Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Violence against truckers surging in cargo thefts; Port of Brownsville kicks off $600M ship channel project; auto parts maker Daimay invests $51M in Mexican factory; and Korean company opens its first plant in Mexico.
Violence against truckers surging in cargo thefts
Supply chain visibility firm Overhaul reported that 83% of cargo thefts in Mexico during the third quarter involved violence.
“As 2024 comes to a close, it’s important that shippers understand new and emerging MOs and targets in Mexico in order to identify and prepare against risks,” Overhaul said in the report.
Truckers in Mexico face hijackings and theft on a regular basis.
“In Mexico, one of the biggest issues is there is absolutely no security for the drivers,”Jesus Chuy, a driver from Mexico, told FreightWaves in a July interview. “Drivers are routinely beaten every day. There are trucks stolen from drivers every day, and the National Guard and the federal government as well as the state governments do nothing to protect the drivers from assaults.”
The state of Mexico, along with the states of Puebla and Guanajuato in the central part of the country, experienced significant increases of cargo theft compared to other locations in the region, according to Overhaul.
Food and beverage products were the most targeted cargo by thieves in Mexico, accounting for 31% of cases, followed by building and industrial (12%). Other commodities targeted by thieves included home and garden goods (7%), auto parts (7%), and pharmaceuticals (5%).
The main tactic used by criminals in Mexico is the interception of cargo trucks while they are in transit, accounting for 72% during the third quarter. Theft from trucks in unsecured parking areas accounted for 27% of incidents in the quarter.
While Overhaull did not provide an exact number of cargo theft cases during the third quarter, the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) reported a 1% year-over-year increase to 9,454 cargo theft events between January and October.
Mexican authorities said efforts to increase security on the country’s highways have helped reduce cargo theft in recent months.
Known as the Balam strategy, the initiative by Mexico’s National Guard focuses on the states with the highest rates of cargo theft.
The strategy included the use of 456 patrol cars, 37 drones, two helicopters, one aircraft and 23 investigation cells deployed across Mexico’s federal highways.
The plan has led to an 8.8% decrease in highway robbery and an increase of 24.2% in recovery of stolen vehicles, according to a presentation Wednesday by National Guard Chief Hernan Cortes Hernandez.
The strategy has led to the arrests of 33 people and the recovery of 225 vehicles and 77,000 gallons of stolen fuel.
Port of Brownsville kicks off $600M ship channel project
Officials for the Brownsville Navigation District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) held a groundbreaking Friday for phase two of the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement (BIH) Project.
The Brownsville Ship Channel at the Port of Brownsville is located in South Texas.
The BIH project will deepen the ship channel from its current 42 feet to 52 feet. The deepening aims to enable the 17-mile ship channel to accommodate larger, heavier cargo vessels.
The port is about 277 miles south of San Antonio at the southernmost tip of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. It is the only deep-water seaport along the border, making it a major trade channel between Texas and Mexico.
The BIH project, which totals almost $600 million, is funded via a public-private partnership among USACE, the Port of Brownsville and NextDecade Corp., parent company of Rio Grande LNG.
Phase two of the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
NextDecade is constructing the Rio Grande liquefied natural gas plant at the channel’s entrance near South Padre Island.
Auto parts maker Daimay invests $51M in Mexican factory
Auto parts supplier Daimay Automotive Interior recently opened its sixth manufacturing plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
The $51 million factory created 1,000 direct jobs, bringing Daimay’s total employment in Ramos Arizpe at 5,000 workers. The factory will produce headrests and armrests for the North American market.
Ramos Arizpe is located in northern Mexico about 179 miles from Laredo, Texas.
Shanghai-based Daimay has 8,677 global employees. In addition to the facility in Mexico, the company has four factories in Shanghai and one in France.
Korean company opens its first plant in Mexico
Doowon Refrigeration plans to invest $43 million to open its first factory in Mexico.
The facility will be in the municipality of Apodaca, near the city of Monterrey. It will generate 100 direct jobs and produce automotive cooling systems. It is scheduled to open in 2025.
Founded in 1974, the Doowon Group has 3,125 global employees and had revenue of more than $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2023.