Mexican truck exports plunge 80% in just days as US border blockade persists

Mexican semi-truck exports to the U.S. have slumped 80% in a matter of days as a border blockade to protest Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s stepped-up vehicle inspections drags on.

U.S.-bound cargoes are backed up for almost 9 miles (14 kilometers) at some border crossings, strangling shipments of the tractor units that power 18-wheelers, said Miguel Elizalde, head of the Association of Heavy Vehicle Producers. Mexico is the world’s top exporter of semi-trucks and the fourth-biggest source of cargo vehicles, according to the association’s data.

“This affects the industry as a whole,” Elizalde said. The group is calling on officials on “both sides of the border to find a quick solution and to have commercial flows reestablished to normal as soon as possible across the entire border and for all states that share a border with Texas.”

Mexican truckers began blockading a key border bridge on Monday after Abbott ordered state troopers to begin checking northbound vehicles for safety defects, a move that caused massive delays. Since state troopers began the checks last week, about 25% of inspected vehicles have been deemed unsafe and removed from service, according to the governor.

Gun Battle

Tensions on the south side of the border boiled over on Wednesday as an organized-crime gang set fire to two trucks involved in the blockade, Reforma.com reported. When police arrived, a gun battle erupted with the arsonists, the news outlet said.

Although commercial traffic has resumed at the initial blockade site, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, local media reported that truckers were shifting their focus to other crossing sites.

With pressure mounting from business interests and fellow Republicans to find a solution, Abbott on Wednesday struck a deal with the governor of Nuevo Leon state to halt inspections in exchange for heightened enforcement on the Mexico side of the line.

However, the deal only involves a small section of the national boundary, and Abbott said he would seek similar agreements with other Mexican state governors in coming days.

‘Political Stunt’

Abbott’s border crackdown has drawn the ire of the Joe Biden administration, which has blasted the governor’s border-security agenda as an overreach of state power.

The Nuevo Leon agreement “does not dent the significant economic impact that his inspections have caused by creating delays of up to 16 hours along a border that stretches 1,245 miles and has 28 international bridges and border crossings into the United States,” a White House spokesperson said.

Abbott “is choosing to continue with this political stunt rather than focus on alleviating the economic impact on Texas families, and his actions are contributing to rising prices,” the spokesperson added.