China Remains Top US Trade Partner, Mexico No. 2

For the second month in a row, China was the main trading partner of the U.S., followed by Mexico in second place and Canada in third. 

Trade between the U.S. and China totaled $59 billion in November, an increase of 30% compared to the same period a year ago, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Mexico's trade with the U.S. totaled $49 billion in November, a decrease of 1.8% from November 2019. Mexico had ranked No. 1 for the same month last year.

Trade between the U.S. and Canada totaled $47 billion in November. It was $17 billion with Japan.

China was also the top U.S. trading partner from January through November, totaling $504 billion, followed by Mexico at $489 billion, Canada at $478 billion and Japan at $167 billion.

The Port of Los Angeles remains the No. 1-ranked port among U.S. gateways in November, followed by Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Port Laredo in Texas was No. 3 for the second straight month, with total trade with the world at $19.8 billion in November. 

Port Laredo ranked No. 4 for total trade among all U.S. ports and border crossings through November. It ranked No. 1 during the same period last year.

While Port Laredo's total trade may be down because of the pandemic, there are still plenty of trucks and loads at the border, said Jordan Dewart, a manager director at Redwood Mexico based in Laredo.  

"This first week of January, load-to-truck [ratio] spiked to over 34-to-1 in Laredo, with volumes of up to 5,000 trucks a day," Dewart said. "That's far ahead of 2019."

According to FreightWaves' SONAR platform, 2021 and 2020 outbound volumes (highlighted in blue) in Laredo are already above recorded levels at this time in 2018 (red) and 2019 (green). FreightWaves SONAR (OTVI.LRD)

Dewart said the increasing number of loads can be attributed to increased production from factories in Mexico, as well as an increase in demand from the U.S. 

"It's just a continued high level of demand from U.S. employers in all sectors: retail health care, consumer electronics, automotive," Dewart said.

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