[4Freedom]

Someone in Mexico has a good racket going (with the government's blessing) over-charging for trucks, fuel, financing and parts. The Mexican trucking companies obviously respond by screwing the drivers and the motoring public by paying low wages and performing no preventive maintenance on their trucks.

The U.S. trucking companies like the deal they have on everything with the exception of labor costs and possibly strict, preventive, maintenance requirements.

Am I on the right track, here?

[Ben Ficklin]

It is important to point out that it was the Mexican govt that first banned US trucks in 1982 to protect their trucking industry. The US banned mexican trucks in retaliation.

NAFTA cross border trucking is like everything in NAFTA: It favors the larger companies on both sides of the border. Cross border ownership of trucking companies was/is being phased in. First, 49% ownership was available. It is now at 51% and latter will be 100%. Cross border ownership is important in that the further away from the border that a truck travels, the harder it is to find a back haul. Cross ownership will make that back haul easier to find.

Small trucking companies and independents don't have the financial strength to participate in this.