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.¡±
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,¡± Dew
