Borderlands Mexico: Texas truckers taking labor protest to the Big Apple
Truck drivers based in the Permian Basin in Texas will be protesting at BlackRock Inc. in New York over unpaid wages and lack of access to clean bathrooms. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Texas truckers taking labor protest to the Big Apple; Exports of Mexico-built cargo trucks rise in August; Mexico’s largest bank opens office in Houston dedicated to nearshoring; and Stonepeak acquires 1.1 million -square-foot logistics property in Texas.
Texas truckers taking labor protest to the Big Apple
Texas-based members of the Truckers Movement for Justice (TMJ) plan to hold a protest Wednesday outside the headquarters for BlackRock Inc. in New York.
The protest is aimed at bringing attention to wage theft and poor working conditions experienced by truck drivers in the Permian Basin, organizers said.
“We’re going up against Wall Street powerhouses like BlackRock or Vanguard or State Street, all of which are intermarried. We’ve got to find where the frac sand companies [in the Permian Basin] get their money from,” Billy Randel, founder of TMJ, told FreightWaves in an interview. “We’re really after the pay for driver detention time and to pay Mexican B1 drivers the same rate as American drivers again, so these companies don’t play us against each other. It’s a cesspool out there.”
Randel said they decided to protest in front of BlackRock headquarters because the company has investments in companies across the Permian Basin.
New York-based BlackRock is a multinational investment management company with over $10.6 trillion in assets, according to Bloomberg.
“BlackRock’s got a stake in just about everything; they’re heavily involved in fossil fuel and mining,” Randel said.
Officials for BlackRock did not return a request for comment.
The Permian Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico is one of the largest oil- and gas-producing regions in the world, accounting for 40% of U.S. crude oil and 17% of natural gas production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Truck drivers like Randel and other TMJ members haul frac sand through the Permian’s oil fields. Frac sand is the key ingredient in the hydraulic fracturing process, in which oil and gas drillers pump frac sand and other materials into wells to break up shale rock, through which natural gas and petroleum will flow more easily.
In July, members of TMJ along with the Mexico-based United Mexican Carriers and the Binational Carriers Union led a protest convoy of 75 trucks along a 150-mile trek from Odessa, Texas, through Kermit and Monahans, Texas.
The majority of drivers who participated in the Texas protest were owner-operators or Mexico-based B1 visa drivers hauling goods into the U.S.
The issues drivers in the region face range from low wages and long waits to unload trucks, to companies that don’t pay for fuel surcharges, as well as access to clean bathrooms, organizers said.
Randel said they received positive feedback from truckers, but the frac sand companies mostly ignored their demands and requests.
“Nothing has changed, except more drivers are reaching out. They’re scared but interested,” he said. “The whole Permian Basin is watching every move we make.”
The protest in front of BlackRock’s headquarters on Wednesday will mostly consist of picketing and protest signs, according to Randel.
“I’m hoping we’ll have about 100 people out in front of BlackRock and the Teamsters are sending some people, I believe,” Randel said. “This is class warfare. I’m meeting constantly with drivers everywhere, in New Jersey and another group in Dallas-Fort Worth. I think we’re going to see a lot of protests over the next few years on the supply chain.”
Exports of Mexico-built cargo trucks rise in August
Members of Anpact produced 21,769 units in August, a 12% year-over-year increase.
The U.S. received 95.6% of the trucks exported by Mexico. Canada was the second-largest buyer with 3.3%, followed by Colombia with 0.5%.
Freightliner was the top truck producer and exporter in Mexico in August, producing 10,103 trucks, a 6% year-over-year decline from August 2023. The truck maker exported 8,309 units during August, a 12% year-over-year decrease.
International Trucks Inc. was the No. 2 producer and exporter, manufacturing 8,758 trucks in August, a 48% year-over-year increase. The truck maker exported 7,332 units during the month, a 43% year-over-year increase.
The 16 members of Anpact in Mexico are Freightliner, Kenworth, Navistar, Hino, International, DINA, MAN SE, Mercedes-Benz, Isuzu, Scania, Shacman Trucks, Foton, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Daimler Buses Mexico and Volkswagen Buses.
Mexico’s largest bank opens office in Houston dedicated to nearshoring
BBVA Mexico recently opened an office in Houston focusing on companies interested in taking advantage of nearshoring opportunities in the country, according to a news release.
The Houston office offers investment advisory services, financial tools and access to supply chain-related companies that do business with BBVA. The bank has around 1 million business clients in Mexico.
Víctor Rojas Fernandez, head of BBVA Mexico’s commercial and public sector banking team in Houston, said the company’s strategy is to bring at least 65 foreign companies in the first year of operations.
“The idea is to seek out the businesses that want to operate in Mexico in their place of origin, anticipate their needs and not wait until they arrive in the country,” Rojas Fernandez said in a statement. “This will allow us to provide them with advice, help them sort out all the paperwork and requirements needed to operate, which will make it easier for them to enter the country.”
BBVA is the largest bank in Mexico with a market cap of $58 billion. It was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Mexico City.
Stonepeak acquires 1.1 million-square-foot logistics property in Texas
Investment firm Stonepeak announced its acquisition of a logistics asset in Fort Worth, Texas, that includes 1.1 million square feet of space in the AllianceTexas development.
The AllianceTexas site is anchored by two Class I railway lines. The property also is near the BNSF Alliance intermodal terminal and the Fort Worth Alliance cargo airport.
Stonepeak acquired the property from institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
“We believe that high-quality real estate adjacent to transport infrastructure will continue to outperform given its mission-critical role in local and national supply chains,” Phill Solomond, Stonepeak’s senior managing director and head of real estate, said in a news release.
Stonepeak is an investment company specializing in infrastructure and real assets. The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, London, Singapore and Sydney.