US-Mexico trade hits record $415B through first half of year

Port Laredo, Texas, remains No. 1-ranked U.S. trade gateway for June

For the month of June, trade between the U.S. and Mexico totaled $69.93 billion, led by goods such as computers, passenger vehicles, auto parts, gasoline and commercial vehicles. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Mexico’s trade with the United States’ totaled $415.4 billion from January through June, the highest total ever recorded for the time period, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.

Canada’s trade with the U.S. the first six months of the year totaled $382.6 billion, while U.S. trade with China totaled $269.2 billion.

For the month of June, Mexico’s trade with the U.S. totaled $69.93 billion, a 2.1% increase from the same month in 2023. It was the sixth consecutive month and 16th of the past 17 months Mexico has been No. 1 in trade with the U.S.

Canada ranked No. 2 for trade with the U.S. in June at $64.3 billion, and China ranked third at $45.4 billion.

Mexico’s exports to the U.S. totaled $42.2 billion in June, a 2.8% year-over-year increase, while imports from the U.S. to Mexico increased 1.1% to $27.7 billion.

The top three exports from Mexico to the U.S. during the month were computers ($4.4 billion) passenger vehicles ($4.1 billion) and commercial vehicles ($3.3 billion), according to Census Bureau data analyzed by WorldCity.

Top imports from the U.S. to Mexico during June were gasoline and other fuels ($2.93 billion), auto parts ($1.7 billion) and computer chips ($1.1 million).

Laredo, Texas, was the No. 1-ranked U.S. trade gateway in June among the nation’s 450 airports, seaports and border crossings. It was the 15th consecutive month the Laredo border crossing was the country’s top-ranked international commercial trade port.

Laredo recorded $27.8 billion in two-way trade in the month. The Port of Los Angeles ranked No. 2 at $26.5 billion, followed by Chicago O’Hare International Airport at $23 billion.

In June, Laredo handled 249,915 commercial truck crossings between Mexico and the U.S., a 1% year-over-year decline. During the month of July, Laredo processed 258,924 trucks, a 9.4% year-over-year increase compared to the same month last year.

Laredo outbound tender volumes (OTVI.LRD) have consistently increased since the beginning of July, according to FreightWaves’ SONAR platform. 

Tender rejection rates for Laredo (OTRI.LRD) currently sit at 6.5%, the second highest of the year, indicating capacity is tightening in the market.

FreightWaves SONAR Outbound Tender Volume Index for Laredo (blue), shows steady increases since the beginning of July. The Tender Reject Index (red) has also been rising. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

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Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com