Mexico stays top US trade partner in August, Laredo No. 1 gateway
For the fourth consecutive month, Mexico was the No. 1 trading partner of the U.S., totaling $70.8 billion in August.
It’s the seventh time prior to now eight months that Mexico ranked No. 1, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau.
During August, Canada ranked No. 2 at $66.2 billion in trade, while China ranked third at $47.5 billion.
Mexico’s trade with the U.S. was $532.7 billion through the primary eight months of 2023, a year-over-year (y/y) increase of two.4% from the identical period in 2022, in keeping with a WorldCity evaluation of Census Bureau data.
Laredo, Texas, retained the No. 1 spot among the many nation’s 450 international gateways for trade in August with $28.6 billion, in keeping with WorldCity. It was the seventh straight month the Laredo border crossing was the country’s top-ranked international industrial trade port.
The Port of Los Angeles ranked No. 2 with $27.1 billion and Chicago O’Hare International Airport was No. 3 , reporting $25.4 billion in trade.
The highest 3 imports from Mexico to the U.S. through Laredo in August were auto parts ($2.4 billion), passenger vehicles ($1.3 billion) and industrial trucks ($1 million).
The highest exports from the U.S. to Mexico were auto parts ($1.5 billion), gasoline ($326 million) and diesel engines ($272 million).
Since 2018, truckload demand has nearly doubled out of the Laredo port of entry, which incorporates the World Trade Bridge and the Colombia Solidarity Bridge. FreightWaves’ SONAR platform shows that Laredo’s outbound tender market share (OTMS.LRD) is currently 0.566% of the general freight market, in comparison with 0.321% in 2018.
The Outbound Tender Market Share index measures the share of outbound tenders relative to all the opposite 135 markets within the U.S.
While Laredo’s current value could also be low in comparison with other markets, FreightWaves market expert Zach Strickland recently wrote, “the rising trend is more essential than the present value in this example.”
“Truckload demand has nearly doubled out of the border town Texas markets of Laredo and McAllen since 2018,” Strickland said. “Phoenix has experienced an identical developmental boom, becoming a proxy for California’s old warehousing capital in Southern California’s Inland Empire. This shifting demand pattern is changing transportation networks and can subsequently impact future pricing structures.”
Eden Green begins $40M vertical farming expansion near Dallas
Farming technology company Eden Green recently broke ground on a $40 million expansion of its campus in Cleburne, Texas, just outside the Dallas-Fort Value metroplex.
Company officials said the expansion is geared toward scaling industrial production to satisfy rising market demand.
“Extreme weather events, an unstable market and an ever-rising demand for fresh, reasonably priced produce 12 months round has created an ideal storm in our food supply chain,” Eddy Badrina, CEO of Eden Green Technology, said in a news release. “Eden Green was founded to resolve these challenges and this next phase of growth is a critical stepping stone.”
The $40 million expansion includes the development of two additional greenhouses in Cleburne. Each facilities are expected to open in early 2025 and create 100 jobs.
The corporate currently has two vertical greenhouses totaling greater than 100,000 square feet, which grow lettuce and other fresh produce and herbs.
Eden Green’s long-term plans are to construct a network of 20 greenhouses across the U.S. over the subsequent five years.
The corporate also announced the hiring of Will Parkey as chief financial officer. Parkey will likely be liable for leading financial operations and driving the corporate’s strategic expansion.
Production, exports of Mexican-built trucks fall for second straight month
Mexico’s monthly truck production declined 8% y/y in September to 17,344 units, in keeping with data from Mexico’s National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor Producers (ANPACT).
Exports declined 9% y/y in September to 14,151 units. The U.S. was the overwhelming destination for trucks produced in Mexico during September, accounting for 96% of exports, followed by Canada at 2.4% and Colombia at about 1%.
Freightliner was the highest truck producer and exporter in Mexico during September. The corporate built 10,083 trucks, a 7% y/y decrease, and exported 9,185 units, a 5% y/y decline.
International Trucks Inc. produced 4,719 units in September, a 21% y/y decrease, and exported 4,465, a 16% y/y rise.
The ten truck makers and two engine producers in Mexico which can be members of ANPACT are Freightliner, Kenworth, Navistar, Hino, International, DINA, MAN SE, Mercedes-Benz, Isuzu, Scania, Cummins and Detroit Diesel.
Port of Brownsville receives $11.5M to overhaul cargo dock
The Port of Brownsville recently received an $11.5 million grant to redo considered one of its cargo docks, aiming to reinforce its capability, efficiency and safety standards, in keeping with a news release.
The project to reconstruct cargo dock 3 on the port will consist of three stages, including demolition of the prevailing dock, the acquisition of steel piles to supply structural support for the brand new dock and the development phase.
The Port of Brownsville is about 277 miles south of San Antonio on the southernmost tip of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico and is a serious trade facility between the U.S. and Mexico.
Cargo dock 3 began operations within the Nineteen Forties and was key for the shipment of agricultural commodities within the region. Today, cargo dock 3 is utilized for general bulk cargo movements.
Officials for the port didn’t provide a timeline for the completion of the project.
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