Transport services in North America
North America: Transport services was 17.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Transport services in North America, 1970–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
North America recorded 17.6% for transport services in 2025.
That represents a change of down 5.3% on the previous year and down 15.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in North America peaked at 49.8% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 16.4%, in 2020.
North America ranks 45th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Transport services in North America, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 42.5% | — |
| 1971 | 42.3% | -0.3% |
| 1972 | 42.3% | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 45.3% | +7.0% |
| 1974 | 49.0% | +8.2% |
| 1975 | 46.7% | -4.7% |
| 1976 | 47.3% | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 49.0% | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 48.3% | -1.6% |
| 1979 | 49.4% | +2.4% |
| 1980 | 49.8% | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 49.5% | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 41.7% | -15.8% |
| 1983 | 43.0% | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 37.0% | -14.0% |
| 1985 | 36.7% | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 35.7% | -2.9% |
| 1987 | 34.0% | -4.8% |
| 1988 | 33.7% | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 33.8% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 34.1% | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 33.0% | -3.2% |
| 1992 | 31.8% | -3.7% |
| 1993 | 31.8% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 31.6% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 31.5% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 30.0% | -4.6% |
| 1997 | 30.0% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 29.2% | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 26.4% | -9.7% |
| 2000 | 27.4% | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 26.5% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 25.2% | -4.9% |
| 2003 | 25.8% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 26.5% | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 27.0% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 25.3% | -6.5% |
| 2007 | 24.0% | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 23.8% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 20.4% | -14.3% |
| 2010 | 21.9% | +7.6% |
| 2011 | 22.3% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 22.3% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 21.3% | -4.4% |
| 2014 | 21.2% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 20.7% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 18.9% | -8.6% |
| 2017 | 19.5% | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 20.3% | +4.4% |
| 2019 | 19.6% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 16.4% | -16.1% |
| 2021 | 19.3% | +17.7% |
| 2022 | 22.4% | +15.9% |
| 2023 | 19.0% | -14.8% |
| 2024 | 18.6% | -2.3% |
| 2025 | 17.6% | -5.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 46.2% | 42.3% | 49.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 39.5% | 33.7% | 49.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.9% | 26.4% | 34.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.2% | 20.4% | 27.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.8% | 18.9% | 22.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.9% | 16.4% | 22.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
More private sector data for North America
- Merchandise trade 20.6% (2025)
- Food imports 7.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 77.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 4.09 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 10.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 52.8% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 2.74 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,145 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0828 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.2 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in North America?
- Transport services in North America was 17.6% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest transport services recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 49.8% in 1980.
- What is the lowest transport services recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.4% in 2020.
- How does North America rank for transport services?
- North America ranks 45th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is transport services rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Transport services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Transport is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.