Border traffic into Whatcom County continues to decrease

Southbound border traffic into Whatcom County in 2016 was the lowest in six years as the weak Canadian dollar continued to have an impact.

The number of people who went through the five Whatcom County border crossings totaled a little less than 12.5 million last year, nearly 900,000 fewer than in 2015, according to data from the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.

Last year’s total was down about 23 percent compared with three years ago.