2021 Data Digest

2021 DATA DIGEST

Published August, 2021
Download print version (3mb PDF)

For more information:
Melissa Fanucci, AICP
Principal Planner
Whatcom Council of Governments
melissa@wcog.org
(360)685-8385

Introduction to the 2021 Data Digest

With the Canada – United States land border ports-of-entry still closed as of August 1, 2021, we are challenged to look at a year of data and attempt to find insights about an unusual period of time.

For some figures in the following chapters, 2019 data remains the most pertinent because so little data-generating activity occurred with COVID-19 restrictions.

For example, NEXUS usage is not measured in 2020 because most ports did not operate a NEXUS lane. Similarly, our typical analysis of border wait times is unrevealing and divorced from any trends. Another question is whether the trends we saw prior to 2020 are likely to re-emerge after the border opens or if there will be more lasting effects over a year of travel restrictions between our countries.

So for now, we can report on trade flows, record the very limited travel that did occur, and continue to provide contextual data from previous regional surveys.

Hopefully, 2020 will prove to be an anomaly and the 2022 Data Digest will return us to a more typical data set for future analytics.