(The San Antonio Express-News posted the following article by David Hendricks on its website on September 5.)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Before the year is over, U.S. and Mexican authorities are aiming to give a limited number of Mexican truck fleets the green light to make U.S. deliveries beyond the border zone.
The key word is “aiming.” Eleven years of delays and roadblocks makes everyone skeptical that cross-border trucking may finally begin. Another barrier could delay it again.
“Here’s the good news. The U.S. Department of Transportation and Mexico’s secretary of communications and transportation are saying the same things. That’s the first time in 11 years,” said Blake Hastings, executive director of Free Trade Alliance San Antonio.
The cross-border trucking pilot project, quietly spearheaded by San Antonio banker Tom Frost, would be a watershed development for the city’s economy.
The large volume of U.S.-Mexico truck traffic does not stop here because it already must stop at the border 150 or so miles away for transfers to Mexican carriers.
Allowing for one-truck, one-driver deliveries between the two countries will make the border less of a factor. More shipping companies will invest in truck terminals and warehouses in San Antonio, adding jobs. That, in turn, will make San Antonio more attractive for industrial investments.
U.S. truck driving unions were successful in blocking cross-border trucking for about a decade. After safety-related plans were approved by Congress and the courts more than a year ago, Mexico’s government dragged its feet. It feared competition from U.S. companies making deliveries in Mexico.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department now wants cross-border trucking to begin because it will boost border security. It now takes three carriers and three drivers to transport freight by truck between the two countries; a carrier in each country is needed, along with another to ferry the container through the border crossing.
Allowing a single carrier and driver for the entire distance reduces the chances of smuggling.
Mexico itself wants cross-border trucking now because that will increase its competitive advantage against Asian industrial and logistics competitors. Mexico’s proximity to the United States counts for little when truck freight costs are higher because of carrier transfers and delays.
Under the pilot project, Mexican truck fleet carriers making deliveries to the U.S. interior must pass the same safety inspections, carry the same insurance protection and obey the same driving-time restrictions as U.S. fleets. Driver requirements also are the same, including drug testing.
A new requirement is that Mexican carriers also must be certified under the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, a program started after 9-11. C-TPAT requires freight carriers to submit their security procedures for review and approval by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Free Trade Alliance is prepared to help Mexican fleets negotiate the massive amount of red tape to begin U.S. operations, including driver training and record keeping, Hastings said.
Mexican trucks making U.S. deliveries will not be allowed to make a second delivery between U.S. destinations before returning to Mexico.
The pilot program was approved by the U.S. and Mexican governments after it was proposed by the Free Trade Alliance and the Mexican Foreign Trade Council through the Joint Bilateral Cross Border Trucking Committee.
The committee is led by Frost and Eugenio Clariond, a Mexican businessman whose companies include the chassis supplier for San Antonio’s Toyota plant. Hastings said Frost deserves the most credit, using his numerous Mexican business contacts to bring the parties together.
The proposal calls for small, medium and large trucking fleets to begin the pilot project through crossings along much of the border. Up to 200 Mexican fleets could be allowed to participate in the pilot project, lasting at least a year. The eligible fleets already have applied for U.S. operations authority, Hastings said.
This program will have broad benefits if it starts. It will tighten freight security, make North American trade more efficient and, by reducing costs, hold consumer prices down.