Mexico Trucker Online Articles

Mother’s Day massacre in Cadereyta N.L leaves 49 dead. Toll could rise in coming days.

Mother's day dawns and with it, the discovery of 49 bodies dumped at the entrance to San Juan NL

Sunday morning, Mother’s Day in the US, 49 bodies, most decapitated, some missing limbs and others in an advanced state of decomposition, were found on a highway east of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, according to various news sources.

The grisly find was made at Kilometer 47 on Mexico Federal Highway 40,which leads to Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Police were dispatched to the area based on a telephone call. Mexican Policia Federal agents were the first on the scene and found several black garbage bags containing the remains of 49 individuals. The actual location is 10 kilometers east of Cadereyta, near the village of San Juan. Cadereyta itself is about seven kilometers east of Monterrey.

It is being reported that six women and 43 men were among the dead. Some reports have said a narcomanta was left at the scene but had been removed, reportedly said “100 percent Zetas”

At this point in time, authorities still don’t know who the victims are and rumors are flying. Some are saying that the victims were migrants heading to the United States because some of the victims had the facial features of individuals from South America. The report also said the narcomanta had the symbol of Los Zetas only, probably the letter Z, suggesting Los Zetas likely committed the crime.

Jorge Domene, spokesman for the Nuevo Leon state Secretaria de Seguridad Pública (SSP)

Jorge Domene, spokesman for the Nuevo Leon state Secretaria de Seguridad Pública (SSP), also that some of the victims had gang tattoos, suggesting the deaths were a settling of accounts between gangs. He also said that most of the victims had been killed two days prior to their discovery. Due to the arrangement of the bodies, it appears the bodies were transported and dumped by a large dump truck in the early dawn hours when traffic was light.

Mexico Highway 40 is the “free road” used by motorist and truckers that want to avoid the toll road between Monterrey and Reynosa.

Let’s keep in mind as we explore this story, that very little official information is forthcoming from the agencies investigating this crime due to the blackout on releases from government agencies during the 90 days prior to the voting July 1, for Mexico’s next President. However, due to the nature of this crime, the large number of victims, some in government are ignoring the mandate of Article 41, and speaking out, such as Jorge DOmene. Last night, the government of Mexico announced a $30,000,000.00 mxn reward for information leading to the capture of those responsible. In US dollars, that comes to $2,201,446.12. (Hell for that amount of money, I’d turn my own mother in and give them a map showing where she’s buried.)

Anyone having information on this crime and possible claim the reward can do so by calling 01 800 831 3196 or by email  denunciapgr@pgr.gob.mx 

People are assuming that members of Los Zetas are responsible for this because of grafitti featuring the letter “Z” found on the gateway into the city and the narco banners which were removed. Others are saying the victims are in fact members of Los Zetas, murdered by the Sinoloa TCO. And some are also saying it could be retaliation against the government for their recent arrest of Marco Jesus Hernandez Rodriguez aka Jesus Ruiz Marcos Rodriguez, nicknamed “El Chilango”, jefe of sicarios (boss of Zetas’s assassins), who is credited with masterminding the kidnapping, torture and killing at least four Mexican Marines on April 18, 2012. For those of you who are not aware, Mexican Marines are the baddest of the bad in this country, and like our Special Forces troops, they take care of their own.

Personally, I think the scenario that this was a planned statement by Los Zetas for Mother’s Day is more believable as reported by Borderland Beat.

It just makes sense. Whatever it is, it’s a scouring of the gene pool from the bottom up.

There’s several reasons I’m writing this on a blog that generally has to do with trucking. First of all, James P. Hoffa’s Teamsters are using this as yet another reason that Mexican trucks should not be allowed into the US. Although no American’s were involved nor truckers, either Mexican or US, the truth doesn’t matter to Hoffa in the least.

In an article titled “49 more reasons not to open the border to Mexican trucks” an unidentified Teamster, thought to be Hoffa himself writes;

Trade deals are supposed to be two-way streets. The U.S. is supposed to give Mexican truckers access to our highways, Mexico is supposed to give U.S. truckers access to its highways.

But if the Mexican government can’t guarantee the safety of U.S. citizens, then Mexico isn’t giving the U.S. equal access to its highways. Mexico isn’t living up to its part of the deal.

The good news is that only a handful of Mexican carriers are allowed to travel beyond the border zone as part of the second cross-border trucking pilot program. And even fewer trucks are actually using our highways.

How sad is it that people like James P. Hoffa feel the need to use the deaths of 49 individual human beings to continue to push their isolationist agenda.

Units from Mexico Federal Police seal of crime scene where 49 bodies were discovered outside of Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon

The second and perhaps most important reason, for me anyhow, is that this story is being picked up internationally, and some in the mainstream media, thousands of miles from Mexico continue to portray Mexico as a crime ridden wild west 24/7 shootout which of course it’s not. Only a small fractions of Mexico’s municipalites (counties) have been effected by the ongoing was between the TCO’s (Trans-National Criminal Organizations) And civilians for the most part, are not the targets. Most of the victims in this period of violence have been found to have some connection, however minor to the bad guys.

A heightened presence of military units is seen in Cadereyta after the Mother's Day massacre that claimed 49 lives

People in the locales where the violence has been occurring continue with their lives as usual. What else is there to do. In Cadereyta, where the latest occurred, people haven’t lost faith in the military or the belief that their city and country will return to the safety it has known in the past.

One day after the slaughter which shocked this town and the nation, the main square of Cadereyta lived another day.

The park opposite the town hall was full of people, couples with their children enjoying a snack from street vendors or just talking.

Street vendors, clothing store owners, elderly people and even the street sweepers talk of the fear they feel about the violence.

Still others said nothing, just calmly observing the movement of people and vehicles around the main square of Cadereyta.

Because of this latest incident and others, the army has stepped up its presence in and around Cadereyta, with military patrols more frequently patroling the outskirts of the city.

And on Monday, the military took up positions opposite the town hall and around the square, watching and giving the citizens a feeling of security with their presence

Some of the troops got down from from their units and entered some of the businesses to interact with the owners and make purchases. Just another day as life continues in Mexico as it has for a 1000 years.

Teamsters file frivolous lawsuit seeking to stop Mexican Truck Program

James Hoffa and his Teamsters have filed yet another frivolous lawsuit in an attempt to stop the US compliance with our NAFTA obligation and promises

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 aren’t stringent enough for Mexican trucks and drivers. For example, the program waives a law requiring trucks to display proof of meeting federal safety standards, said Jonathan Weissglass, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

An official for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the Teamsters haven’t directly served the agency with a lawsuit. Once they do, the agency “will review and address the filing,” she said, adding that the pilot program will begin within 30 to 60 days. The official declined to address the substance of the suit.

U.S. officials have said the deal would hold Mexican truckers to high safety standards, and business groups have said it is important to make a deal with Mexico because the retaliatory tariffs are costing the U.S. jobs.

The arguments laid out in the complaint are faulty at best. For instance, The Teamsters allege the trucker program is faulty because it contains certain standards that are impossible for Mexico to meet. Mexico won’t be able to provide comparable access to U.S. trucks, as required, because ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel isn’t widely enough available there.

Ultra Low Sulfur diesel is widely available in the major cities and along the border, however the argument is moot as the routes US truckers are likely to take would put them well within range of their diesel capacity filled on the US side.

They also claim that Mexican truckers have less stringent vision requirements, which while true, is really a non issue. Mexico requires only recognition of the color “Red” while US vision requirements require cognizant recognition of red, yellow and green.

That’s all we know at the moment. Apparently, the comment at the conclusion of the MCSAC subcommittee by attorney Carlos Sesmas enraged the little man sufficiently to cause this frivolous lawsuit to be filed.

Public Citizen and the Teamsters went before the court in 2007 over the Mexican truck issue, joined by the Sierra Club and OOIDA. Even using false and misleading evidence (ie: Trinity Industries), the court dismissed the lawsuit.

We imagine that will be the case this time.

Cross Border Trucking with Mexico – “It’s going to happen, There is no way to stop it”

You'll soon being seeing safe, modern Mexican rigs driven by professional drivers on US highways as the US finally complies with it's obligations under NAFTA

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 Spencer who is a member of the committee was making the usual asinine and totally false claims about the program.

“What’s behind this is access to cheaper sources of labor,” Spencer claimed after the meeting, repeating the thoroughly debunked claim that it will put American jobs at risk and raises numerous safety concerns.

Mexican trucks have historically shown to have a lower percentage of Out of Service violations for vehicles and drivers than their US counterparts.

A representative of the Teamsters Union who sits on the committee,  Lamont Byrd, director of safety and health for the Teamsters union, said he had concerns also, but refused to elaborate on what they might be. (As if we can’t guess)

But the agreement will not take jobs from U.S. truckers, Sesma said, because Mexican drivers won’t stay in this country for work. As for safety, he said, cross-border truckers from Mexico are from areas near the U.S., so most read and speak English and understand U.S. traffic laws.

Bill Quade, a program administrator for the FMCSA, countered,  “I suspect the Mexican government will put billions of dollars of tariffs back onto U.S. goods, if the program is delayed again.”  Quade is correct.

Mexico reserved the right to reestablish the $2.5 billion dollars in legal tariff’s against US exports they put on US produced goods and agricultural products when the Obama Administration caved to pressure from union interests and reneged and defunded the previous highly successful cross border demonstration project. Those tariff’s cost US workers 25,000 jobs and more than 14% market share in the agriculture sector.

Though all the misinformation and hysteria being promoted by the Teamsters and OOIDA, Quade also revealed that to date, only 5 Mexican trucking companies had submitted applications to participate in the program.

Carlos Sesma said the creation of an open border for commerce is inevitable, which is why the agreement makes practical sense. He said the current method of carrying long-distance freight across the border, in which a truck drops a trailer and another picks it up, is inefficient.

It also makes practical sense as it put the United States in compliance with it’s international obligations and with a promise made and evaded for more than 17 years.

But that wasn’t good enough for Spencer, who continued with his naysaying and fear mongering.

Spencer characterized Sesma’s statement  “unbelievably exaggerated.” He questioned the ability of U.S. and Mexican states to police drivers with poor records and he claimed that the scarcity of low-sulfur diesel in Mexico, which is needed for most newer-model U.S. trucks, would be a handicap for American truckers trying to penetrate the Mexican market.

“Any real, meaningful truck travel in Mexico isn’t going to be possible,” Spencer said.

Spencer is the master of “unbelievable exaggeration”.  As a member of the committee, Spencer is well aware of the FMCSA and individual states ability to access Mexican driver databases and that ultra low sulfur diesel is readily available in Mexico along the lanes that US truckers would run, not that they would need to buy any.

And Spencer ignored the fact that 4 US trucking companies are still successfully and very profitably operating in Mexico after being allowed access under the 2007 cross border trucking agreement with Mexico. That’s right folks! When the US was hurrying to renege on our obligations with Mexico in 2009 by de-funding the previous program, Mexico allowed continuous operation by US participants in their country, to the consternation of CANACAR, the association which represents the majority of major Mexican trucking firms.

OOIDA’s Mark Reddig said in a recent blog entry;

Let me be clear about one thing, though. We intend to fight the opening of this border tooth and nail, with every ounce of energy we have. And we intend to win.

So far, not only have we won every round, but in fact we’ve had most of Congress and numerous other organizations with us.

If you call “winning” using lies, fear mongering, misinformation and other underhanded tactics, winning, then perhaps they have, but it’s nothing to be proud about, but this time fat boy, you lose!

OOIDA & Teamster demand Obama to “protect the trees”

Say it ain’t so people! James P. Hoffa and his Teamsters, and Todd Spencer with his minority of American truckers are aligning themselves with the left wing enviro-wackos in a last desperate attempt to stop fewer than 100 late model Mexican trucks from entering the country?

Politics and nativist protectionism make strange bedfellows sometimes as the latest press release from the Teamsters points out.

In comments submitted to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Sierra Club raised frivolous and baseless concerns with what they claim is the failure of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to adequately assess the environmental impacts associated with the upcoming U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking pilot program.

Hoffa erroneously claims:

“With this assessment, the FMSCA is recklessly ignoring the true environmental impact Mexican trucks will have if permitted to travel without restrictions throughout our country. We contend that the FMSCA has violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not addressing the full, cumulative effects on our environment prior to starting the cross-border pilot program.”

The “assessment” he is referring to is the  announcement last month of the availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) that evaluates the
potential environmental impacts resulting from the implementation of its United States-Mexico cross-border long- haul trucking pilot program in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

But Hoffa and his Teamsters as well as Spencer and OOIDA are blowing smoke up the asses of the American public and US truckers. They’re bringing up an issue that was resolved years ago by the Supreme Court of the United States.

It started back in 2002 when Public Citizen sued the FMCSA claiming an environmental impact study was required before any effort could be made to open the southern border to Mexican trucks as required under our NAFTA obligations.

At that time, FMCSA prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), but they did not prepare and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as PUBLIC CITIZEN claimed was required by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

The EA focused mainly on the environmental impact from doing more inspections, not on the impact from more trucks driving the roads.

Public Citizen sued to stop the possibility of cross border trucking until an EIS was prepared.Public Citizen argued that the increased number of trucks on US roads was liable to have a significant environmental impact, and therefore an EIS was required. There claim was that more than 30,000 older polluting trucks burning high sulphur diesel would have an impact on our environment.

The trial court found in favor of the defendent, FMCSA. The Trial Court found that although the FMCSA pilot program would result in more trucks, FMCSA did not have control over those trucks and therefore did not have to account for them in an EIS. Public Citizen went shopping and appealed to the liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, reversing the trial court. The Appellate Court found that the EA was deficient because it failed to give adequate consideration to the overall environmental impact from the Mexican trucks. Of course, FMCSA appealed, all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

The case was argued before the Supreme Court on April 21, 2004 with a unanimous verdict being rendered on June 7, 2004.

The US Supreme Court held that the FMCSA had no control of the trucks once the regulations governing the pilot program were passed, and would therefore be unable to act on the findings of an EIS even if it did conduct one.
FMCSA has no statutory authority to impose or enforce emissions controls or to establish environmental requirements unrelated to motor carrier safety.

The Court also found that the passage of the regulations was not sufficiently responsible for the increased pollution caused by the trucks to warrant an EIS.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the Courts most conservative Judge wrote the opinion which you can read here.

Now in their desperation to keep a handful of late model, closely monitored Mexican trucks from entering this country, they ally themselves with the tree huggers. They ignore the more than 30,000 Mexican rigs that access the United States daily, some with authority to run anywhere in the country they desire.

Take OOIDA for instance. They’re always preaching against more government regulations and fighting CARB, the California Air Resources Board, which has some of the most stringent environmental rules in the country (and rules that Mexican trucks follow daily). A good example of that is OOIDA’s statement in opposition to new fuel economy rules for big trucks.

OOIDA says;

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) called the administration’s announcement today for greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks a flawed, one-size-fits-all rule. The new rule ignores input from small-business trucking, overlooks less expensive options to achieve EPA goals of reduced emissions, and will ultimately increase new truck costs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a first-ever rulemaking for new large tractor-trailer trucks that requires trucks to achieve up to approximately 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018.

“By totally ignoring the impact on small-business trucking, the EPA has demonstrated yet another example of our wretchedly broken regulatory process,” said Joe Rajkovacz, Director of Regulatory Affairs for OOIDA.  “Congress should take action when they return in September to rein in the bureaucracy and push forward regulatory reform legislation that has already been introduced.”

Notice the hypocrisy and desperation? They oppose the new mileage standards and are demanding the Administration to stand down from all the excessive regulations they’re putting on us, a position I totally agree with, yet in the next breath, they demand more regulations against a few Mexican trucks.

In an article published on August 12, 2011 titled FMCSA’s environmental assessment of cross-border program falls short, OOIDA claims,

Currently, Mexican emission standards for diesel-powered truck engines are only aligned with U.S. EPA emissions standards for six criteria pollutants through the 2003 model year. This means that newer engines for Mexican trucks need not comply with the more stringent U.S. emissions standards that came into play in 2004 through 2010.

The comments point out that since Mexico has not aligned its diesel engine emissions standards to U.S. EPA 2004 standards, the differences can be stark – as much as 20 times the nitrogen oxides and 10 times the particulate matter, based on using diesel with a sulfur content of 500 parts per million.

The ability to add additional fuel tanks makes it possible for trucks from Mexico to fill up with the low-sulfur diesel available in Mexico and never have to fuel up while in the states – polluting at a higher level than corresponding U.S. trucks.

OOIDA’s comments propose two options to FMCSA to ensure a minimal environmental impact the cross-border program may have.

The first, would be to only allow trucks that meet U.S. EPA model year emissions standards for the year in which the engine was manufactured. We don’t have a problem with that and indeed, that is stated in the proposal for the new cross border program. Guess that part went over their heads at OOIDA.

The second is ridiculous and nothing in the section of NAFTA regulating cross border trucking, nor int he arbitration panel ruling requires this.  OOIDA’s idea would force trucks arriving from Mexico either to have ULSD fuel purchased in Mexico on board or to have possibly to one-fourth tank or less of fuel not meeting the U.S. ULSD standard – so they could purchase compliant fuel once crossing the border.

Even if Mexican trucks were using diesel fuel consisting of 5000 ppm of sulfur, the environmental impact of less than 100 trucks would be absolute zero.

This is simply another method by the opponents to throw up more roadblocks to our compliance with our international obligations. Fortunately, they’ll lose this fight too.

OOIDA concedes defeat – Mexican trucks to roll in August or September

Safe, fully inspected Mexican trucks such as this one would be allowed access to US under the proposed Pilot Program with Mexico

In an interview with Mark Reddig on Land Line Now Friday, Laura O’Neil of OOIDA’s Washington office conceded there is not much left to do to prevent the Mexican Cross Border Pilot Program from beginning next month.

O’Neil, saying that OOIDA continues to look for any roadblock they can throw up to stop the program, conceded that with the August recess upon us, the debate over the debt ceiling increase and the fact that their is not much interest in Congress in stopping the program, that they are out of options. She did suggest that members approach their representatives in their home districts and whine and complain about EOBR’s and those “dirty old polluting” Mexican trucks, the latter that has been thoroughly debunked.

O’Neil did say however that when the trucks start to roll, that OOIDA will be watching very closely for anything they can use to try once again to hamper or sabotage the program as they have in the past. Their bogus claims about Trinity Industries, is the first example that comes to mind.

MEXICAN TRUCKS TO ROLL IN AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

Mexican trucks will begin shipping long-haul freight far into U.S. territory at the end of August or in early September the Mexican government said.

“We hope that by the end of August or early September the first company can enter with full rights,” Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari told reporters in Washington after a three-day visit that ended Thursday and included meetings with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

That first company, based in Monterrey, will be joined later by another 20 that had requested the right to transport cargo on U.S. roads before Washington barred access to Mexican trucks in 1995, Ferrari said, adding that those other firms could begin shipping freight deep inside the United States “before year’s end,”

Mexico expects other companies that are now submitting their paperwork for the program to be able to enter the United States within 18 months after the application date, as stipulated in the bilateral accord signed on July 6.

Ferrari said he was optimistic about the Cross Border Freight Truck Program deal and hailed the fact that the applications that Mexican trucking firms submitted two decades ago for access to U.S. roads remain valid.

“In the talks we stressed that we didn’t want a new program, but just to give effect to the previous one, which was not interrupted for reasons in Mexico but rather due to problems in this country (the United States),” the secretary said.

“I think there’ll be a lot of interest from Mexican companies,” the secretary said, noting that trucks transport roughly $275 billion worth of annual cargo shipments between the two countries, or 70 percent of the total.

Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Secretariat estimates that the new agreement will expedite the 4.5 million annual truck crossings, generating some $675 million in cost savings.

NEW PROGRAM IS A BIG NON ISSUE

“The new agreement will probably not open us any more to criminal enterprise than we are now,” said David McIntyre, a homeland security expert and vice president for academics at National Graduate School of Quality Management. “But we have a big problem with criminal enterprise right now.”

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee and whose district includes Laredo port of entry, said that when the Bush administration tried a pilot program for the cross-border trucks, only a few carriers participated.

“If anybody expects huge lines of Mexican trucks to come in across the border revving their engines, that’s not going to happen that way,” Cuellar said. “It’s expensive for a lot of those trucking companies … because they have to meet so many requirements on this side.”

James Clark, director of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Mexico Business Center, said security concerns are unfounded because U.S. and Mexican trucks get the same degree of scrutiny and inspection.

Clark rejected concerns that Mexican drivers won’t understand English, noting that language proficiency has long been required to drive a truck in the United States.
“Aeromexico pilots speak Spanish, too, but they land planes at LAX,” he said.

Efforts by OOIDA and their allies in Congress seem to be going nowhere, Rep. Peter DeFazio’s HR-2407, which would limit the program to 3 years, has garnered only 14 co-sponsors and is not made it out of committee.

OOIDA’s lawsuit attempting to stop the program, which on the surface, appears without any merit, has not been given a hearing date by the DC Court of Appeals.

And perhaps more telling, The TEAMSTERS and their ineffectual leader, James P. Hoffa, have made no moves to interfere this time as they did back in 2007.

Cross Border Proposal could be signed as soon as this week!

Ann Ferro, FMCSA Administrator told a group of SMC3 executives that the Cross Border Pilot Program will be happening "soon" with the first trucks crossing in August.

Speaking to a group of trucking, logistics and technology industry executives at SMC3’s annual summer conference last Thursday in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro said that new cross-border trucking program with Mexico could be in place within two months although she added she doesn’t expect a wave of Mexican trucks heading for the U.S. border.

The FMCSA and it’s Mexican counterpart SCT, expects the U.S. and Mexico to agree on a final program “quite soon” and to grant authority to the first Mexican carrier in the program “sometime in August.” Sources suggest the agreement could be signed sometime this week, with 50% of the legal retaliatory tariff’s being lifted immediately and the remainder when the first Mexican truck is granted authority under the proposed Mexican Cross Border Pilot Proposal.

As you may recall last week we reported that Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari had suggested the agreement could be signed “soon”. This got OOIDA all stirred up with them sending their allies “Chicken Little” emails suggesting that the agreement would be signed as soon as the next day and exhorting people to “Call their Representatives”, for all the good that will do.

FEDERAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORIZATION BILL
Speaking of OOIDA and their concentrated interest in getting a Highway Bill passed, we ran across the reason in the form of a letter sent to the chairmen’s of the “Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure” and the “Subcommittee on Highways and Transit”, John Mica and John J. Duncan Jr.

The letter, co-signed by who else, but the corrupt little Congress critter, Peter DeFazio (D-OR) who is also a member of the subcommittee, lays out some of the things they want to see in the 2011 Highway Authorization Bill.

Of specific interest to this debate is the following passage:

We also support inclusion of a provision to block attempts to open the US-Mexico border to cross border truck traffic until the safety, security and job concerns raised by Congress are addressed.

Problem with this is, safety, security and job concerns are a red herring, formed on baseless assumptions not backed by facts. Mexican politicians could take lessons on corruption from Peter DeFazio and his handlers at OOIDA and the TEAMSTERS.

Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States

The Congressional Research service recently prepared for Members and Committees of Congress a report titled
“Status of Mexican Trucks in the United States” which pretty much debunks what Defazio, Teamsters, OOIDA and others have been saying about Mexican trucks. The report can be read or downloaded HERE.

Here’s some excerpts of the report:

Are Mexican Trucks Less Safe Than U.S. Trucks?
Currently, there are about 4,600 Mexican carriers operating within the commercial zones andabout 1,000 Mexico-based but U.S.-owned carriers that have limited operating authority beyondthe commercial zones.

The study reported that in 87% of those incidents in which a truck was determined to be primarily responsible for a crash, the driver was the critical factor, while a problem with the truck was the critical factor in only about 10% of the cases. FMCSA has determined that a Mexican commercial driver’s license is equivalent to a U.S.commercial driver’s license, and that the knowledge and skills testing for obtaining a Mexican commercial driver’s license is similar to that in the United States. It also found that, unlike the United States, Mexico requires pre-test training for all new truck drivers, with additional training prior to each license renewal. FMCSA has access to traffic violation data for violations that occur in Mexico.

What About Hauling Domestic Freight in the United States?

NAFTA does not require that Mexican trucks be allowed to carry U.S. domestic cargo, and theObama Administration pilot plan would not allow them to do so.

Thus, it is immigration regulations, rather than trucking regulations, that require Canadian or Mexican truck drivers to carry only cross-border cargo when operating in the United States

Are U.S. Truckers Interested in Operating in Mexico?

Before the Bush pilot program, Mexico did not allow U.S. trucks anywhere in Mexico. Under the Bush pilot program, 10 U.S. carriers participated in Mexico’s reciprocal pilot project. These carriers operated 55 trucks on 2,245 trips into Mexico.

Most U.S.trucking firms offering services in Mexico do so through a partnership with a Mexican trucking firm

Where Would Mexican Trucks Travel and How Many Would There Be?

Relative to rail and coastal shipping, trucking is more costly for long-distance shipments, even with a driver paid according to Mexican wage scales. Therefore, it is likely that most Mexican trucks in the pilot program will not travel beyond the border states. The results of the 2007-2009 Bush pilot program bears this out. Under that program, Mexican participants made 12,516 trips into the United States. Of these, 1,439, or 11.5%, were to destinations beyond the commercial zone. Only 4% of these long-haul trips (a total of 80 trips) were to destinations beyond a border state. Almost all of the trips beyond the border commercial zone were to destinations within Texas andCalifornia. In more than 30 states no Mexican project participant was identified at roadside inspections during the 18 months of the program.

Guess DeFazio missed that memo.

Opponents of Cross Border Trucking turn to recognized “hate groups” for support.

"We're as close as you can be," Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari (left, shown here with US Trade Rep Ron Kirk) said yesterday, confirming that his country is preparing to sign the formal Cross Border Trucking agreement to end the trucking dispute with the U.S. as early as this month

“We’re as close as you can be,” Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari  said yesterday, confirming that  his country is preparing to sign the formal Cross Border Trucking agreement to end the trucking dispute with the U.S. as early as this month, setting the stage for the country to remove the punitive tariffs that have cost 25,000 or more US jobs and market share.

Opponents of the program, The Teamsters and OOIDA in particular, in their desperation appear to be pulling out all stops, including turning to recognized HATE GROUPS to spread their message.

In this case, the organization in question is FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM (FAIR), a misnomer meant to confuse the public and lend them legitimacy.

FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, has employed white supremacists in key leadershpi roles, has accepted over a million dollars from a eugenics foundation AND, as if that weren’t enough, has helped to bolster racist conspiracy theories throughout the country.

FAIR is not the voice of the mainstream, it’s the voice of individuals who have helped fuel the 40% increase in the number of hate groups in the US. These aren’t citizen advocacy groups, or simply groups of concerned folk- they are hate groups plain and tall. But then, neither is the TEAMSTERS nor OOIDA.

A recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, outlines the story of FAIR as a hate group, and it justifies their official addition to the national list of hate groups maintained by the organization.

It’s been proven that opposition to Mexican trucks has nothing to do with safety, the ability of the Mexican carriers and their drivers to comply with and follow our rules and regulation, but is simply a veiled attempt to keep Mexicans out of this country. Jumping in bed with organizations such as FAIR, the largest and most vile anti-Hispanic organization in the US further proves this.

FAIR has an “Action Alert” posted urging all their nativist members to harass Congress to stop the program. Not much chance of that happening of course, but it there. and like this article in the CONSERVATIVE DAILY NEWS, has OOIDA executive vice president Todd Spencer’s prints all over it.  As the article states, “Where is the Outrage?” We should all be outraged that these two groups, insignificant at best, continue to cost Americans thousands of jobs while pushing their anti-Mexican agenda.

For the most part, they’ve failed. More than 1400 trade associations, the majority of Congress have gotten behind this latest effort to bring us into compliance with our international obligations.

Despite being proven otherwise, we still see people showing their gross stupidity of the issue, or maybe it’s not stupidity, but their bigotry and prejudices coming to the surface such as this letter written to the Tuscaloosa News by Dwight Stripling of Northport Alabama.

Stripling writes;

Dear Editor: Under the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement, which President (Barack) Obama is working to get passed, Mexico will be entitled to haul goods throughout the United States.

But it was discovered that many of the trucks used in the program were poorly maintained, uninspected, and overloaded. Their brakes were bad, their tires were bald and almost always dangerously over the legal weight limit, but that’s not the worst of it.

The United States has safety regulations about how many hours a trucker can drive before he has to take a mandatory break, but the Mexican drivers have no such restrictions, and most are popping pills to keep themselves awake. There is also a possibility of them transporting illegal aliens, drugs, and potential terrorists and their weapons.

When Mexico began sending its trucks across the border, most of the drivers who were stopped for inspection were carrying some kind of contraband to supplement their incomes.

Back then, they carried marijuana and illegal aliens. Today, who knows what they could be carrying in those trucks besides drugs and illegals? Terrorists? Roadside bombs? Anthrax? Think about it!

 

As you can see, Stripling hasn’t a clue what he’s writing about. He blindly follows what he’s been told.

Rusty Wade, aka Yoda, webmaster for Dale “Trucking Bozo” Sommers website, even jumped into the mix with a article he titled, “UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED AGAIN”.  Yoda claims;

A friend sent me pictures from his cell phone of trucks in Arizona that had just come across the border from Mexico at Nogales, Az.
I wondered how safe these Mexican trucks were, so I decided to check them with the FMCSA.
Things I noticed, the authorities were all valid, and there is nothing in that authority that specifies only in the border region, many of those trucks have both Mexican and Arizona tags. I have seen trucks tagged like this in every state of the union. Some do have a “z” after the DOT number some do not!
The absolute truth is these trucks are unsafe, they have repeated inspections that find the same defects.

What did Yoda think he found? Well, one company with 3 drivers, 2 tractors, 2 straight trucks and 4 trailers would seem to have racked up a total of  607 vehicle inspections, 752 driver inspections and 128 haz mat inspections in a 2 year period and they have an AWFUL CMS score if you look at it on the surface. However digging down, you see the majority of the driver violations is for a “non English speaking” driver, and all inspections of this cross border drayage company were done in Arizona.

Another company he lists, LOGISTICA DE CARGA DEL NOROESTE SA DE CV,  similar stats. A vehicle OOS rate of 22% and a driver OOS rate of 2%, comparable to that of US drivers.

And it goes on. Many of these violations of these companies could probably be “DataQed” and removed, but at the end of the day, it’s more smoke and mirrors to mask the truth and shows the lengths opponents of Mexican trucking will go to.

Straight answers to Teamsters questions

And James Hoffa talks about "unsafe Mexican trucks" when he represents drivers like this?

MEXICO TRUCKER ONLINE is pleased to help educate members of the TEAMSTERS who seem to lack the wherewithal to find answers to question on their own about the upcoming Mexican Cross Border Pilot Program.

Today, they made a post titled  Truck driving champ says ‘NO’ to Mexican trucks where it appears a TEAMSTERS member and 13th place runner up in the ATA’s Truck Driver Championship (Straight Trucks) asks some questions about Mexican trucks that need answering.

YRCW driver Scott Archer posed these questions.

Will these men and women be trained as U.S. drivers? Look at the ATA 2011 Facts for Drivers book G6011. Will the Mexican truckers understand or be trained on this important material?…Will they have the following:

• CDL license?
• Fingerprint check?
• Background check?
• Medical physical card?
• Proper insurance?
• Commercial Cehicle Safety Alliance?
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration?
• Hours of service log?
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?
• TWIC cards?
• National Transportation Safety Board?…

 

We really have no idea what the hell he’s talking about concerning a 2011 ATA Fact Book for Drivers. US drivers are not trained according to this publication and NO, Mexican drivers won’t be trained as US drivers. After all, they’re Mexican and training standards in Mexico are much more stringent than the non existent training standards for US drivers.

On February 17, 2011, representatives from FMCSA, CVSA and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators visited a Mexican driver license facility, medical qualification facility, and test and inspection location. During these site visits FMCSA and its partner organizations observed Mexico to have rigorous requirements for knowledge and skills testing that are similar to those in the United States. In addition, Mexico requires that all new commercial drivers undergo training prior to testing and requires additional retraining each time the license is renewed. In contrast, U.S. regulations do not currently require any specific training prior to testing for, or renewal of, a U.S. CDL.

But we’ll take Mr. Archers other concerns as he listed them.

CDL license?

Yes, all Mexican drivers will have a Licencia Federal de Conductor, with an international endorsement, which states the holder has provided the SCT with documentation  of completion of an English language course. Since a 1991 Mutual Understanding Agreement (MUA) between the SCT and the USDOT, Mexican LF were found to be significantly equal to a US CDL.

Mexican Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL). The United States’ acceptance of a Mexican LF dates back to November 21, 1991, when the Federal Highway Administrator determined that the Mexican CDLs are equivalent to the standards of the U.S. regulations and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mexico.

Fingerprint Check – Background Check?

Had Mr. Scott read the proposal, he wouldn ‘t have asked these lame questions. The Pilot Program proposal states that all drivers who are accepted into the program will be vetted by DHS (Homeland Security) which includes fingerprinting and background checks using numerous databases in the US and Mexico. In addition, Mexican drivers, unlike Canadians, must have a US entry Visa to even cross the border. These are provided by the State Department after  thorough vetting.

Security Screening. FMCSA would submit information on the applicant motor carriers and their drivers designated for long-haul operations in the pilot program to DHS for security screening. Motor carriers and/or drivers that fail DHS’s security screening would not be eligible for participation in the pilot program. Reasons a motor carrier or driver may not pass DHS security screening may include: providing false or incomplete information; conviction of any criminal offense or pending criminal charges or outstanding warrants; violation of any customs, immigration or agriculture regulations or laws; the carrier or driver is the subject of an ongoing investigation by any Federal, State or local law enforcement agency; the motor carrier or driver is inadmissible to the United States under immigration regulations, including applicants with approved waivers of inadmissibility or parole documentation; DHS is not satisfied concerning the motor carrier’s or driver’s low-risk status; DHS cannot determine an applicant’s criminal, residence or employment history; or the motor carrier or driver is subject to National Security Entry Exit Registration System or other special registration programs.

Medical Physical Card?

Of course they will as the medical certification is part of the licensing process in Mexico and is part of the Licencia Federal. As stated in the FMCSA Pilot Program Proposal:

The Secretary of Transportation will also consider that physical examinations conducted by Mexican doctors and drug testing specimens collected by Mexican medical collection facilities are equivalent to the process for examinations conducted, and test specimens collected, in the United States.

In Mexico, in order to obtain the LF a driver must meet the requirements established by the Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal (LCPAF or Roads, Bridges and Federal Motor Carrier Transportation Act) Article 36, and Reglamento de Autotransporte Federal y Servicios Auxiliares (RAFSA, or Federal Motor Carrier Transportation Act) Article 89, which states that a Mexican driver must pass the medical examination required by Mexico’s Transport and Communications Ministry (SCT), Directorship General of Protection and Prevention Medicine in Transportation (DGPMPT). This is the same medical exam performed on applicants in all modes of transportation (airline pilots, merchant mariners, and locomotive operators).

The medical examination may be completed by government doctors or certified private physicians.FMCSA examined the Mexican medical fitness for duty requirements and has found that the Mexican physical qualification regulations are more prescriptive, detailed, and stricter than those in the United States. For example, Mexican regulations address body mass index, cancers and tumors, skin and appendages, psychiatric and psychological disorders, and have specific standards for evaluation of the ear, nose and throat and the genitourinary system.

These are all areas for which the United States has no regulatory standards. The only notable difference involves vision. Mexico only requires red color vision while the United States requires a color vision test for at least red, green, and yellow. FMCSA believes that, taken as a whole, Mexico’s medical regulations are comparable to those in the United States, and provide a level of safety at least equivalent to the U.S. regulations. FMCSA also notes that Mexico’s medical examinations are performed almost exclusively by physicians at Mexican government facilities, and when performed by private doctors, those doctors are specifically approved by the SCT.

Proper Insurance?

The Pilot Program Proposal CLEARLY STATES that all OP-1MX applicants will have insurance or a surety bond posted with a US insurance or Surety company, the same as was required during the 2007 demonstration program and the same as is required for OP2-MX carriers (drayage) and “Certificate Carriers” operating in the US today.

Liability Insurance. Mexico-domiciled motor carriers participating in the pilot program must maintain a certificate of insurance or surety bond on file with FMCSA, as prescribed in 49 CFR 387.313, throughout the pilot program. The insurance or surety bond must be underwritten by a U.S. insurance or surety bond company.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance?

Mexico has been a full and equal participating member of CVSA for years. Furthermore, the Pilot Program Proposal states carriers must display a current CVSA decal for three years from the date operating authority is granted. These decals are must be renewed by a level I inspection every 90 days.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration?

We have no idea what Mr. Archer refers to here, other than FMCSA will have full oversight of the Mexican carriers as they do now and have in the past. Mexico’s equivalent SCT has oversight in Mexico.

Hours of Service Log?

EOBR’s, if approved, will track drivers hours of service, on both sides of the border, although like the Canadians, HOS rules are different in Mexico and should not have any bearing on a Mexican drivers performance in this country. They will comply with our HOS regulations when operating in this country, as they do now and have in the past.National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration?  TWIC cards? National Transportation Safety Board?

TWIC Cards? not mentioned in the proposal, however, it is doubtful the Mexican driver would need one. His background checks for immigration visa and the pilot program should be sufficient. However, should a Mexican driver need access to a port facility, they would fall under the same rules as those of us who do not have a TWIC. To wit: a paid escort inside the port facility. As for the NTSA and NTSB? We have no idea what Mr. Archer is referring to as it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Truth be known, Mr Archer probably hasn’t a clue. After all, he’s a TEAMSTER and only came in 13th in the Truck Driving Championships, in the Straight Truck Division