Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Truck driver salaries in Mexico averaged $4,400 in 2022; Phillips Industries opens a new plant in Mexico; Arcadia Cold Storage firm eyes Southwest distribution market; and Fr8Tech launches freight matching for LTL services in Mexico.
Truck driver salaries in Mexico averaged $4,400 in 2022
Wages and total employees in Mexico’s cargo trucking industry increased slightly between the final quarter of 2022 and the same period a year earlier.
The trucking industry employed 1.18 million people during the fourth quarter of 2022, a 4.4% increase compared to the same year-ago period, according to recent figures from Data Mexico and the Ministry of Economy.
The average monthly salary for cargo truck drivers across the country increased more than 9% to 7,004 pesos ($370.71 or about $4,448.52 annually).
Mexican truckers’ earnings varied widely by location, the type of cargo truck or van driven, the size of the company and the sector they were employed in.
On the low end of wages were drivers of cargo cars, vans and “rabons” or short-bed trucks, while longhaul dry van and double tractor-trailer drivers can earn up to 45,000 pesos a month ($2,379.15).
Truck drivers in the mining industry had the highest monthly salaries during the fourth quarter of 2022, averaging 21,500 pesos ($1,137), drivers for dental offices at 16,000 pesos and railroad transportation intermodal services at 15,100 pesos.
Truck drivers hauling assembled commercial and passenger vehicles had average monthly salaries of 6,610 pesos; while auto parts haulers averaged 5,410 pesos.
In comparison, recent data from the American Trucking Associations found that the average U.S. truckload driver made over $69,000 including salary and bonuses in 2021.
The Mexican states with the highest monthly average truck driver salaries were Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, at 13,200 pesos; Colima at 10,700 pesos; and Coahuila at $10,700 pesos.
The Mexican state of Morelos, in the south central part of the country, had the lowest pay with an average monthly salary of 2,630 pesos.
The average age of cargo drivers was 40.3 years. Men made up 98.7% of this labor force and had an average monthly salary of 7,004 pesos. Women made up 1.3% and had an average salary of 7,540 pesos.
Phillips Industries opens new plant in Mexico, creating 2,100 jobs
Automotive parts supplier Phillips Industries recently opened a production facility in the northern Mexican city of Arteaga.
The recently updated 500,000-square-foot operation aims to bring manufacturing and supply chain capacity closer to its North American customers, officials said in a news release.
“Our experience in Mexico has proven to me that it’s the absolute best place to manufacture Phillips and Phillips Connect products,” Rob Phillips, CEO and president, said in a statement. “Our current workforce and those ready to come to work for us can be relied upon to carry our success forward. We depend on that as we continue to expand here in Mexico.
By the end of 2023, Phillips expects to employ 2,100 people in Arteaga.
The Arteaga plant will take on production operations that previously had been located in China, as well as production lines that had been located in Santa Fe Springs, California.
California-based Phillips Industries manufactures advanced electrical and air brake system components for commercial trucks and trailers.
Arcadia Cold Storage firm eyes Southwest distribution market
Arcadia Cold Storage and Logistics is constructing a 293,000-square-foot, temperature-controlled facility near Phoenix.
The cold storage facility will be a fully convertible freezer and cooler distribution center with 40,500 pallet positions designed to support a combination of regional distribution, import export activity and high-volume throughput handling services.
The site will serve as a hub for the Southwest, with access to metropolitan markets in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado.
“The facility represents our westernmost site to date and will satisfy our customers’ need for a well-designed and operated building to help manage their product storage and handling requirements,” Arcadia Cold CEO Chris Hughes said in a news release. “We see strong demand for Phoenix as supply chains continue to gravitate slightly eastward and away from increasingly operationally challenging points in Southern California.”
Atlanta-based Arcadia Cold Storage and Logistics specializes in providing third-party handling, storage, distribution and value-added services to the food industry.
The Phoenix facility is scheduled to open by the end of the year. Arcadia Cold Storage also has cold storage centers in Texas, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Fr8Tech launches digital freight matching platform for LTL services in Mexico
Freight Technologies Inc. has launched a digital freight-matching platform offering less-than-truckload services in Mexico.
The new platform uses machine learning algorithms to match shippers with carriers, according to a news release.
“We offer a value-add to small businesses in Mexico seeking economic product distribution as well as small carriers seeking local distribution routes, so it’s a win-win solution on a number of fronts,” Javier Selgas, CEO of Fr8Tech, said in a statement. “These markets are already well developed in the U.S., but we believe they are at a nascent stage in Mexico.”
Houston-based Freight Technologies (Nasdaq: FRGT) is a technology company whose Fr8App freight-matching platform offers a real-time portal for B2B cross-border shipping and domestic shipping across North America.
Watch: Inside the temperature controlled freight market.
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