Truckers Face Long Delays at Mexican Border
 Associated Press
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| | Truckers get held up an average of 45 minutes at peak times, a figure that varies by hour and season and has gradually crept up a few minutes in recent years. (Associated Press) | |
Phoenix — Some $19 billion worth of goods, ranging from avocados to autos is transported through the outdated port-of-entry at Nogales, Mexico.
Some days, it takes eight hours to get over the border. On the worst days, truckers could be in line all night.
The massive delays disrupt the supply line and lead to spoiled produce, higher costs and frayed nerves.
“It’s getting worse, that’s for sure,” said Terry Shannon Jr., a Nogales customs broker.
Getting to and through Nogales, Mexico, typically adds four to six hours to a trip, several truckers said.
Going from Arizona to Mexico, truckers get held up an average of 45 minutes at peak times, a figure that varies by hour and season and has gradually crept up a few minutes in recent years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.
Produce distributors warn that if things don’t get better, shippers will skip Nogales and go elsewhere because the longer that fruit and vegetables sit in trucks, the sooner they spoil, and the more families may pay at the supermarket.
“If Arizona doesn’t modernize its ports, we will keep losing out to Texas and California,” said Chris Ciruli, a produce distributor in Nogales, Ariz.
Congress cut from the budget this year $200 million needed to modernize Nogales’ Mariposa port.
Design work has continued and there is hope President-elect Barack Obama will include the work in economic-stimulus spending.
“This project is critical,” said Luis Ramirez, a border consultant who advises Gov. Janet Napolitano on border issues. |
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Americas & Beyond | December 2008 
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