TREND: Loaded container truck crossings through the top ten U.S. border ports of entry continued to rise above both 2020 and 2019 levels in the first three quarters of 2021. Increases compared to 2019, however, were due entirely to large gains at Laredo Port of Entry (PoE), Port Huron PoE and Otay Mesa PoE. Total passenger and pedestrian crossings increased through nine of the top ten ports in the first three quarters of 2021 compared to 2020. Despite this, noncommercial crossings at each of the top ports remained precipitously below 2019 numbers.
COMMERCIAL TRAFFIC
•Over the first three quarters of 2021, the top ten U.S. border ports of entry registered gains in loaded container truck crossings compared to the same period last year. Laredo PoE, Port Huron PoE, Otay Mesa PoE and El Paso PoE increased the most with gains of approximately 246,000 truck crossings (21.0%), 94,000 truck crossings (22.0%), 88,000 truck crossings (17.0%) and 52,000 truck crossings (16.8%), respectively. In total, loaded container truck crossings through the top ten ports increased by 679,000 (14.9%) in the first nine months of 2021 on a year-over-year basis. The majority of this traffic increase came through ports of entry at the southern border. The top five ports of entry on the southern border increased by roughly 435,000 truck crossings (17.3%) compared to 2020, while the top five ports of entry on the northern border increased by 244,000 truck crossings (12.0%).
•However, seven of the top ten ports continued to fall behind 2019 numbers in the January to September 2021 period. El Paso PoE decreased by nearly 98,000 truck crossings (-21.2%) compared to the same period in 2019, exhibiting the largest loss of the top ports. Buffalo-Niagara Falls PoE and Blaine PoE followed with losses of almost 25,000 truck crossings (-4.4%) and 22,000 truck crossings (-9.4%), respectively.
•The three ports to increase compared to 2019 were: Laredo PoE, Port Huron PoE and Otay Mesa PoE which increased by 118,000 truck crossings (9.1%), 44,000 truck crossings (9.3%) and 40,000 truck crossings (7.0%), respectively. Anchored by the gains at these three ports, loaded container truck crossings through the top ten ports, as a whole, increased by roughly 21,000 (0.4%) in the January to September 2021 period compared to the same period in 2019. The top five ports of entry on the southern border increased by roughly 39,000 truck crossings (1.3%) compared to 2019, while the top five ports of entry on the northern border decreased by nearly 18,000 truck crossings (-0.8%).
Table 1: Change in Commercial Traffic at the Top Ten U.S. Border Ports of Entry
Note: Top ten ports based on 2020 traffic. Numbers are for loaded container truck crossings into the U.S. El Paso PoE includes Ysleta PoE.
Source: Hunt Institute calculations using data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
NONCOMMERCIAL TRAFFIC
•Total passenger and pedestrian crossings increased across nine of the top ten U.S. border ports of entry on a year-over-year basis in the January to September 2021 period. San Ysidro PoE, Otay Mesa PoE and El Paso PoE recorded the largest gains with increases in passenger and pedestrian crossings of 2,550,000 (14.7%), 1,546,000 (22.3%) and 964,000 (8.3%), respectively. Laredo PoE was the only port to decrease with a loss of about 285,000 passenger and pedestrian crossings (-4.7%). In total, passenger and pedestrian crossings through the top ten ports increased by 7,598,000 (11.2%) in the first three quarters of 2021 on a year-over-year basis.
•Nonetheless, each of the top ten ports remained below 2019 levels in the January to September 2021 period. Exhibiting the largest decreases in passenger and pedestrian crossings were El Paso PoE (-7,151,000 or -36.4%) and San Ysidro PoE (-7,139,000 or -26.4%). Laredo PoE followed with a decline of 5,653,000 crossings (-49.5%). In total, passenger and pedestrian crossings through the top ten ports fell by 39,046,000 (-34.1%) in the January to September 2021 period compared to the same period in 2019.
Table 2: Change in Noncommercial Traffic at the Top Ten U.S. Border Ports of Entry
Note: Top ten ports based on 2020 traffic. Numbers are for total passenger and pedestrian crossings into the U.S. El Paso PoE includes Ysleta PoE.
Source: Hunt Institute calculations using data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
TAKEAWAY: During the first nine months of 2021, loaded container truck crossings through the top ten ports exhibited a strong increase compared to 2020 and a minor increase compared to 2019. The increase compared to 2019 was concentrated at only three ports. Large gains in commercial traffic at Laredo PoE (in particular), Port Huron PoE and Otay Mesa PoE being the cause of this increase. The other seven top ports remained down compared to 2019. The top ten ports exhibited a strong increase in total passenger and pedestrian crossings during the first nine months of the year compared to 2020 but remained significantly below 2019 levels. Recent decisions by the American and Canadian governments to allow nonessential travel through their borders are important steps to regaining noncommercial traffic and may signal a turning point in the recovery process.
* Since 2014, the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness at The University of Texas at El Paso has provided economic analysis of the Paso del Norte Region that includes the binational communities of El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The mission of the Hunt Institute is to produce high-quality market analysis tools that can strengthen regional and binational cross-border economic and social development. Twitter: @HuntPasoDeNorte
