Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: California’s electric truck mandate could affect Mexican transporters; Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec railway delivers first load; Texas EV startup secures electric van order; and Korea International Trade Association opens office in Texas.
Mexico-based cross-border trucking operators are struggling to comply with California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule, which could begin affecting trucks crossing the border into the U.S. in 2025.
“Most of the cross-border trucks that are used in Mexico are old used diesel vehicles from the United States,” Miguel Elizalde, owner of San Diego, California-based Mobility Sustainable, said in an interview with FreightWaves. “Now you can imagine if these companies need to comply with the electric vehicles mandate, this might run some of the fleets out of business.”
Mobility Sustainable is a consultancy aimed at helping Mexico’s automotive and trucking industries move towards more sustainable solutions.
Beginning in January 2025, fleet owners must remove internal combustion engine vehicles at the end of their useful life as specified in the regulation. The mandate affects trucks crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S.
Israel Delgado, CEO of San Diego-based Express Service Transport Inc., said that many cross-border trucking companies in Mexico aren’t ready to comply with California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule because of costs. Delgado is also vice president of the northeast region of Mexico for Canacar, Mexico’s trucking chamber of commerce.
Electric trucks can cost more than $100,000 each. There are more than 200,000 trucking companies in Mexico, with the majority of companies operating with one to five trucks, according to Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SICT).
“California is the first state that is pushing Mexican trucking companies to use electric trucks by 2030,” Delgado said at the Redwood Logistics Cross-Border Logistics Council event in April. “In Mexico, we don’t have the same conditions as companies in the United States. For example, we don’t have all of the trucking brands for sale as in the U.S., we don’t have the financial tools available. This is something that we need to do with the government to see how we can jump into this.”
There are about 7,665 transfer companies currently registered in the country. Transfer vehicles haul goods across the border between Mexico and the U.S., according to SICT.
Elizalde said that EV infrastructure is also lacking in Mexico. According to data from the Mexican Automobile Industry Association, the country has around 1,100 charging stations throughout the country.
The majority of the chargers are located in the country’s largest cities, such as Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajuara. The border city of Tijuana, which borders San Diego, has three charging stations, while the city of Nuevo Laredo has two. Nuevo Laredo is across the border from Laredo, Texas.
It’s unclear how many public charging stations in Mexico have 50 kW chargers, which is the minimum required to charge heavy-duty commercial trucks, Elizalde said.
“The last time I checked, there was between 48 charging stations with a total of 200 50 kW chargers, and more than 80% of the spots are Tesla superchargers, which are not accessible for most heavy-duty vehicles,” Elizalde said.
Elizalde said that instead of forcing Mexican trucking companies to buy electric trucks, he favors government policies that promote “performance” aimed at decarbonizing fleets.
“In Mexico, you have companies with really, really old fleets. Not everybody can jump into the newest electric technology,” Elizalde said. “I think, depending on the specific uses of the vehicles, an owner can decide what’s the best approach regarding cost. What is the investment that is going to get you the best emissions reduction on a specific route?”
Elizalde said that the best approach for companies will be to choose among several emissions reduction technologies to see which one is the best fit for a specific company, such as hybrid or plug-in hybrids, natural gas, or hydrogen trucks.
“In Mexico, we have a lot of owner-operators which are going to be the ones that will be making the most sacrifices,” Elizalde said.
Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec railway delivers first load
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railroad (FIT) completed its first freight movement on June 30, according to the Mexican government.
FIT transported a total of 13,500 tons of white corn 167 miles from the Port of Salina Cruz to the Port of Veracruz. The operation took three trips and utilized 45 bulk grain hopper cars.
“The return of freight transport on the Isthmus Railway with Mexican government lines, FIT locomotives and hoppers, and the connection of the train in the port area, promotes the industrial and technological development of our country,” Mexican authorities said in a news release.
The shipment of white corn is part of Mexico’s $2.8 billion Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec project.
The initiative is converting the isthmus in southern Mexico, which represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean in the country, into a 188-mile rail corridor that could handle up to 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually by 2033.
The project is still in its early phases, with Mexican authorities recently taking a trip to Washington, D.C., to promote the project to U.S. officials.
Texas EV startup secures electric van order
Startup electric vehicle maker Canoo Inc. has entered into an agreement with Go2 Delivery for the purchase of five electric Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDV130), with an option to acquire up to 85 additional vans.
The transaction is aimed at boosting Go2 Delivery’s commitment to carbon-free logistics, particularly in serving the last-mile delivery needs in Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay area, according to a news release.
Go2 Delivery provides same-day courier and last-mile delivery services to B2B and B2C customers across retail, healthcare and e-commerce businesses.
Canoo (NASDAQ: GOEV) founded in 2017, is based in Justin, Texas. The company designs modular electric platforms that support a wide range of business and consumer applications. Canoo has teams in California, Texas, Oklahoma and Michigan.
Korea International Trade Association opens office in Texas
The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) recently announced the opening of an office in Dallas.
KITA highlighted that the establishment of the office in Dallas, a major hub for logistics, will play an active role in bolstering the presence of Korean companies in the U.S.
“Texas is an advantageous investment destination for multinational corporations, with minimal business regulations and no personal or corporate income taxes. The new Dallas center will help Korean businesses enter the Texas market and foster their collaboration with local enterprises,” KITA Chairman Yoon Jin-sik said, according to The Korea Herald.
Seoul-based KITA is one of South Korea’s largest bilateral trade organizations and has more than 80,000 member firms. The Dallas office is KITA’s 12th international location.
