Borderlands Mexico: Trade, trucking dominate Port of Eagle Pass annual summit

Borderlands Mexico is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week in Borderlands Mexico: Trade, trucking dominate Port of Eagle Pass annual summit; Avant Technology receives Texas grant for Pharr factory expansion; and SEG Solar to build 4 GW solar module factory in Houston.

Trade, trucking dominate Port of Eagle Pass annual summit EAGLE PASS, Texas — Nearshoring growth, cross-border infrastructure investment and ongoing driver capacity concerns were among the top issues discussed during the “State of the Trucking Industry” panel at the 2026 Port of Eagle Pass Trade Summit on Thursday.

The annual summit, hosted by the City of Eagle Pass, Texas, and WorldCity Inc. , brought together more than 500 trade stakeholders focused on trade growth and infrastructure development along the U. S. -Mexico border.

Representing FreightWaves, Noi Mahoney moderated the panel discussion featuring Jazz Sidhu, vice president of operations at Fisher Brothers Trucking and Logistics; and Jeff Langloss, vice president of policy, regulatory affairs and safety compliance at the Texas Trucking Association.

The Port of Eagle Pass consists of international vehicle bridges, a rail bridge and a foreign trade zone connecting Eagle Pass with Piedras Negras, Mexico. The trade corridor has become increasingly important as manufacturers continue shifting production closer to the U. S. market.

According to WorldCity data, Eagle Pass ranked as the nation’s 10th-largest border crossing by trade volume in March and handled $3. 77 billion in total trade.

Nearshoring drives cross-border expansion When asked about the biggest trends shaping trucking and cross-border trade in 2026, Sidhu pointed to nearshoring and the need for expanded freight infrastructure. “For me, I think it’s nearshoring, right?

Where we’ve got manufacturers looking at geographically closer countries that they can move their operations to,” Sidhu said during the panel.

“And then what follows is the infrastructure that’s needed when they are moving their operations to other countries, especially in Mexico, and now having to expand facilities and infrastructure in the port of Eagle Pass.”

Langloss, a former truck driver and longtime Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration official, said the rapid growth of cross-border freight has transformed Eagle Pass and the broader North American supply chain over the past four decades. “I think something that comes to mind to me is just this growth,” Langloss said.

“The growth of the trans-Canadian border … it helps not only Eagle Pass and important cities, but I think it helps the U. S. , Mexico, Canada.” Langloss also shared an anecdote about hauling freight through Eagle Pass roughly 40 years ago, when drivers from the U. S.

and Mexico would simply exchange trailers at the border with little technology or electronic documentation involved. Sidhu said Fisher Brothers Trucking and Logistics has been expanding operations into Eagle Pass because of the region’s long-term growth potential and shorter border wait times compared to some larger crossings.

“We are moving our infrastructure here to Eagle Pass because it’s growing, right?” Sidhu said. “We want to be part of the community.” Sidhu said additional transloading facilities, warehousing capacity and heavy-lift infrastructure will be needed as oversized and industrial freight volumes continue increasing through Eagle Pass.

According to WorldCity data, Eagle Pass, Texas, ranked as the nation’s 10th-largest border crossing by trade volume in March and handled $3. 77 billion in total trade. (Photo: City of Eagle Pass) Eagle Pass emerging as strategic freight gateway Langloss said one of Eagle Pass’ biggest competitive advantages is speed.

“The wait times at the bridge are so much quicker here than some of the other bridges,” Langloss said. The panel also focused heavily on trucking industry operational challenges, including non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, ELD compliance, recruiting qualified drivers and freight capacity constraints.

“For us, capacity, meaning drivers,” Sidhu said when discussing the industry’s biggest pain points. “Especially the impact of non-domiciled CDL holders … rates go up. Customers aren’t happy, but we’re not able to get that product moving as efficiently as we want.”

Langloss said ongoing regulatory changes and compliance uncertainty continue creating challenges for carriers.

“You’ve got equipment that’s brought in 48 states … and then trying to get all that equipment back and changed out before the 60 days, it makes it very tough,” Langloss said, referring to ELD-related compliance deadlines and out-of-service device removals. The discussion also touched on autonomous trucking, electric trucks and future freight technology.

Sidhu said autonomous trucks could eventually help alleviate driver shortages, but widespread deployment will require significantly more infrastructure investment and maint