Automotive Vehicles, Parts, and Engines

Import Share by Country, 1999–2024

By Sean Mullee  |  July 25, 2025

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) publishes a variety of statistics that can shed light on the movement of products along complex global supply chains. The automotive industry is particularly reliant on these supply chains to source components that are manufactured in many different countries. This article focuses on imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines over the period 1999–2024, highlighting how the industry's global supply chains have changed over that time.

The statistics featured in this article are part of BEA's International Transactions Accounts (ITAs) and provide insight on global patterns in U.S. trade in goods, including imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines (automotive imports) by partner country. Statistics for trade in goods in the ITAs are based on monthly trade data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau (Census). BEA makes adjustments to the Census-basis data in order to align them with the coverage, valuation, definitions, and concepts used for the International Economic Accounts and the National Economic Accounts.

In BEA's ITA statistics, “Table 1.5. U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services by Area and Country,” line 31, presents annual statistics for U.S. imports of automotive vehicles, parts, and engines by area and country, and “Table 1.3. U.S. International Transactions, Expanded Detail by Area and Country” and “Table 1.4. U.S. International Transactions, Geographic Detail by Type of Transaction” present quarterly statistics.¹

The data in table 1 and charts 1 and 2 represent changes in the levels and shares of U.S. automotive imports from the six largest source countries and the rest of the world, by import value in 2024, from 1999 to 2024.

• Between 1999 and 2024, total U.S. automotive imports grew at an average annual rate of 4 percent, increasing $297.3 billion from $178.2 billion in 1999 to $475.5 billion in 2024. By comparison, total U.S. imports of goods over the same period grew at an average annual rate of 5 percent.
• While Mexico, Canada, and Japan were the top three source countries in both 1999 and 2024, their combined share of total U.S. automotive imports fell from 78 percent in 1999 to 62 percent in 2024.
• Imports from Mexico, South Korea, and China grew relatively faster, leading to a 32 percentage point increase in their combined share of total U.S. automotive imports between 1999 and 2024, while the combined share accounted for by Canada, Japan, and Germany decreased 38 percentage points.
• U.S. automotive imports from Mexico experienced the largest level increase during this period, growing from $33.1 billion in 1999 to $182.2 billion in 2024, an average annual growth rate of 7 percent.
• Coinciding with the sharp drop in U.S. automotive imports in 2009, Mexico overtook Canada to become the largest source country for the United States. In 2024, Mexico accounted for 38 percent of U.S. automotive imports, doubling its 1999 share.
• The level of U.S. automotive imports from Canada and Japan have not returned to their 2008 annual levels as of 2024.
• In 2024, China was the sixth-largest source country, accounting for 5 percent of total U.S. automotive imports. China had an average annual growth rate of 12 percent, the highest among the top six trading partner countries, between 1999 and 2024.

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