Nobody pays much attention to the folks at OOIDA anymore when it comes to Mexico and our Cross Border Pilot Program, other than FMCSA, which really has no choice. In a letter to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro, OOIDA President Jim Johnston urged the FMCSA to deny the application of GCC Transporte S.A.
Data released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month suggests that Mexican carriers and drivers still maintain a significant lead in safety over their US and Canadian counterparts. According to Jill Dunn, writing for E-Trucker The out-of-service rate for drivers of Mexican-domiciled CMVs inspected at the border during 2010 was just more than
Some groups never tire of seeking protection. One special interest with its hand perpetually out is the group led by Florida tomato growers. For decades they have been trying to stop tomatoes from Mexico from competing with them in the U.S. market. Never mind that Mexican tomatoes, because they are ripened in the field or
More political rhetoric? Pandering to his detractors or simply an honest assessment of his goals as Mexico’s next President? Mexico’s President elect, Enrique Pena Nieto submitted this op-ed piece to the New York Times this morning. On Sunday, Mexicans turned out in large numbers to vote for change — a change in priorities and approach,
Despite the best efforts of OOIDA and their allies, the bogus safety group Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, to prevent Mexican carrier participation in the Cross Border Pilot Program, a fourth Mexican carrier has been allowed authority to participate. Transportes Del Valle De Guadalupe of Baja California, had been granted OPX-1 authority to operate
Trade between the United States and Mexico reached half a trillion dollars in 2011 and cross-border commerce continues to grow despite the drug violence in Mexico. The final tally came out to $500 billion in goods and services traded between the two countries, according to a paper by the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center for
We were told by OOIDA, the Teamsters and the bogus safety groups that make up their allies that 10’s of 1000’s of “dangerous, unsafe, unregulated” Mexican trucks driven by drug using, untrained, unlicensed scofflaws were waiting at out southern border to invade the United States, taking jobs from American truckers and wreaking havoc on our
OOIDA finally got something at least “half-right” concerning the Mexican Cross Border Pilot Program when they said in a recent comment; FMCSA intends to give special treatment to Mexico–domiciled motor carriers under the proposed pilot program, not ‘national treatment’ as required under NAFTA. The Texas Department of Public Safety is set to put into service
Today, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters responded to the FMCSA’s response to the Teamster’s frivolous lawsuit with a totally bizarre brief, full of spin and out and out lies. Nothing we haven’t come to expect from the opponents of Mexican trucks and of America fulfilling the promises we made to our southern neighbor. The irrelevant
The story in Friday’s edition of the San Diego Union Tribune brought to light the low level of participation in the Cross Border Pilot Program for Mexican carriers with the revelation that two officials from FMCSA were in Tijuana meeting with Mexican transportation stakeholders hoping to interest more Mexican carriers in participating in the program.
In a meeting in Tijuana B.C this past Friday, Anna Amos, director of safety programs for the FMCSA, and Marcelo Perez, a transportation safety investigator for the agency, expressed concern over the low level of participation by Mexico-domiciled carriers, saying their enrollment is critical to the success of the three-year project. During the meeting, Amos and
Grupo Behr, the Mexican carrier who was the first victim of OOIDA’s campaign of propaganda and misinformation, has allegedly been found to be in violation of leasing statutes in Section 219 of the 1999 Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act, according to William Quade assistant administrator for FMCSA’s Enforcement and Compliance division. Section 219 of the 1999
Jimmy R. Hoffa (1913-1982), legendary leader of the Teamsters must be looking up from from the great beyond, shaking his head in disgust at the pathetic loser that bears his name, James P. Hoffa. Hoffa, re-elected by a minority of the Teamsters (Hoffa received 137,172 votes out of a membership of 1.4 million) rank and
An editorial caught me eye this morning, on this day that the first Mexican carrier to be granted authority to operate beyond the commercial zone enters the U.S. It reads in part; When a nation signs and ratifies a treaty with another, it is in effect a contract between those countries. And when one country
With the issuance of provisional operating authority to Transportes Olympics on Friday, October 14, 2011, our southern border is now open to long haul trucks from Mexico who have passed the requirements for participation in the pilot program. This puts the US into long overdue compliance with our obligations under NAFTA. The remaining 50% of
What can only be described as a resounding success in our efforts to see the United States come into compliance with it obligations under the NAFTA accords, the remaining 50 percent of the $2.4 billion regulatory tariffs imposed by Mexico in 2009 will now be lifted. The tariff’s, imposed after the Obama Administration signed a
We now know who the 8 Mexican carriers are who have made application to the FMCSA for OP-1MX authority to participate in the cross border pilot program expected to begin later this month. The carriers that are known at this time are: Transportes Olympic of Apodaca Nuevo Leon Grupo Behr de Baja SA de CV
Rep. Peter DeFazio, following OOIDA President Jim Johnston’s example sent a letter to FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro demanding she address his bogus concerns about the safety of Mexican trucks on U.S. roads. But this isn’t about this vile little man’s irrelevant letter to Ms Ferro. It’s to be expected. Despite the fact DeFazio was elected
Yesterday, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied the injunction sought by the Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) in their attempt to stop the Mexican cross border pilot program. According to TODAYS TRUCKING, the Court did agree to fast track the frivolous lawsuit meaning written arguments could be accepted as early
FMCSA spokesperson Candice Tolliver Burns announced late yesterday that two of the 7 applicants for the Cross Border Trucking Pilot Program with Mexico have successfully passed their Pre-Authorization Safety Audits (PASA) and are ready to roll. [pullquote]Legislative UpdateAn effort by Rep. Steven LaTourette [R-OH14] yesterday to insert an amendment into the transportation bill prohibiting expenditure
At the 11th hour today, Teamsters, along with Public Citizen filed a lawsuit in 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco seeking to stop implementation of the Mexican Cross Border Program. The suit was filed against the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration alleging that the pilot program sets standards that
During the scheduled meeting of the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee in Alexandria Virginia yesterday, those were the words of Carlos Sesma, an attorney representing Mexican trucking interests before the committee. And Sesma was correct. The MCSAC is a subcommittee of the FMCSA charged with overseeing the Mexican Cross Border Pilot Program. OOIDA Executive Vice-President Todd
