'It's getting worse,' frustration rising over truck backlogs at Texas-Mexico border
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Patience is wearing thin for importers and exporters who say a bottle neck on commercial trucks at the border will cost consumers a lot more for produce and products coming in from Mexico this Easter weekend.
The delays are all due to additional safety inspections mandated by Governor Greg Abbott of trucks bringing products into the United States.
Normally it would take trucks 30 to 40 minutes to cross the border. But it is taking some closer to 12 hours. The chokepoint in international commerce is causing a lot of concern for an already broken supply chain in the country.
One trucking and logistics company told CBS 11 about the damage the situation is causing their business.
"Today we had one shipment, it got there at 5:30 in the morning. It's 7:15 and still hasn't gotten here," said the owner of Richer Logistics Services, Ermilo Richer.
His company handles imports and exports in Laredo and other border crossings. The Colombia-Solidarity Bridge there is seeing the most significant back logs of all border crossings, according to trucking industry experts.
The line of trucks stretches for miles.
Richer said the past six days have been a nightmare trying to move product from Mexico into the U.S. following additional border inspections ordered by Governor Abbott.
The trucks are already inspected by U.S. Customs and the U.S. Department of transportation, but now per Gov. Abbott, DPS is also conducting safety inspections in hopes of stopping cases of human smuggling.
"It's gotten worse and worse. The first couple of days we thought it was temporary."
Imports and exports are getting hit hard by the additional inspections.
Exports into Mexico are also getting back logged.
Richer said to count on finding less products on store shelves, higher prices, too.
"Households are going to be trying to hit the shelves and the HEB's, and the Walmarts, and the Targets, and buying food and all the produce and meats come from Mexico. Just things you need on a daily basis are not going to be on the shelves."
There has been some talk that Abbott may be negotiating a plan with the governor in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon to come up with a plan where DPS would step back if Mexican officials step up their enforcement but there is no clarity as to whether that plan has been finalized.
