FMCSA Opens Border to Mexican Trucks
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Thursday that two trucking companies — one Mexican, the other from the United States — have been selected to initiate the two nation’s cross-border demonstration project.
FMCSA Administrator John Hill told reporters via conference call that the trucks could begin hauling cross-border freight within days, and that up to 100 trucking companies from each nation could join the program within a year.
“This long-awaited project will protect public safety on American highways as we work to both save consumers money and help our economy,” Hill said.
The two companies granted authority for the first runs were Transportes Olympic of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution of El Paso, Texas.
“If successful, this will put an end to the three-step process of moving every piece of freight across the border. It will mean less traffic and less pollution and more opportunities for trade,” said Hill in unveiling the commencement of the one-year test.
Overcoming the objections of organized labor, environmental groups and vehicle safety groups, the border opening is the culmination of the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, which required the two countries to allow in each others’ trucks beyond the narrow trade zone where they currently operate.
FMCSA said the Department of Transportation’s inspector general had filed its report with Congress confirming all safety conditions had been met to launch the program.
FMCSA also said the report affirmed that the agency would check every truck that crosses the border.
The following is the full press release issued by FMCSA on Thursday night:
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution from El Paso, Texas, was today given approval to operate in Mexico, and Transportes Olympic of Nuevo Leon, was cleared to operate in the U.S., marking the start of a year-long cross border demonstration project that will allow U.S. trucking companies to operate in Mexico for the first time, and change the way a select group of Mexican trucking companies operate in the United States.
The cross border trucking demonstration project was cleared to begin today with the release of the U.S. DOT Inspector General's (IG) official report - mandated by Congress - on the safety of the program and the U.S. Department of Transportation's response to this report, which also was submitted to Congress earlier today. The report confirmed FMCSA has taken the necessary steps to ensure the safe implementation of the demonstration project.
"This long-awaited project will protect public safety on American highways as we work to both save consumers money and help our economy," said John H. Hill, Administrator of DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which will oversee the trucking demonstration project.
Specifically, the IG affirmed FMCSA's plans to go beyond statutory requirements and check every truck that crosses the border as part of the demonstration. The response identified how federal truck inspectors are coordinating with state and Customs and Border Protection personnel to conduct the checks. The response also detailed how it is working with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriff's Association and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to ensure its state partners have the necessary information to oversee safety.
Under the demonstration project, a small number of Mexican trucking companies, many of which already operate daily in major U.S. cities like El Paso and San Diego, will be able to travel beyond the approximately 25 mile commercial zone that runs along the U.S. border. Participating U.S. and Mexican trucking companies can begin their new operations immediately once they have been granted operating authority by U.S. DOT and have secured cargo to haul.
In the first 30 days of the program, 17 trucking companies from Mexico will be given operating authority. Each subsequent month until December, additional companies will be added if they pass FMCSA's rigorous inspection process and after a public comment opportunity. No more than 100 Mexican companies will be permitted in the project. Every company, vehicle and driver is subject to a significant and rigorous safety inspection prior to being admitted to the demonstration project.
Click here for the full IG full report. (NOTE: This link will take you away from the TTNews.com Web site and requires Adobe Acrobat.)
