carriage. Most notable among these are the efforts to develop rail alternatives for Sinaloan

winter vegetables. From the standpoint of motor carriers, the Sinaloan initiatives are particularly

troubling as they have support from the producers as possible solutions to perceived problems

related to motor carrier services. These include: exposure to stoppages and dislocations in

trucking services, such as strikes; no road route northeastward to the U.S.; high road tolls; and

border delays and the need to work through the brokers in Nogales. Given the congestion and

poor conditions of highways, reliable container, piggyback, or mechanically refrigerated boxcar

rail service would have great attraction to perishable shippers. To date the FNM has not

provided service that perishable shippers trust. Privatization could change this.


Overall Perishables Trade, Expedited Clearances at Border Crossings,
and NAFTA's Motor Carrier Provisions

 Both because of the growing Mexican economy and the reduced tariff and non-tariff

barriers from NAFTA, it is widely believed that trade volumes in both directions will continue

to trend upward for the foreseeable future. Perishables are expected to share in this growth (for

example, see Economic Research Service). In addition, both the ongoing efforts to provide

expedited services at border crossings, through improved procedures, personnel, and facilities,

and NAFTA's motor carrier provisions will facilitate expanded trade, as well as enhance the role

of motor carriage. Reducing the time and cost of clearing cargos through the border is

essentially equivalent to lowering a tariff, which reduced the relative costs of exporting versus

marketing within your own country. In this way, trade generally is encouraged. However, the

combination of improved border clearance and the NAFTA provisions regarding motor carriers