The Department of Transportation (DOT) has posted a list of US and Mexican carriers that are operating in a pilot program that authorizes them to operate throughout the United States and Mexico.
Among the US carriers that will be operating in Mexico are Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution LP, El Paso TX; IBC Inc, Chula Vista CA; Plastic Express, City of Industry CA; A&R Transport Inc, Joliet IL; and Atlas Transportation Service, San Diego CA. There are 13 Mexican carriers currently on the list.
In September of 2007, the Department of Transportation began the cross-border trucking demonstration project that will allow up to 100 US trucking companies to operate in Mexico and up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to operate beyond commercial zones in the United States.
The program aroused opposition in Congress, which blocked further funding of the project as part of the mega appropriation bill that included funding for DOT for 2008.
The program also is opposed by several groups, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Brotherhood of Teamsters, Public Citizen, and the Sierra Club. The groups argue that Mexican carriers' trucks are unsafe and do not meet the same standards as those in the United States. DOT and other proponents of the plan contend that the regulations for Mexican trucks are as stringent as those for US trucks.
The list of carriers authorized for the program is posted online on the DOT Web site.