CRS Reports on Mexican Trucking Statistics, Future of NAFTA Trucking
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report entitled “North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Implementation: The Future of Commercial Trucking Across the Mexican Border.”
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(Effective March 11, 2009, the U.S. terminated the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking pilot that had allowed up to 100 Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the U.S. border commercial zones, and the same number of U.S. carriers to operate in Mexico. Subsequently, Mexico announced retaliatory tariffs on products classified in 89 U.S. tariff numbers. See ITT’s Online Archives or 03/18/09 and 03/19/09 news, 09031805 and 09031905, for BP summaries.
The Obama Administration has indicated it intends to propose a revamped program, and the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act passed in December 2009 did not preclude funds from being spent on a long-haul Mexican truck pilot program, provided certain terms and conditions were satisfied.)
Statistics Indicate Mexican Drivers are Safer than Before, Etc.
CRS reports that one truck safety statistic, "out-of-service" rates, indicates that Mexican trucks operating in the U.S. are now safer than they were a decade ago. The data indicate that Mexican trucks and drivers have a comparable safety record to U.S. truckers. Another study indicates that the truck driver is usually the more critical factor in causing accidents than a safety defect with the truck itself.
Substandard Carriers More Unsuccessful for Long-Haul Trucking
CRS states that service characteristics of long-haul trucking suggest that substandard carriers would likely not succeed in this market. In contrast, the short-haul "drayage" carriers that Mexican long-haul carriers would displace, typically use older equipment because of the many hours spent idling awaiting customs processing at the border.
Drayage Use Likely to Decline if Mexican Carriers Receive Long-Haul Authority
CRS reports that if Mexican carriers do eventually receive long-haul authority, the short term impact is expected to be gradual. In the long run, use of drayage companies is likely to decline as they lose part of their market share to Mexican long-haul carriers. The most common trips for these carriers will probably be from the Mexican interior to warehouse facilities on the U.S. side of the border or to nearby border cities.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 04/16/10 news, 10041633, for BP summary of an April 2010 Congressional letter to the DOT Secretary and USTR asking for the renegotiation of the section of the NAFTA that opens U.S. highways to Mexican trucks.)
(Report dated 06/01/10)