What is the importance of truck crossings?
The dynamics of truck crossings through Arizona's border ports of entry reflect the composite effects of both the trade between Arizona and Mexico, and between Mexico, Canada, and other U.S. states that use Arizona’s border ports for the facilitation of trade. Also reflected in truck crossing dynamics are the effects of physical and human infrastructure capacities at border ports of entry, which affects general cross border travel volumes, and wait times in particular. Among Arizona’s six border ports of entry, Nogales facilitates the largest number of truck crossings. San Luis and Douglas are a distant second. In the overall picture, the Nogales border port of entry is number five behind Laredo, Hidalgo and El Paso in Texas, and Calexico East in California.
What is measured?
Trucks crossing data include commercial vehicles: the mode of transportation that carries the largest volume and value of merchandise across the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Trucks are also the primary means of transportation for Mexican fresh produce shipped through land border ports of entry to markets in the U.S. and Canada. Although data are not collected for fresh produce-carrying vs. other merchandise-carrying trucks, the concentration of fresh produce season in winter months is reflected in variability of monthly data. The selected southern border ports of entry used in this analysis are: Douglas, Lukeville, Naco, Nogales, San Luis, and Sasabe in Arizona; Calexico East in California; Santa Teresa in New Mexico; and, El Paso, Hidalgo, and Laredo in Texas.