One of the things that is interesting about living next to an International border is observing goods that are transported across the boarder. While the United States imports a significant amount of milled lumber from Canada, I have seen semi trucks with milled lumber going from the US into Canada. That kind of a load is fairly rare, however. The big shipments of goods that we notice often seem to be going only one way. On the railroads, for example, we see lumber coming south from Canada and we also see empty rail cars returning to Canada. Every day there are multiple trains carrying coal to Canada for export to Japan that return empty to the US.

I am fascinated by the exchange of vehicles. Auto transports carry nearly new used cars both directions. I’ve been told that the relatively weak Canadian dollar compared to the US dollar makes the price of a used car in Canada attractive. US auto dealers purchase used cars at auction in Canada and import them for sale in the US. Importing Canadian vehicles into the United States is a multi-billion-dollar business. Most dealers comply with the rules and regulations of legal importing, but there is also a “gray market” in cars that are illegally imported. Those vehicles may have issues with titles, illegal odometer swaps (odometers report kilometers in Canada and miles in the US and are required to be swapped, but mileage is not always computed correctly). Gray market vehicles may also have voided warranties and can present problems with obtaining insurance.

While cars are imported from Canada, thousands of cars are exported from the US to Canada as well. The cars that are going from the US to Canada usually spend a period of time on a lot on our side of the border as paperwork is brought up to date. Just up the road from our home is a lot of at least 10 acres filled with newer used cars and we drive by several other similar lots going to and from area towns. When a vehicle is exported from the US to Canada it must have a transaction number from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that shows it has been reported to the U.S. government as an export. This number must be issued at least 72 hours prior to the vehicle showing up at the border crossing. Vehicles must meet safety standards and have proof of inspection as well. Since it is expensive for transport trucks to sit idle, the cars are unloaded onto lots where they sit for the mandatory waiting periods and then are loaded onto different trucks to cross the border.

I am not an expert and don’t fully understand the process, but it is interesting to watch all of the activity with vehicles near the border.

When crossing the border, agents ask about certain items that we are transporting. When entering Canada we are almost always asked about guns and alcohol. When returning to the US we are asked if we have bought any items in Canada. There are also questions asked about foods. Transporting eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, and other items is prohibited. However, I see people loading multiple carts of food into cars with British Columbia license plates in the Costco parking lot each time I go to that store. I doubt that all of those people are engaging in illegal activity. They must know what is legal to import.

Border towns have multiple businesses that receive mail delivered to US addresses that are picked up by Canadians. Part of this has to do with free shipping with businesses such as Amazon Prime. A Canadian living near the border can set up a US mailbox to receive Amazon Prime shipments which are delivered free. Then they drive across the border to pick up their packages.

We have neighbors who work full time in import and export. I’m not sure what their jobs entail, but I think it is a lot of computer work to make sure that regulations are followed and proper documentation exists.

When I was looking online to figure out the flow of cars into and out of the US, I discovered that the small South Caucasus nation of Georgia is a multi-billion dollar hub for vehicles from the US. Many of the vehicles are purchased from salvage lots, repaired in Georgia and exported to former Soviet republics. Last year Georgia imported $3.1 billion worth of cars and exported $2.1 billion. Export from Georgia to Russia officially stopped as a result of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but recent investigations have shown loopholes exploited by cross border dealers.

The demand for US luxury cars in the countries of the former Soviet Union is high. Increasingly there is also high demand for hybrid and electric vehicles. A Tesla involved in an accident and written off by an insurance company has a high probability of ending up in Georgia for repairs. It seems to me that there must also be a significant market in automobile parts from the US to go into the wrecked cars that are imported when they are rebuilt. Repairs in Georgia cost a fraction of similar work done in the US because of the difference in the cost of labor.

Unlike export to Canada, vehicles exported to Georgia are not required to meet stringent safety inspections. The articles I read did not comment on whether or not there are shortcuts in safety requirements such as bypassing air bags or other equipment required in western nations, but I suspect that there could be some compromises made.

And now you have read most of this journal entry by someone who doesn’t know what he is writing about. I’m no expert on import and export of lumber, vehicles, food, or anything else. I’m just a retired guy who happens to live near the border and who watches the trucks and people going back and forth across the border. Maybe this entry will spark some reader to spend more time than I did researching on the Internet. At the very least, I have some new questions to ask if I go shopping for a used car sometime in the future.