Border Crossings and Ports: What Open Data Says

Why this matters. If you run a cross-border lane, a rate quoted for "the border" can hide a lot. Which port the truck uses, and what the quote assumes about waiting at the crossing, changes the real cost of the load. Open government data shows where trucks actually cross. It does not show how long they wait, and that gap is worth understanding before you price a lane.

The big picture

Trucks entering the U.S. by land totaled 12,797,830 in the 12 months to August 2026, 1.2% lower than the 12 months before. The Mexico border carried 7,613,105 (+0.6%) and the Canada border 5,184,725 (-3.7%). The latest month in the BTS file, August 2026, counted 1,080,710 trucks, 2.5% more than August 2025. In the same month Census port data shows $336 billion of imports.

Traffic is concentrated. 55% of trucks cross at the five busiest ports. Laredo, Texas alone took 2,968,087 inbound truck crossings, 39% of the Mexico border and 23% of all land-border trucks.

The busiest ports

Source: BTS Border Crossing/Entry Data, trucks, inbound, retrieved Oct 9, 2026, via our border crossings page. Ports are ranked by trucks on that page. These rows are a selection from its top 10 lists.

The spread between ports is wide. Two ports on the same border moved in opposite directions: Santa Teresa grew 16.0% while Calexico East fell 6.9%. A border-wide average would hide both.

Seasonality: when each border is busy

Averaged over 2024 and 2025, the busiest calendar month on the Mexico border was October and the slowest was December. On the Canada border the busiest was March and the slowest was December. Our border and ports page shows this as an index where 100 is an average month, and a port picker lets you see the swing at your own port.

If your lane runs through a port with a big swing, your volume, and possibly your rate, may swing with it. This is an average of past years, not a forecast for this one.

What the data cannot say about delays

High traffic at a port is a reason to ask about waiting, not proof of it. Likewise a quiet month does not mean a quick crossing.

How to use it on a cross-border lane

• Price the port you really use, not the border as a whole. The busiest ports are where drivers are most likely to queue.
• Compare the port's 12-month change with your own loads on that lane. If traffic is rising and your loads are not, you may be losing share.
• Ask your broker which port a quoted rate assumes, and what it includes for waiting time at the crossing. If the rate con is silent on waiting, the claim may be too, so see how detention terms work in the detention pay guide.
• Keep your own record. Arrival at the crossing, release time, and the message you sent. Open data cannot give you those, and a dispute will need them.

A short example of using it

Say your lane runs through Laredo. The table shows 2,968,087 inbound trucks in the 12 months to August 2026 and a change of +0.1%. That tells you traffic there is flat, and that it is the single biggest port, at 23% of all land-border trucks. It tells you nothing about last Tuesday. If your own loads on that lane are down while the port is flat, the open data points at your share, not the market, and that is a question for your broker. If your drivers keep reporting long waits, that is a question for the detention clause in your rate con and for your own timestamps.

Port trade, in one line

Census port data gives customs value by port, which is context for where freight demand is moving. It is not tonnage, not truck-only and not a promise of loads. The ports and trade page goes deeper, and the border and ports page has the map, the trend and the seasonal index.

Wondering what waiting at a crossing really costs you? Send us your last 20 loads. We look at detention, deadhead and short pay side by side, and we tell you what we find.