Inbound Cargo Delays at Southern Border Have Eased, but Are Still Elevated
A CBP official at the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting in Laredo, Texas, said that when more CBP customs officers were moved from the Canadian border and airports to the Southern ports of entry, the wait times for cargo diminished. In early April, the CBP executive director for operations in the Office of Field Operations told Congress that wait times at El Paso were 250 minutes -- more than four hours -- compared to 15 minutes the same day the year before. Waits were so long that more than 60 trucks were not able to enter on the day they lined up (see 1904090036).
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The waits have somewhat stabilized but are still longer than what had been standard before CBP customs officials had to be redeployed to help with the surge of migrant families from Central America.
FAST lanes for drivers who have been certified as trusted traders aren't able to bypass the slowdown entirely. The dedicated lanes only start at the U.S. compound, and so those trucks are caught in the backups in Mexico when they are stuck waiting with other shippers and even passenger cars. Port officials are trying to find solutions with Mexican officials.
Heidi Bray, a COAC member who manages customs compliance for Fiat Chrysler, said that Laredo is the highest-volume port for the carmaker. It brings in both vehicles assembled in Mexico and components for U.S. factories. "We have experienced very little disruption in our supply chain," she said.