Border Lines

What will happen now that a dispute-resolution panel has ruled that under NAFTA , the United States should have allowed Mexican truckers to bring international shipments into the United States in 1995? Most observers expect the United States to appeal that decision, but if the final judgment - which may come in February - favors Mexico, that country could assess penalties against the U.S. government. An enormous influx of Mexican carriers is highly unlikely, however. Although almost 200 Mexican motor carriers have applied to enter the United States, a top Mexican trucking industry official says his peers are not prepared to compete with U.S. carriers on their own turf. According to the business newspaper El Economista, Miguel Quintanilla Rebollar, president of Canacar, the national trucking association, told reporters that it would be impossible right now for Mexican carriers to overcome such disadvantages as aging truck fleets, substandard infrastructure, and the failure of the Mexican government to provide fiscal relief for the struggling motor carrier industry.

This year's Transporte Internacional conference will be held Feb. 28 through March 1 in Acapulco, Mexico. The 11th annual conference, sponsored by transportation consultants The Kingsley Group of San Francisco, offers a venue for U.S., Mexican, and Canadian shippers, carriers, and government officials to discuss issues surrounding cross-border trade in North America. Confirmed speakers include top executives from the Mexican government, Canadian Pacific, General Motors Mexico, APL de Mexico, TFM Railroad, and Schneider National, among others. For more information or to register for the conference, go to www.kingsley-group.com or call Jessica Murray at (510) 528-3977.

"Let's not mess with the success of rail deregulation" - that was the message from Claude Mongeau, Canadian National's executive vice president and chief financial officer, as he spoke to the Toronto Railway Club last month. Although there have been several proposals to impose further regulations on Canadian railroads, which supporters say would introduce more competition and benefit shippers, Mongeau insisted that such regulation was not necessary. "In Canada, almost all rail business is subject to intense competitive pressures. They come from any of three sources: other modes, other railroads, or source competition," he said. Mongeau also slammed one proposal to force Canadian rail carriers to open up their tracks to all comers, saying its emphasis on forcing down prices would destabilize the industry and stifle innovation.

NAFTA Notes: BAX Global has expanded its "Emergency Response" guaranteed delivery service to include shipments from Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Saltillo, Mexico, to the United States and Canada. Customers now can choose early a.m. next-day door-to-door service; next-day door-to-door service; or next-day airport-to-airport service. Americana Ships has acquired Mexican shipping agency Agencia Marítima Mexicana (Agemar). The ISO-9000 registered company has offices in Mexico City, Manzanillo, Ensenada, Tampico, Altamira, and Veracruz. Ryder has introduced its Ryder Customer Response Centers to Canada. The centers provide around-the-clock emergency-response and repair services for drivers and fleet managers using Ryder's commercial vehicles.