Mexican Trucks Win Approval to Go Beyond U.S. Sept. 7 (Bloomberg)

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Mexican Trucks Win Approval to Go Beyond U.S. Border (Update1)

By John Hughes

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ax4unab2Aw8w&refer=us

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican trucks for the first time have greater leeway to operate in the U.S. under a trade agreement after the U.S. government cleared a company to begin hauling goods within days.

Transportes Olympic of Apodaca, Mexico, won approval yesterday and plans to use two trucks to carry cargo beyond a 25-mile zone inside the U.S. border, said John Hill, who leads the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The trucker was the first of 100 that may gain the authority in the next year.

``This long-awaited project will protect public safety on American highways as we work to both save consumers money and help our economy,'' Hill said in a statement.

The Mexican trucking expansion, allowed under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, is a defeat for Democratic members of Congress and organized labor. Opponents feared job losses and safety hazards, while trucking companies have said they will save time and money.

Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution of El Paso, Texas, became the first of 100 U.S. trucking companies to win approval from the Mexican government to go beyond a border zone inside Mexico, the motor carrier safety agency said yesterday.....

Mexican trucks will be allowed to pick up cargo at a U.S. city and haul it to Mexico, though they can't deliver freight between U.S. cities.

U.S. House Democrats yesterday asked the Bush administration to hold off on the test until they could get assurances Mexican trucks would be safe.

``This is yet another attack on the working people of the United States,'' Representative Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, said at a news conference in Washington.

Inspectors won't know how long Mexican truck drivers have been on the road by the time they reach the U.S. border, said Ken Wood, a vice president for the Teamsters union.

Compliance Question

``How are drivers who operate under the lax laws in Mexico suddenly going to adhere to our hours-of-service requirements?'' Wood asked at the news conference.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Aug. 31 refused a request from the Teamsters and other groups to block the vehicles. The court said the Teamsters hadn't met legal requirements to justify blocking the program.

The Teamsters are continuing with their lawsuit to stop the program, Wood said. Democrats will continue to press for legislation to end the test, DeFazio said.

Letting Mexican trucks operate in the U.S. benefits companies such as Con-way Inc., the largest U.S. regional trucker. San Mateo, California-based Con-way in July bought closely held Contract Freighters Inc., which said 40 percent of its business begins or ends in Mexico.

The other U.S. truckers to benefit immediately under an open-border policy are Indianapolis-based Celadon Group Inc., which has a division in Mexico, and Werner Enterprises Inc., which operates there now, Wachovia Securities Inc. analyst Justin Yagerman said today in a note to investors.