Trickling Along

I was listening to a report on the radio program "Marketplace". They were discussing the effect that U.S. economic situation is having on "remittances" to Mexico. "Remittances" refers to the money that Mexicans working in the U.S. send back to Mexico.

The report first stated that remittances had dropped 12.5%. Then, the reporter stated that remittances had dried up to a "trickle".

Somehow, I don't get the image of a "trickle" when I picture a river or stream flowing at 81.5% of capacity.