The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today posted on theInternet a research study conducted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Estimates of Commercial Motor Vehicles Using the Southwest Border Crossings, that tracks the number of trucks that cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Based on three different analyses using data collected in 1999, the study shows that approximately 80,000 distinct trucks of U.S. and Mexican origin are estimated to have been used in U.S.-Mexico cross-border operations during this period.
For the same period, those vehicles made an estimated 4.5-million crossings of the border.
Estimates of the number of trucks crossing the border assist FMCSA and the states to effectively allocate and place safety inspection and enforcement resources in the border region.
During 2000, federal and state inspectors performed approximately 97,000 inspections of vehicles engaged in cross-border operations. All commercial vehicles operating in the United States, foreign and domestic, must comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and all other requirements applicable to U.S. carriers.
Mexican commercial trucking companies can presently apply for authority to operate in commercial zones associated with municipalities along the U.S.-Mexico border. About 8,500 companies currently hold such authority.
