Borderlands: Heavy-duty truck shipments in Mexico fell in March
In March, Mexico’s heavy-duty vehicle exports fell.
Mexico trucking officials reported a drop in demand for heavy-duty trucks in the United States in March.
According to Miguel Elizalde, head of Mexico’s National Association of Bus, Truck, and Tractor Producers, exports of Mexican-made vehicles to the United States declined 6.4 percent year on year in March to 12,391 units, due to a decline in U.S. demand for new trucks (ANPACT).
“We see a modest reduction in the domestic heavy-duty vehicle market in the United States,” Elizalde said at a monthly press conference. “In January and February, we observed a 7.6 percent drop in domestic market sales in the United States.” That is why we observed a decrease in exports in March.”
The United States is the primary market for Mexican trucks, accounting for 95 percent of shipments in March, followed by Canada, Colombia, Chile, and Peru.
According to ANPACT, truck manufacturers and components manufacturers with assembly plants and factories in Mexico include Freightliner, Kenworth, Navistar, Hino, International, DINA, MAN SE, Mercedes-Benz, Isuzu, Scania, Cummins, and Detroit Diesel.
For the month, Freightliner was Mexico’s leading truck manufacturer and exporter. In March, the company produced 8,224 trucks, a 16% year-over-year decrease from the previous year, and exported 7,181 units, a 20% year-over-year decrease.
In March, International Trucks Inc. produced 5,954 units, a 35% year-over-year rise, and exported 5,290 units, a 29% year-over-year increase.
Kenworth produced 1,334 trucks in March, a 6% year-over-year decrease, and exported 555 trucks, a 24% year-over-year decrease.
According to Guillermo Rosales, deputy director-general of the Mexican Association of Automobile Dealers, Mexican truck manufacturers are keeping a careful eye on the prospect of a U.S. economic downturn.
“The carriers’ concerns are focused on the fact that a contraction in the United States economy may occur and affect Mexican exports to that country,” Rosales said during the same press conference. “Because foreign trade is the main engine of manufacturing, of the economy, we will have to give timely follow-up to the progress of any event and the impact it may have within our market.”
A solar component manufacturer has opened a production line in Texas.
Nextracker, a maker of solar tracking systems, recently began production at a JM Steel factory outside Corpus Christi, Texas.
At the facility, Nextracker will manufacture components for solar power facilities throughout the southern United States.
“Customers desire protection from steel and logistics cost volatility, as well as logistics delays connected with shipping, containers, and ports,” said Dan Shugar, Nextracker’s founder and CEO, in a statement. “We are transitioning to domestic production in order to stabilize costs and provide our clients with superior on-time delivery.”
Nextracker, situated in Fremont, California, develops technology and software to improve efficiency and output at large-scale solar energy systems across the world.
The new production line was introduced by Nextracker in Texas at a 97,000-square-foot JM Steel plant in Sinton, which debuted in October.
With access to three Class 1 railroads (Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern, and BNSF Railway) and the Port of Corpus Christi, the Nextracker production line will serve markets via truck shipments.
The JM Steel factory is located on the grounds of Steel Dynamics, a new $1.9 billion flat-roll steel mill that commenced operations in February.
Near downtown San Antonio, two trucks crash.
An accident involving two tractor-trailers snarled traffic on a section of westbound Interstate 10 in San Antonio on Monday afternoon.
Due to the sloppy roadway, a tractor-trailer slipped and lost control, resulting in the accident. According to the San Antonio Police Department, it collided with another neighboring tractor-trailer, causing the second tractor-trailer to lose control, smash through a concrete barrier on the top level of I-10, and hang over the edge.
“The hit came at the part where the roadways just began to separate, so when the vehicle contacted that lower level, it prevented the entire truck from going over and only remained stuck up on the wall,” police told KENS-TV. “Another tractor-trailer jackknifed, closing all but one lane on I-10.” The spilled diesel fuel was dealt up by Hazmat.”
There were no reported injuries.
CBP seizes $35 million in meth in a strawberry puree cargo.
CBP officers at the Laredo port of entry recently discovered 1,761 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a shipment of strawberry puree.
On April 12, CBP inspectors at Laredo’s World Trade Bridge were inspecting a tractor-trailer carrying the puree that had arrived from Mexico. Officers recovered 158 meth packets hidden in the shipment.
The purported meth is worth $35 million on the black market. The narcotics were seized by CBP, and the case was transferred over to Homeland Security Investigations.
