Posts Tagged “Texas border crossings”
A significant share of northbound produce shipments from Mexico is coming through the Laredo port district of Texas, a new USDA report reveals.
Called the “U.S.-Mexico Agricultural Trade Logistics Review,” the report indicated that, excluding avocados, about 38% of Mexico’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports flow through Laredo crossings, 30% through Nogales and 17% through San Diego.
Much like fresh produce southbound from the U.S., Mexico’s exports of fresh fruits and vegetables are shipped almost exclusively by truck, the report said.
In value terms, the U.S. held a 64% market share of all agricultural and related exports to Mexico in 2021. During the same year, 81% of Mexico’s total agricultural exports went to the U.S.
While U.S. exports of fresh produce to Mexico often flow through the Western land ports such as Nogales, Ariz., and San Diego, the report said northbound shipments are more heavily oriented towards eastern commercial crossings in Texas.
“Some exceptions exist for products whose production zones in Mexico are in closer proximity to the Nogales/San Diego commercial crossings such as table grapes and watermelon,” the report said. “However, existing infrastructure, inspection capacity, and more direct access to the largest U.S. markets dictate more eastbound trade flows.”
In fact, U.S. imports of avocados from Mexico, totaling more than 1 million metric tons in 2021, are largely shipped through the Laredo district in Texas, the report said.
“Fresh tomatoes represent another product that is shipped at volume through the Laredo district throughout the year (especially through the McAllen port of entry),” the report said. However, the report said there are also seasonal increases through Nogales in the first half of the year with a less-pronounced increase through San Diego mid- to late year.
The report said a notable feature of Mexican fresh fruit and vegetable trade through the Laredo district is the extent to which certain products flow through certain port of entries.
“For example, a large majority of fresh fruit and vegetables transit through the Reynosa/McAllen port of entry as opposed to the Laredo/Colombia port of entries,” the report said.
Based on the geography of production zones for several fresh products in Mexico, the report said the Nogales port of entry is also a seasonally important conduit particularly of table grapes, watermelon and several vegetable varieties.
In 2021 and 2022, northbound agricultural trade from Mexico to the U.S. has been characterized by record values due in part to the current high-price environment for food and agricultural products, the report said.
“Strong consumer demand in the U.S. continues to contribute to record volumes of food and agricultural imports,” the report said.
Another feature of cross-border trade during COVID-19 was an increasing imbalance between north and southbound freight shipped via truck, with far more freight heading northbound than southbound, the report said.
“This imbalance is not new and for several years predating COVID, food and agricultural trade via truck was more heavily northbound-oriented. However, the imbalance sharpened in 2020 and 2021. A north-south imbalance that was traditionally 3-to-1 reached as high as 8-to-1 in late 2020. Also complicating the commercial truck area of the supply chain are driver shortages on both sides of the border.”
The report said the national trucking association in Mexico (CANACAR) estimated that Mexico has a shortage of up to 50,000 truckers.
When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ended longer border inspections he had implemented April 15, it was good news for produce haulers and produce shippers. The policy was started nearly a week earlier. However, some think it may be weeks before the supply chain gets back to normal.
The immigration policy decision came as Texas is trying to stop the open border policies of the Biden administration. It resulted in gridlock and hundreds of millions of lost dollars and delays in shipments including produce items such as avocados and strawberries.
Abbott’s move ultimately created a logjam of trucks between the U.S. and its largest goods trading partner. Vegetable producers say their produce is spoiling in idling trucks and they are losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
Nearly $9 billion of fresh produce crosses the Texas border from Mexico each year, said Dante L. Galeazzi, CEO and president of the Texas International Produce Association. And for the past week, that produce has been held hostage, with businesses and goods “being used as bargaining chips,” Galeazzi was quoted as saying.
What used to be a routine border crossing turned into a 30-hour wait for some trucks. Meanwhile, the fruits and vegetables in those trucks spoiled, leaving some produce department shelves sparse or empty in advance of the holiday weekend, he said.
“It could take a week or longer, up to probably three weeks, before the supply chain realigns,” Galeazzi said.
Losses to fruit and vegetable producers are estimated to be more than $240 million, said Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas.
Consumers will also pay a price as producers look to recoup some of their losses and supplies run low.
Americans can expect to spend more on strawberries, avocados and asparagus, with the impacts being felt the heaviest in the Midwest and Northeast, Jungmeyer said.
It could ultimately take several weeks for supply chains to recover from the weeklong slowdown at the border, said Matthew Hockenberry, a Fordham University assistant professor who studies supply chains and logistics.
“It’s also just so hard to predict, because there’s so much supply instability right now,” he said, noting that China’s latest wave of lockdowns and the war in Ukraine are causing even more disruptions.
“The amount of supply uncertainty is so high that to add another straw here to the camel’s back is a dangerous proposition.”
Increased inspections of commercial vehicles, including trucks carrying fresh produce from Mexico to the U.S., is delaying deliveries during a time of excess supply chain disruptions.
This is tied to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowing to strengthen border protections and inspections in response to the Biden Administration’s plans to end pandemic emergency health orders that allowed federal officials to turn away migrants seeking asylum.
The Texas Border Truck Inspection Enforcement Action is one of the measures, which allows for state inspections after U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspections.
Several trade groups have written to Abbott to reconsider what these actions do to cross border trade and ultimately to consumers of these products.
Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas Bwrote:
Texas has some of the most secure Commercial Ports of Entry anywhere along the U.S. border. Officers use sophisticated technology to see through the trailers and catch illicit cargo and prevent human smuggling.
Adding an additional Texas DPS inspection once trucks have crossed the border is causing serious delays with no commensurate increase in border safety.
Unfortunately, delays from DPS inspections mean that up to 80% of perishable fruits and vegetables have been unable to cross daily. This is causing losses of millions of dollars a day for employers and employees who have been idled.
Trucks are waiting over 24 hours to cross the border. Customers are unable to load product from their Texas suppliers. Transportation shortages are increasing as available trucks are stuck waiting in line to cross the border.
Food shortages will rise as we head into Easter. Trucks are running out of diesel fuel to run refrigerated units on the trailers, resulting in catastrophic damage to highly perishable fresh fruits and vegetables. This means that even when a truck is able to cross the border eventually, the product could be damaged significantly.
If DPS inspections stopped today, it would take over a week for the supply chain to return to normal. Unfortunately, the loss of inventory, freshness, and sales will never be recovered, and these losses are a direct economic loss to Texas companies, and lost sales to their customers around North America.
Dante Galeazzi, CEO/president of Texas International Produce Association Bwrote:
Last night, commercial trucks crossing the Pharr International Bridges were in a miles long line that took until nearly 2am this morning to clear the bridge. Today, the line is at a stand-still as trucks are crawling out of the import lot. Many carriers and brokers are reporting hours of non-movement.
Border security is an important element of this region, but so is the trade that keeps millions of Texans employed. According to a study from Texas A&M, fresh produce arriving from Mexico not only employs nearly 8,000 Texans but is also responsible for $850M in economic impact to the state. Further, our industry is in the midst of the ‘Easter Pull’ in which grocery stores are ordering products for the holiday promotion. The execution of this order has wreaked havoc up and down our supply chain and is likely to leave state store shelves with limited fresh produce supplies.
Warehouses have staff sitting idle, with no trucks to unload. Buyers in other parts of the country cannot understand why their product is not available. US trucking companies are losing money as they sit around for days with no loads to haul. I have even heard from a member that a trucking company is refusing to send trucks south of San Antonio out of concern there will be no cargo available. This is destroying our business and the reputation of Texas. I foresee companies making plans to move their business to New Mexico and Arizona.
TIPA urges your office to modify this action. We implore you to work with the Department of Homeland Security on a more effective process which meets the country’s need for security while balancing our dependency on efficient trade.We oppose any state-level action that results in an inspection process that duplicates the inspections already performed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, whose work at the land border ports of entry is informed by highly attuned risk assessment models, intelligence gathering, and a commitment to the agency’s dual mission of enforcement and facilitation.
Border Trade Alliance president Britton Mullen said:
The Border Trade Alliance believes strongly that cross-border trade and travel efficiency should be balanced with security.
While border states like Texas have an important role to play in ensuring truck safety and code compliance, the state should be working in collaboration with CBP, not engaging in a new inspection scheme that will slow the movement of freight, which will only exacerbate the country’s supply chain crisis and put even more upward pressure on consumer prices.
The BTA urges the Governor’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security to work cooperatively to meet the country’s security and economic needs.
At the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition Spring Meeting in El Paso April 11, Abbott said, “Texans demand and deserve an aggressive, comprehensive strategy to secure our border—not President Biden’s lackluster leadership. As the federal government continues to roll back commonsense policies that once kept our communities safe, our local law enforcement has stepped up to protect Texans from dangerous criminals, deadly drugs, and illegal contraband flooding into the Lone Star State. Texas will always be a law-and-order state, and I thank our law enforcement officers who have answered the call to protect and serve their fellow Texans in the federal government’s absence in securing our border.”