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| Taking them off the road would cost, says business group. |
Eliminating double semi-trailers on the roads of Mexico would represent a cost of US $5 billion for transportation companies, and create a negative impact on inflation, say industry experts.
Rogelio Montemayor also estimated that the number of cargo vehicles on Mexican roads would increase by 1.7 times, from the current fleet of 43,000 to more than 83,000 units.The president of the National Chamber of Trucking, Canacar, stated that to continue moving the same volume of freight without using double trailers would require the purchase of 32,000 new tractor units and 31,000 trailers.
As for the effect on inflation, the president of the Association of Private Transport, Alex Thiessen Long, said that most perishable goods are transported and distributed on double trailers. Replacing those vehicles would push up the prices of those goods.
Another industry expert estimated that the logistics costs of handling a larger cargo fleet would increase by an average of 26%.
Luis Fuentes Pochat said that according to Mexican Transportation Institute data, 79% of road accidents are caused by human error. Faced with that figure, he said the transportation industry will redouble its efforts in the professional training of cargo vehicle drivers.
Fuentes believes there are multiple causes for traffic accidents, including inexperienced drivers, road conditions and infrastructure, the conditions of the cargo vehicles and driver education levels among all drivers.
Their removal from the roads would avert more accidents and deaths, said Amotac president Rafael Ortiz Pacheco through a press release, in which he also called on the Communications and Transportation Secretariat (SCT) to stop protecting transnational soda, beer and steel companies.Another cargo organization, the Mexican Alliance of Transportation Organizations (Amotac), supports the retirement of double trailers that fail to comply with weight and dimensions regulations.
Amotac represents close to 67,000 cargo transportation operators. It estimated that around 250,000 double trailers are in circulation in the country, and suggested that neither the SCT nor the Federal Police have the necessary equipment to monitor their weight.
Ortiz added that the president’s office and the Secretariats of Interior, Finance and Communications, along with the Federal Police, have been notified that if Amotac’s demands are not met it will set up partial blockades on several highways.
