Borderlands Mexico: Laredo summit debates driverless freight corridors, B-1 trucker alternatives
This week in Borderlands Mexico: Laredo summit debates driverless freight corridors; Cadogan Tate expands Southwest footprint with Phoenix acquisition; and Toyo plans $357M solar manufacturing expansion in Houston. The post Borderlands Mexico: Laredo summit debates driverless freight corridors, B-1 trucker alternatives appeared first on FreightWaves.
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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: Laredo summit debates driverless freight corridors, B-1 trucker alternatives; Cadogan Tate expands Southwest footprint with Phoenix acquisition; and Toyo plans $357M solar manufacturing expansion in Houston.
Laredo summit debates driverless freight corridors LAREDO, Texas — A proposed automated freight corridor connecting Laredo and Monterrey, Mexico, and using U. S. truckers to deliver freight into Mexico took center stage Tuesday during a panel discussion at the 9th Annual Modernization of Cross-Border Trade conference.
The event, hosted by Reliance Partners and Borderless Coverage, brought together more than 500 of the industry’s leading voices as U. S. -Mexico freight continues to face unprecedented regulatory and operational challenges.
The “Green Corridors” panel, moderated by Troy Ryley, president of Mexico operations for Echo Global Logistics, brought together Marco Antonio González Valdez, secretary of agriculture and regional development for the Mexican state of Nuevo León; Jesus Ojeda, executive vice president of cross-border operations at Redwood Logistics; and José Minarro, managing director of Sunset Transportation’s Laredo operations.
window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. defineSlot('/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'). defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps. banner1). addService(googletag. pubads()); googletag. pubads().
enableSingleRequest(); googletag. pubads(). collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag. enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); The discussion focused on how the U. S. and Mexico can prepare for continued trade growth while addressing congestion, compliance challenges and driver shortages.
A new solution to the B-1 visa truck driver issue? A major topic was the growing impact of enforcement actions involving Mexican B-1 visa truck drivers at the border.
González Valdez said more than 300 B-1 visas had been revoked for drivers using Laredo’s Colombia-Solidarity International Bridge crossing this year, creating operational challenges for carriers that rely on cross-border drivers.
The Laredo–Colombia Solidarity International Bridge is a key vehicular border crossing on the Rio Grande that connects Laredo, Texas, with Colombia, Nuevo León, Mexico. The bridge handles around 3,500 freight truck crossings per day. Rather than pursuing changes in Washington, Nuevo León is testing a different solution: allowing U. S.
truck drivers to cross into Mexico, deliver freight and return northbound with loads. “We started with a pilot program three weeks ago,” González Valdez said. “Have your U. S. truck drivers cross over to Mexican territory. This is the first time it’s happening at the border.” Under the concept, U. S.
drivers would be able to deliver freight into locations in Nuevo León, potentially eliminating some transfer operations while reducing reliance on B-1 visa drivers. window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag.
defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot3', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'). defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps. banner1). addService(googletag. pubads()); googletag. pubads(). enableSingleRequest(); googletag. pubads(). collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag. enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd.
push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); “We’re offering another option — U. S. companies can leave their cargo, cross the bridge, leave their cargo in Colombia, pick up cargo and go north. We will eliminate the B-1 problem,” González Valdez said.
González Valdez noted officials eventually hope to expand the program deeper into Monterrey and other parts of the state. “We will also give a new operating scheme of eliminating transfers for those customers that want to eliminate transfers,” he said. “Also, we are planning in less than two years …. We start having U. S.
truck drivers driving into Monterrey, Mexico, from a year’s time. You’re going to have U. S. truck drivers crossing through Colombia … leaving their cargo in [Mexican cities of] Salina, Victoria, and coming back north.”
The “Green Corridors” panel, moderated by Troy Ryley, president of Mexico operations for Echo Global Logistics, brought together Marco Antonio González Valdez, secretary of agriculture and regional development for the Mexican state of Nuevo León; Jesus Ojeda, executive vice president of cross-border operations at Redwood Logistics; and José Minarro, managing director of Sunset Transportation’s Laredo operations.
(Photo: FreightWaves) The Green Corridors vision: A driverless freight network One of the most ambitious projects discussed during the panel was Green Corr
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