports fell 23.6% to $17.2 billion.

Rail imports plummeted 43.1% to $4.3 billion, while exports fell 37.5% to $2.7 billion, DOT said. Pipeline imports fell 51.4% to $3.3 billion, while exports declined 43.5%, to $508 million.

U.S.-Canada trade fell 33.8% to $29.8 billion. The value of truck imports fell 32% and the value of truck exports fell 28.1%.

U.S.-Mexico trade fell 25.7% to $18.1 billion. The value of truck imports fell 26.4% and the value of truck exports fell 15.4%.

Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. About 90% of U.S. trade among NAFTA partners moves by land.

[source - ttnews.com]