Truckers and customs brokers are seeing “red” as border wait times increase

Truck wait times at ports of entry along the United States-Mexico border are up, from El Paso, Texas, to Otay Mesa, California, says American Shipper website.

Industry professionals said the longer wait times are a combination of truckers spending more time waiting to load and unload freight at docks and intermodal facilities, as well as slower border inspection routines from agents with the Mexican National Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Trucks moving freight between the Mexico-U.S. border at Otay Mesa crossing port near Tijuana and San Diego have been waiting up to five hours, according to customs officials.

“The carriers have been really rallying together because the lines have been one or two miles long – they really have been backing up,” said Myrna Aguilar, president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association.

Aguilar said the longer waits had to do with truck volume being consistently high and CBP being slower in its inspections.

Everything from electronics, cars, car parts to medical devices are manufactured in Mexico, then imported into the U.S. through the Otay Mesa border crossing.