Initial vocal reader reaction was in large part negative to the decision, with concerns over rates and diminished opportunity along the Southern border dominating opinions. “As if freight coming out of Texas wasn’t cheap enough,” wrote Jarrod Porter, responding to Friday’s news on Overdrive‘s Facebook page.
Ben Britton concurred in a sense, noting a belief that U.S. haulers might well say “bye bye” to loads with Laredo destinations long-term.
At once, Canadian hauler Shawn Genge wondered whether all the worry might be a little overblown given Mexico-based carriers, as do Canadian carriers hauling over the Northern border, will have to comply with U.S. trucking regs and “provide the same kind of paperwork you all have to provide on your trucks, and adhere” to all U.S. highway laws.
That fact caused Jeremiah Wenger to look on the bright side: “The good news is the DOT will be busy inspecting their trucks,” perhaps reinforcing a higher cost of operation north of the border.
On the pilot program data issue, operators were less vocal; Padilla stressed to Overdrive that the agency gleaned a “robust set of data” from the program, pointing to the more than 5,500 inspections conducted as evidence. The agency also in the same three-year time span gathered inspection data from 952 Mexican-owned carriers, Padilla says — data also used in the determination to open the DOT’s application process to Mexican-based carriers.
The questions regarding the low number of participants — 15 carriers were admitted to the program, and FMCSA said in 2011 it would need 31-46 to gather enough data — aren’t an issue, Padilla says, as the number of inspections was the primary goal, not the number of participants.
