Mexican trucking officials say that the first holiday freight surge of the season is upon us despite a significant drop over the last year.
Vice President of the Mexican Northwest Freight Transporters Association, Israel Delgado Vallejo says that 2024 has been a complicated year for cross-border freight, with deliveries across the border dropping by 40% due to confusion and effects from tariffs and other trucking-related legislation. However, he says that freight rates in October show that the holiday freight surge has already started for the season, increasing cross-border deliveries by 15%, reported ABC 15.
“It has been a complicated year,” Delgado Vallejo said. “This is the final stretch and we’re seeing a slight spike in some industrial sectors. We have seen some drastic drops in business projections and losses of employment in our industry.”
“Considering what we’ve seen this year, a 15 percent increase is good but still insufficient due to what we’ve experienced this year,” he said.
Still, Delgado Vallejo says he still has concerns about the ELP enforcement’s effect on available truck drivers.
“We’ve seen a lot of lows, hoping the surge will continue, but another obstacle remains, that is having to gain some English literacy for truckers as the United States government keeps insisting, if they don’t get a handle on their English, they won’t be able to drive, and that hurts all the industry.”