Mexico Widens US Trade Lead With Record $96.3B September

Two-way US-Mexico trade hit a record $96.34 billion in September, up 34.2% year over year, cementing Mexico's hold on the top spot among America's trading partners, according to WorldCity's latest analysis of US trade data.

The gap is widening fast. Canada ranked second at $64.78 billion — roughly $31.6 billion behind Mexico — with China third at $41.1 billion. Mexico alone accounted for 17.15% of all US international trade during the month.

US imports from Mexico totaled $62.24 billion, up 39.6% from $44.58 billion a year earlier. Exports moved the other direction at a slower clip, rising 25.4% to $34.09 billion. That leaves a merchandise trade deficit of approximately $28.15 billion for the month, based on the difference between reported imports and exports.

The growth wasn't confined to Mexico. Total US international trade rose 21.8% year over year to $561.82 billion in September — meaning Mexico's border commerce grew roughly 12 percentage points faster than the overall market. The acceleration was sharpest in manufactured goods, electronics and transportation equipment.

What does this mean for cross-border logistics capacity?

The commercial read is straightforward: freight flowing south of the Rio Grande is absorbing trucking, rail and warehousing capacity across Texas and the borderplex at a pace well above the national trend. Shippers moving manufactured goods and transportation equipment on US-Mexico lanes face a market where demand is compounding monthly, and forwarders with cross-border drayage and brokerage capacity in South Texas are sitting on the busiest corridor in the hemisphere.

The deficit number matters too. A $28.15 billion monthly gap means northbound loads out of Mexico continue to outnumber southbound — the structural imbalance that keeps backhaul pricing on southbound lanes soft and complicates equipment repositioning for carriers.

Laredo reclaims the top gateway ranking

Laredo, Texas, regained its position as the nation's busiest international trade gateway in September, handling $38.87 billion in two-way commerce. That's a 31.2% jump from $29.63 billion a year earlier, WorldCity reported.

The South Texas crossing overtook Chicago O'Hare International Airport, which fell to second with $36.08 billion, down 17.9% year over year. The Port of Los Angeles ranked third at $28.31 billion, followed by the Port of Houston at $22.72 billion and Los Angeles International Airport at $22.53 billion.

Laredo handled 6.92% of all US international merchandise trade in September — the highest trade value for that month in WorldCity's historical data going back to at least 2013.

The detail behind the total tells the imbalance story again. Imports through Laredo totaled $26.87 billion, up 40.8%, while exports rose a comparatively modest 13.8% to $12 billion. Mexico accounted for $38.05 billion, or about 98%, of everything moving through the crossing.

How did other border crossings perform?

Texas and neighboring border gateways posted even steeper growth rates, albeit from smaller bases:

• Ysleta-Zaragoza International Bridge, El Paso: $16.23 billion in total trade, up 53.5% year over year
• Santa Teresa, New Mexico: $7.54 billion, up nearly 248.5% from September 2025
• Otay Mesa, California: $6.02 billion, up 5.9%
• Eagle Pass, Texas: $3.97 billion, up 5.8%
• Pharr International Bridge, South Texas: $3.91 billion, up 7%

Santa Teresa's near-quadrupling stands out. Cross-border traffic that once funneled through congested majors is spilling into secondary gateways, a pattern border drayage operators and industrial real estate developers in New Mexico and West Texas have been positioning for.

What's the bigger picture?

Mexico's expanding share of US trade reinforces its role in North American manufacturing and logistics as companies navigate shifting trade policies and supply chain strategies. Nearshoring-driven demand for Mexican-made vehicles, electronics and industrial goods keeps pulling volume onto the corridor, and September's numbers show no sign of that momentum cooling.

With Mexico now taking more than one in six dollars of US trade and Laredo setting monthly records, capacity planners should expect cross-border trucking and rail demand to stay tight heading into the peak season.