This report analyzes the feasibility of co-locating federal and state inspections at Texas-Mexico border crossings and assesses the potential benefits in terms of improving the efficiency of carrier-motor-vehicle traffic flow. Findings indicate inspection rates rather than location most significantly impact crossing times.

by Erik Vargas and Okan Gurbuz In its 2020 Texas Statewide Truck Parking Study, the Texas Department of Transportation noted that trucks carrying 1.2 billion tons of freight worth $1.7 trillion each year in the Lone Star State. That means 140,000 trucks must park somewhere in the state every day for drivers to rest and sleep. Noted in the study, truck volume is expected to grow by some 80 percent by 2040, making today’s shortage of truck parking facilities a crisis down the road.

This report provides an in-depth assessment of market-available connected vehicle (CV) data (using Wejo datasets) to estimate border crossing times. Results indicate the Wejo CV data provide a promising source for monitoring border crossing times, especially as sample penetration rates improve.