[Freight Weekly] Mexico is top trading partner with US

👍Mexico is again the largest trading partner with the United States👍

Trade between the United States and Mexico hit new records, according to the latest data by the U.S. Census Bureau. What’s driving this surge? Nearshoring, friendly trade environment in North America, and an expanding rift with China:

• Mexico’s value of trade with the U.S. during the timeframe of Jan to June of 2024 has totaled a whopping $415.4 billion. This is a record.

• In June 2024 alone, Mexico’s trade value with the United States beat out Canada and China. Mexico, U.S. traded $69.93 billion, making the ally South of the border the largest trading partner for 17 months straight.

• Canada came in second in trade value for June 2024 — $64.3 billion. China came in third in trade value for the month — $45.4 billion.

• High-tech and autos were the leading exports from Mexico to the United States. Mexico’s top imports from the U.S. were fuels and auto parts.

• Trade between the United States and Mexico has climbed for years. Just in February 2024, the Census Bureau reported that the U.S. now buys more from Mexico than China — a first in two decades, per the NY Times.

• The busiest inland port of entry is also still the Port of Laredo, Tex., per 2023 data. During the 2023 calendar year, Laredo handled over $300 bil.

• Nearhsoring has driven much of the increases in trade through Mexico. Already, industry observers are calling for infrastructure investment to ensure nearshoring in Mexico can continue to proliferate as the United States and all of North America shift away from offshoring in China.

• Trade tensions with China continue to rise, despite efforts by the lame duck Biden administration to hold high-level chats to stabilize the very fragile and volatile economic relationship between the two superpowers.

Bottom line: It’s a good day for Mexico. Trade with the United States and ongoing trade with Canada reemphasizes how North America is ultimately a fully integrated trade powerhouse that the whole world buys and sells from.

CONTEXT: Borderlands Mexico: Industry heavyweights drill down on trade at Laredo summit

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📰OTHER NEWS IN FREIGHT📰

🤔Shipping container costs dropping slightly, and new cargo ships to help: In the latest data from Drewry, the world container index has fallen by 2 percent to $5,428 per 40ft container this week. Marketplace.org notes that one of the long-term solutions to reducing trade costs is the deployment of more cargo vessels.

🎂The Panama Canal is now 110 years old: The Panama Canal Authority has marked the 110th anniversary of the vital trade route’s opening on Aug 15, 1914. Read more about the canal’s history on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ site.

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