Mexico Contract Truckload Volume Index (MEXVOL)

Trucking

Mexico Contract Truckload Volume Index (MEXVOL)

WHAT IS IT?

An index that measures contract shipment volumes moved in either the Northbound or Southbound direction between the United States and Mexico at a national level, as well as the volume moving within the country of Mexico. The northbound and southbound indices are calculated from invoice data from a large freight payments processor, and are indexed to January 14, 2021 using a baseline of 10,000 for all inbound and outbound Mexico volumes. The intra-Mexico index is baselined separately, at 10,000 on January 14, 2021. The indices are reported on a 50-day lag.

Lane example 1: MEXVOL.MEXUSA = 5,860 on Jan 14, 2021, and MEXVOL.USAMEX = 4,140 on Jan 14, 2021. The total volume going in and out of Mexico on that day was indexed at 10,000 (5,860 + 4,140) with 58.6% of the volume moving from Mexico to the United states and 41.4% of the volume moving from the United States to Mexico.

Lane example 2: MEXVOLM.MEXUSA = 572 on Jan 14, 2021. The volume of loads moving between 251-450 miles that originate in Mexico and terminate in the US was 572/10,000 or 5.72% of the total volume moving both into and out of Mexico.

The Northbound granularity considers the history of contract loads that either:

Originate in Mexico and destined to the United States of America
Originate in Mexico at a non-cross border town and destined to a Mexico border town

The Southbound granularity considers the history of loads that either:

Originate in the United States of America and destined to Mexico
Originate in Mexico at a cross border town and destined further into Mexico

WHO IS INTERESTED?

Anyone that is interested in transparency in the volume of contract shipments moving between the United States of America and Mexico.

WHAT DOES IT TELL ME?

The MEXVOL tells you how many contractual cross-border shipments moved in either direction between the United States and Mexico to better understand trade flows and balance.

Cross-Border – A load that is going from Mexico to the border and an assumption is made that it will cross the border

Ex: Mexico City to Nuevo-Laredo is considered cross border

The amount of trade and deficits between the United States and Mexico influence pricing and capacity commitments. When the headhaul or Northbound volume increases relative to Southbound (exports), rates drive higher.

When Southbound builds strength relative to Northbound volume, rates will become more stable or fall for the headhaul market (imports).

Each direction also caters to different segments and markets, making for seasonal and historical impacts to consider when reviewing the series separately, or together.

National Level Volume:

MEXVOL.MEXUSA – all volumes leaving Mexico for USA
MEXVOL.USAMEX – all volumes leaving USA for MEX
MEXVOL.MEX – all non-border intra-MEX loads

Length of Haul North Bound:

MEXVOLL.MEXUSA – the indexed volumes for loads moving over 800 miles
MEXVOLT.MEXUSA – the indexed volumes for loads moving 451 – 800 miles
MEXVOLM.MEXUSA – the indexed volumes for loads moving 251 – 450 miles
MEXVOLS.MEXUSA – the indexed volumes for loads moving 100 – 250 miles
MEXVOLC.MEXUSA – the indexed volumes for loads moving under 100 miles

Length of Haul South Bound:

MEXVOLL.USAMEX – the indexed volumes for loads moving over 800 miles
MEXVOLT.USAMEX – the indexed volumes for loads moving 451 – 800 miles
MEXVOLM.USAMEX – the indexed volumes for loads moving 251 – 450 miles
MEXVOLS.USAMEX – the indexed volumes for loads moving 100 – 250 miles
MEXVOLC.USAMEX – the indexed volumes for loads moving under 100 miles

Trucking