Mexico was the United States’ largest trade partner for a second consecutive month in September with two-way trade increasing 23% to more than US $67 billion, new data shows.
United States Census Bureau data shows that two-way trade totaled $67.4 billion in September, with almost 60% of that amount coming from Mexican exports to its northern neighbor.
Mexican exports were worth just over $39.5 billion in September while imports from the U.S. were worth just over $27.9 billion.
That left Mexico with a monthly trade surplus of almost $11.6 billion, a 25.3% increase compared to the same month last year.
The value of its exports — which include cars, computers, oil and agricultural products — was up 23.3% annually in September, while Mexico’s outlay on U.S. imports increased 22.5%. It was the 19th consecutive month that the value of Mexican exports to the U.S. increased on an annual basis.
The value of trade between Mexico and the United States was slightly higher than that between the U.S. and Canada in both August and September.
Mexico and the U.S. shipped goods worth $587.5 billion to each other in the first nine months of the year, a new record for the period and a 21% increase compared to last year. Mexican exports accounted for almost $341.7 billion, or 58%, of the total, while imports from the U.S. were worth $245.8 billion. Mexico thus had a trade surplus of $95.8 billion with the U.S. in the first nine months of the year, a new record high.
While Mexico was the United States No. 1 trade partner in August and September, it is in second spot behind Canada for the January-September period, as U.S.-Canada trade was worth a slightly higher $604.1 billion to the end of the latter month.
U.S.-China trade totaled just under $526.8 billion in the period, making the Asian economic powerhouse the No. 3 trade partner of the world’s largest economy in the first nine months of the year.