In the News
“Freedom Convoy”
Value of Cross Border Trade Between Canada and the U.S.
Over five million commercial trucks cross the United States-Canada border each year carrying $650 billion in goods traded annually between Canada and the United States.
The privately owned Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan is the busiest land border crossing in North America, with up to 10,000 trucks travelling across the bridge daily. Much of the U.S. $12.8 billion annual trade in motor vehicles and auto parts between Canada and the U.S. crosses this bridge. On a daily basis, goods worth an estimated $350-400 million pass over the Ambassador Bridge, amounting to about 27 per cent of all Canadian trade with the U.S.
This includes an estimated $100 million dollars’ worth of auto parts. The U.S. imports approximately $50 million dollars worth of parts per day from Canadian firms, most of which travel over the Ambassador Bridge says Flavio Volpe, president of the (Canadian) Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.
Fresh produce and other agri-food products make up another significant component of goods that cross the Ambassador Bridge daily. Estimated losses for manufacturers in the region due to delays caused by the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge have been reported by business associations to be around $50 million per day.
The Biden administration has announced that U.S. officials “had multiple conversations on Thursday with their Canadian counterparts about the blockade on the Ambassador Bridge, a major trade artery which connects Windsor, Ont. with Detroit,” the CBC reported.
U.S. federal cabinet and senior administration staff “have been engaged around the clock to bring this to a swift end,” the White House said in response to questions from CBC News.
Other border crossings being blockaded are at Coutts, Alberta and Emerson Manitoba.
Goods worth about $44 million cross at Coutts, Alberta on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the Emerson Crossing in Manitoba continues to be blockaded since Thursday, February 10, by protesters in some semi-trailer trucks, farm equipment, snowploughs and construction machinery. Reports indicate they have begun letting livestock and medical vehicles through.
According to Statistics Canada (StatCan), over the last decade — 2011 to 2021 — exports from Canada to the U.S. increased 44. 5 per cent. Imports increased 39.5 per cent over the same period.
2021 Total exports to the U.S. – $477.85 billion
2011 Total exports to the U.S. – $330.67 billion
2021 Total imports from the U.S. – $392.25 billion
2011 Total imports from the U.S. – $281.11 billion
(TML Daily, posted February 11, 2022. With files from Statcan, Reuters, CBC, Global News)
