Letters to the Editor: Opening the Border
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This Mexican truck program is contrary to everything the United States should be doing. (Click here for previous coverage.)
The Department of Homeland Security continues to give tax money to cities for terrorist protection, while the Department of Transportation promotes a program to open the Mexican border up like a New Orleans levee.U.S. small businesses, including many in the trucking industry, have managed to add more employees to their companies over the past few years, while many of the largest employers in the country have laid off thousands.Now, DOT rewards these companies by allowing foreign trucking companies with cheaper labor to enter the marketplace, jeopardizing those U.S. employees’ jobs yet again.The trucking industry is in a slump currently, with an oversupply of trucks — yet DOT feels it needs to “right a 12-year-old wrong” by adding more competition to the marketplace.The global economy only makes sense on a global stage. This is our people, our freight, our roads and our transportation system. Why must this be traded for political correctness?Rick DinovoChief Financial OfficerCentral Marketing TransportDelaware, Ohio.This is just one more step being taken to globalize our nation without regard for our own companies.Will the Mexican companies have to go through a Department of Transportation inspection prior to their vehicles’ entering the United States? One condition of a commercial driver license is that you must be able to speak and read English to be able to follow our traffic laws. Will this apply to the drivers of these Mexican vehicles? Will their drivers meet the requirements our drivers have to meet? Will our truckers who enter Mexico have police protection along the highways in Mexico?Was any of the above even thought about prior to this decision being made? I would guess not, as DOT has a way of not ever having a trucker in a position of leadership.Truckers are like the early founders of our country who dumped tea into the harbor — we suffer from taxation without representation.Les HowardPresidentFreight For LesMontgomery, N.Y.I do not understand the whole “unsafe Mexican truck” issue. It is going to get extremely expensive for them to get caught by our Department of Transportation and have to have them repaired in U.S. dollars in a U.S. facility. Looks to me like it is an opportunity most U.S. repair facilities would welcome.Claudio GarciaMaintenance Training ManagerMaverick USA Inc.North Little Rock, Ark.While I believe a healthy market is one in which there is free trade, I also believe that fair trade, if not guaranteed in the agreement, must be included. I have written the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration about specific concerns, which thus far have not been addressed. Perhaps you or TT readers can find the answers.My experience and exposure to Mexican trucking and Mexican business practices have not been all that favorable. As an insurance adjuster (heavy equipment and cargo), I have seen that settlements for claims considered routine in the United States are seldom that simple when dealing with Mexican firms. Laws, circumstances and liability interpretations often resulted in claims going unsettled.As a former certified driver/trainer and safety manager, I also have noticed extreme differences between U.S. and Mexican truck fleets and obvious maintenance issues. While I suspect some of these issues will be addressed, unless we truly hope to achieve U.S. safety and performance standards, we’ll need to be using U.S. transportation companies.However, aside from the issues of driver skills, equipment and safety, there are issues I have not seen discussed. For example, will Mexican trucks be required to return to Mexico through the same port of entry they used to enter the U.S.?If not, what tracking system will be used to monitor their length of stay in the U.S. and their location? How long will a Mexican truck be permitted to remain in the U.S.? Is there a limit on the number of gallons of diesel fuel a Mexican truck will be allowed to carry into the U.S.? Will that same Mexican truck be required to purchase diesel fuel while in the U.S.? Will Mexican trucks be required to pay road taxes for each state in which they travel, as do U.S. trucks?In other words, will American trucks be subsidizing Mexican trucks that carry freight previously carried by U.S. carriers? How will DOT enforce penalties if/when they are assessed against Mexican trucking companies?A number of features of this recent decision have raised more questions than it has provided answers. And, while DOT is saying this is merely a one-year trial period, I believe it is more like a sales tax increase that is only supposed to be temporary but eventually becomes permanent.Rick StiererVehicle ManagerNorthrop GrummanFairfax, Va.These letters appear in the March 26 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
This Mexican truck program is contrary to everything the United States should be doing. (Click here for previous coverage.)
The Department of Homeland Security continues to give tax money to cities for terrorist protection, while the Department of Transportation promotes a program to open the Mexican border up like a New Orleans levee.U.S. small businesses, including many in the trucking industry, have managed to add more employees to their companies over the past few years, while many of the largest employers in the country have laid off thousands.Now, DOT rewards these companies by allowing foreign trucking companies with cheaper labor to enter the marketplace, jeopardizing those U.S. employees’ jobs yet again.The trucking industry is in a slump currently, with an oversupply of trucks — yet DOT feels it needs to “right a 12-year-old wrong” by adding more competition to the marketplace.The global economy only makes sense on a global stage. This is our people, our freight, our roads and our transportation system. Why must this be traded for political correctness?Rick DinovoChief Financial OfficerCentral Marketing TransportDelaware, Ohio.This is just one more step being taken to globalize our nation without regard for our own companies.Will the Mexican companies have to go through a Department of Transportation inspection prior to their vehicles’ entering the United States? One condition of a commercial driver license is that you must be able to speak and read English to be able to follow our traffic laws. Will this apply to the drivers of these Mexican vehicles? Will their drivers meet the requirements our drivers have to meet? Will our truckers who enter Mexico have police protection along the highways in Mexico?Was any of the above even thought about prior to this decision being made? I would guess not, as DOT has a way of not ever having a trucker in a position of leadership.Truckers are like the early founders of our country who dumped tea into the harbor — we suffer from taxation without representation.Les HowardPresidentFreight For LesMontgomery, N.Y.I do not understand the whole “unsafe Mexican truck” issue. It is going to get extremely expensive for them to get caught by our Department of Transportation and have to have them repaired in U.S. dollars in a U.S. facility. Looks to me like it is an opportunity most U.S. repair facilities would welcome.Claudio GarciaMaintenance Training ManagerMaverick USA Inc.North Little Rock, Ark.While I believe a healthy market is one in which there is free trade, I also believe that fair trade, if not guaranteed in the agreement, must be included. I have written the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration about specific concerns, which thus far have not been addressed. Perhaps you or TT readers can find the answers.My experience and exposure to Mexican trucking and Mexican business practices have not been all that favorable. As an insurance adjuster (heavy equipment and cargo), I have seen that settlements for claims considered routine in the United States are seldom that simple when dealing with Mexican firms. Laws, circumstances and liability interpretations often resulted in claims going unsettled.As a former certified driver/trainer and safety manager, I also have noticed extreme differences between U.S. and Mexican truck fleets and obvious maintenance issues. While I suspect some of these issues will be addressed, unless we truly hope to achieve U.S. safety and performance standards, we’ll need to be using U.S. transportation companies.However, aside from the issues of driver skills, equipment and safety, there are issues I have not seen discussed. For example, will Mexican trucks be required to return to Mexico through the same port of entry they used to enter the U.S.?If not, what tracking system will be used to monitor their length of stay in the U.S. and their location? How long will a Mexican truck be permitted to remain in the U.S.? Is there a limit on the number of gallons of diesel fuel a Mexican truck will be allowed to carry into the U.S.? Will that same Mexican truck be required to purchase diesel fuel while in the U.S.? Will Mexican trucks be required to pay road taxes for each state in which they travel, as do U.S. trucks?In other words, will American trucks be subsidizing Mexican trucks that carry freight previously carried by U.S. carriers? How will DOT enforce penalties if/when they are assessed against Mexican trucking companies?A number of features of this recent decision have raised more questions than it has provided answers. And, while DOT is saying this is merely a one-year trial period, I believe it is more like a sales tax increase that is only supposed to be temporary but eventually becomes permanent.Rick StiererVehicle ManagerNorthrop GrummanFairfax, Va.These letters appear in the March 26 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
