Two of the nation’s largest freight rail groups are pushing federal law enforcement to re-open two international border crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, TX, after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had closed rail operations at those sites on Sunday.
According to CBP, the move was a necessary response to a “recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains.” In a statement Sunday, the agency said, “CBP is continuing to surge all available resources to safely process migrants in response to increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals.”
However, trade group the Association of American Railroads (AAR) today called on CBP to reopen those international crossings, saying they serve as key arteries for the North American rail network. “The urgency of reopening these crossings and restoring rail service between the two nations cannot be overstated,” AAR President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in a release. “There are not separate U.S. and Mexican rail networks; there is only one interconnected North American rail network. Every day the border remains closed unleashes a cascade of delay across operations on both sides of the border, impacting customers and ultimately consumers.”
Support for the AAR’s position came today from the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), which represents over 1,000 intermodal freight transportation providers and suppliers including the Class 1 railroads. "While acknowledging the ongoing border issues, it is imperative that the flow of freight remains unencumbered throughout these challenges. The reopening of these border crossings is vital to reinstating the essential flow of trade between the U.S. and Mexico,” Joni Casey, President and CEO of IANA, said in a release.
The CBP decision most directly impacts operations for two Class I railroads – Union Pacific and BNSF – which together operate 24 trains daily at these crossings, moving agricultural products, automotive parts, finished vehicles, chemicals, and consumer goods, AAR said.
But freight traffic crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has been growing quickly for all modes and locations in recent months. That rise is due in large part to a rise in the number of American companies their “nearshoring” manufacturing facilities to Mexico instead of relying completely on China, in an effort to reduce their risk exposure to maritime shipping, clogged canals, and congested ports.
For example, the freight-transportation brokerage RXO says its cross-border loads from Mexico through Q3 jumped 38% compared to the same quarter last year, led by shipments from automakers and other goods manufacturers.
And last month, the Chicago-based fourth party logistics provider (4PL) Redwood Logistics warned that over $1 billion in freight and nearly 8,000 trailers have been disrupted at the U.S.-Mexico border between September and December, 2023. Redwood blamed a U.S. shift from trailer inspection tasks to immigration tasks for created a backlog like that experienced by seaports from 2020 through 2022.
