While the recently-signed U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking agreement has divided the industry’s lobbying groups, one international trade expert is urging the positives of the deal. Troy Ryley, the managing director of Transplace Mexico, says the new agreement could be a boon for Texas as a distribution center for loads brought in by Mexican trucks, as well as it could help alleviate capacity issues in the Continue Reading

Even as some lobbying groups have voiced their criticism about the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking agreement, more and more have expressed their support. In addition to the American Trucking Assns. (ATA), several farm products groups were pleased that lifting the retaliatory tariffs as part of the agreement could help boost exports. Both the American Frozen Food Institute and the International Dairy Foods Continue Reading

It didn’t take long for the newly-signed cross-border trucking program between the U.S. and Mexico to hit a speed bump. Just hours after the top transportation officials for both countries inked the deal, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn. (OOIDA) filed a suit to block it. Citing the “arbitrary” and “capricious” nature of the program, OOIDA questioned U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s circumspect Continue Reading

The U.S. and Mexico have finally made the cross-border trucking program official again. The top transportation leaders from both countries signed the agreement yesterday in Mexico City. Under the terms, Mexican trucks and drivers must comply with a litany of safety requirements. Drivers must submit to drug test and an English language assessment, for example. In return, Mexico agrees to lift a number of retaliatory tariffs it imposed on the U.S. when the previous cross-border trucking program was suspended in 2009. Then, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Continue Reading

One Oregon congressman is challenging several points of the cross-border trucking program with Mexico, citing his concerns over safety and possible losses of American jobs. Other industry leaders are joining in Rep. Peter DeFazio’s (D-Ore.) concern. In response, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has detailed the steps it’s taking to ensure compliance with safety standards, such as multiple safety checks and drug testing. Such a move likely won’t quiet the most vocal of the program’s critics, the Teamsters union and the Owner-Operator Indpendent Drivers Association. But it was welcome news to Continue Reading

Though the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation indicate a significant increase in surface transportation trade between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico from 2009 to 2010, the value of North American surface trade remains below 2007 and 2008 levels. From 2009 to 2010, trade among North American Free Trade Agreement partners rose 24.3 percent, the largest year-to-year increase since the agreement took effect in 1994. U.S.-Canada surface transportation trade totaled $471 billion in 2010, an increase of 22.1 percent compared to 2009, while U.S.-Mexico surface Continue Reading

As part of the new cross-border agreement with Mexico, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will require all Mexican trucks entering the United States to be equipped with electronic onboard recorders. But what may draw some ire from those in the industry is that the FMSCA has agreed to pay for them. The announcement comes just weeks after the FMCSA announced a mandate that would require all U.S. carriers to be equipped with Continue Reading

Unlike the Bush Administration’s truck pilot project with Mexico which capped the number of approved carriers at 100, the new border program between the two countries will allow an unlimited number of truckers to register. However, they will have to comply with a number of rules. For starters, participants must be fluent in English, be subject to frequent drug tests and meet higher safety requirements, such as their trucks being equipped with Continue Reading

The recent announcement that the U.S. and Mexico had agreed on a border trucking program drew mixed reaction from industry groups. The American Trucking Associations expressed support for the move in the hope that it would increase trade between the two countries. But not everyone felt the move was a positive one. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters opposed the Continue Reading

Total net orders for Class 8 trucks have reached their lowest levels since July of 2002, giving some analysts hope that perhaps that number has hit bottom. While it may have reach the point at which it will post gains, market researchers tend to think it may have a lot more to do with the hefty price tags 2010-emission compliant equipment carries, not to mention the uncertainty Continue Reading