ARIZONA & MEXICO

TRADE WITH MEXICO THROUGH ARIZONA’S BORDER PORTS OF ENTRY 1
By Tom Rex
Of the 47 international crossings for motor vehicles and/or pedestrians present between the United
States and Mexico, nine are between Arizona and Sonora. These nine crossings are organized into
six ports of entry. In addition, Arizona has two other ports of entry not located along the border:
Phoenix and Tucson.
Very large differences are present across Arizona’s ports of entry in the volume of commercial and
noncommercial traffic crossing the border. Nogales is Arizona’s busiest port of entry, particularly for
commercial traffic.
In 2014, the total value of exports to Mexico passing through Arizona’s ports was $12.7 billion —
5.3% of the national total. The inflation-adjusted value increased 112% between 2004 and 2014,
well above the national rate of 78%.
In addition to the eight railways that cross the United States-Mexico border — one of which is in Arizona,
at Nogales — 47 international crossings for motor vehicles and/or pedestrians are present between the
United States and Mexico, nine of which are between Arizona and Sonora. The road/pedestrian crossings
and rail crossings are organized into 25 U.S. ports of entry located on the United States-Mexico border
(see Map 1). Some ports include more than one border crossing; Arizona’s nine crossings are organized
into six ports. In addition to the six ports of entry located on the border with Mexico, Arizona has two
other ports: Phoenix and Tucson, which largely handle traffic by air. Data on border traffic and trade
values are reported by port of entry, not by individual crossing. 2
A LOOK AT ARIZONA’S POINTS OF ENTRY
Arizona’s border crossings and ports of entry are listed in Table 1. Very large differences are present
across Arizona’s six border ports of entry in the volume of commercial and noncommercial traffic
crossing the border. The number of individuals crossing the border is closely tied to the size of the
Mexican population living just across the border from each port. The number of trucks and rail cars,
and the value of goods carried, depends on the location of the port and the characteristics of the
transportation network that leads from the border communities into the interior of each country.
1
More detail is available from the April 2014 report “Trade Between the United States and México, With a Focus on the Border
Area,” available at http://usmexpat.com/. This is one of a series of reports analyzing the relationship between the United
States and México; numerous data files also can be accessed from this website.
2
The data come from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau
of Transportation Statistics, http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/data_and_statistics/databases. Two of its databases are used in this
chapter: border crossing/entry data and North American transborder freight data.
29 • ARIZONA & MEXICO • ARIZONA TOWN HALL • APRIL 2016