In June 12th’s graphic detail, The Economist
expounds upon a growing discrepancy in U.S.-Mexico trade relations. While trade between the two countries
(in manufactured goods mostly) has grown immensely since signing NAFTA in
1995, border traffic has remained relatively stagnant. Almost 20 years ago, merchandise trade
was valued at under $100 billion, but by 2011, that figure rose to more than
$450 billion. In total, bilateral trade was worth over half a trillion dollars. On the other hand, the number of trucks - the most significant transportation mechanism for America-Mexico trade - has
actually fallen in the past decade, experiencing only a slight increase since
’95. Why the inconsistency? Christopher E. Wilson of the Border
Research Partnership, whose study The Economist highlights, states, “there is
an incentive to be as efficient as possible. Trucks are packing more value in
the same space. As evidence, the number of loaded truck containers grew faster
than the number of trucks crossings (since the 90s), and loaded containers
increased much faster than the growth of empty truck containers." No doubt, the heightened border
security has impeded the growth in border crossings, but it appears trade is evolving
correspondingly.
About TeachingwithData.org
TeachingWithData.org is a partnership between the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN), both at the University of Michigan. The project is funded by NSF Award 0840642, George Alter (ICPSR), PI and William Frey (SSDAN), co-PI.
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