Mexican Trucks Won't Stream Across Border, Report Says

High insurance and registration fees, a lack of U.S. partners and more intense security will combine to keep Mexican trucks from taking advantage of expanded access to U.S. roads, a congressional report said.

The report, by the General Accounting Office, said that less than 200 of the 83,000 Mexican trucking companies have sought permission to enter the United States as of October 2001, Bloomberg reported.

Mexican trucks were previously not allowed past a trade zone close to the border, but provisions in the transportation appropriations bill passed last year gave them access to U.S. highways, provided they meet strict safety standards.

The age of Mexican trucks has contributed to the limited number of carriers operating in the United States, with only 20% of the older trucks meeting U.S. safety and environmental standards, Bloomberg said.

The report said that the number of Mexican trucks operating in the United States could increase if processing technology improves and companies eliminate inefficiencies, Bloomberg reported.

The report also claims that federal and state government inspectors have been having difficulty dividing responsibilities and deploying resources.

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