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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard They do have to adhere to US standards, along with carrying US insurance, which is about three to four times as expensive as in Mexico. Currently, Mexican trucks are allowed to travel 20 miles into Texas, then they must transload into an American carrier, truck or rail. With the additional insurance cost, and having to bring their trucks up to US standards, along with task forces, like the HPDs truck inspection task force, dont look for a big flood of Mexican trucks anytime soon. By the way, any Mexican truck entering Texas is required to display a EPA certificate, similar to a state inspection sticker, showing they meet EPA emmision standards. Ed [/quote] Another Texan joins in......... One of the big international issues pushing the truck thing, to which the President has been very close since he was Governor here and had to deal with it on a day-to-day basis, is that Mexico expected equitable treatment under NAFTA, and yet they see Canadian trucks crossing their border daily at El Paso, Zaragosa, Presidio, Del Rio, Laredo, McAllen, Progreso and Brownsville, heading right on into the Mexican interior, with all 3 flags on the trailers, and they see US trucks doing the same thing, while theirs get no further than 20 miles into the US before an expensive transload is required, regardless of the condition of their trucks. They look at this situation and correctly conclude that the treatment is not equitable and that their trucking companies are getting screwed, to the detriment of their economy. Look at it from their perspective--if it were Canada doing that to our trucks, the ATA and Teamsters would be all buddied up like they loved each other, demanding a national boycott of Labatt, Molson and Moosehead! (that'll hit 'em where it hurts, eh??).[xx(] The trucks are closely inspected for proper safety equipment and condition at the border--it's a big deal that the highway people are very much in tune with. When we did a study on the Reynosa-McAllen gateway, that was one of the big issues, because the necessary inspections use up capacity and manpower, right along with the customs/immigration, DEA and now Homeland Security issues. One of the big concerns along IH35 is that there are some borderline nonattainment areas, including Austin, that the additional exhaust load may push over the top on ozone and SO2, if the trucks are not burning US grade Diesel. This will cause some penalizing of the locals for the effects of through traffic and Houston's bad air that blows over at just the wrong time. I personally am concerned that there is not really enough capacity for the trucks we have now, and this will only make it worse. Of course, there's money to be made if a RR can intercept these trucks and get them on flatcars. That assumes, however, that they can get their trains out of the sidings and actually running, first[:D]
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