Transportes Olympic SA de CV has been cleared to be the first Mexican carrier in the Department of Transportation's cross-border trucking pilot program. However, another Mexican carrier that has cleared a pre-authorization audit, Grupo Behr de Baja California, must undergo additional review before it gets permission to operate.


The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration approved Olympic's participation after a vetting process that included a pre-authorization audit and public comment.

Olympic received the support of a number of shippers, including the National Potato Council, the California Table Grape Commission and the National Pork Producers Council. These groups represent companies that have been hurt by tariffs Mexico imposed on U.S. products in retaliation for the congressional cutoff of an earlier pilot program in 2009.

Olympic's and Behr's bids were challenged by several groups that have long fought the opening of the U.S. border to long-distance trucking, the Owner-Operator Independent Driver's Association, the Teamsters union and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and Knight Transportation.

In Olympic's case the questions were procedural, having to do with the pre-authorization safety audit process, for example, but Advocates and the Teamsters raised questions about Behr's out-of-service rate and other operational issues.

The agency said it is satisfied that Olympic meets the requirements of the program. It is conducting additional reviews of Behr's inspections and vehicles and will not issue authority until the review is complete.

In other news about the pilot program, FMCSA said it has reviewed Mexico's driver license testing requirements and is confident they comply with the agreement that the U.S. has with Mexico.

As in the U.S., some Mexican driver training facilities are public and some are run by trucking companies. Agency officials have assessed facilities of both types and found that while they were close to compliance with the agreement, they needed to improve their testing procedures. The agency said it has shared its findings with the Mexican transportation department, which in turn said it will require corrective action.

To ensure compliance, however, FMCSA said it will approve only Mexican drivers who have been tested at public facilities. If a driver's original test was done at a private facility, he will have to be retested at a transportation department facility, the agency said.