Mexican Truck Exports Plunge 80% in Just Days as U.S. Border Blockade Persists

  • Texas flagged 25% of inspected vehicles for safety problems
  • Organized gang sets fire to two blockading trucks: Reforma.com
Cargo trucks wait to cross to the U.S. during a blockade at the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa international crossing on April 12.Photographer: Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images
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Mexican semi-truck exports to the U.S. have slumped 80% in a matter of days as a border blockade to protest Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s stepped-up vehicle inspections drags on.

U.S.-bound cargoes are backed up for almost 9 miles (14 kilometers) at some border crossings, strangling shipments of the tractor units that power 18-wheelers, said Miguel Elizalde, head of the Association of Heavy Vehicle Producers. Mexico is the world’s top exporter of semi-trucks and the fourth-biggest source of cargo vehicles, according to the association’s data.