Eagle Pass Port Restricts Empty Truck Crossings to Afternoons
CBP shifts northbound empties to 12 p.m.–11 p.m. weekdays starting Monday to clear morning lanes for loaded freight and cut wait times.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will restrict northbound empty commercial trucks at the Port of Eagle Pass, Texas, to afternoon and evening hours starting Monday, reserving morning capacity for loaded freight in an effort to reduce wait times and speed throughput at the congested crossing.
When can empty trucks cross at Eagle Pass starting Monday?
Under the new schedule, northbound empty commercial conveyances will only be processed from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. Loaded shipments, in-bond freight, and formal entries continue to move during standard hours, with weekday processing beginning as early as 7 a.m.
The change takes effect April 29, 2026, according to a CBP trade notice.
Why CBP is pushing empties to off-peak hours
By moving empty trucks out of the morning window, CBP aims to reduce daytime congestion at inspection lanes, improve transit times for loaded freight, better align staffing and inspection resources with demand, and increase predictability for shippers and carriers.
The shift prioritizes revenue-generating loads during the busiest hours and concentrates empty movements when inspection capacity is underutilized. For carriers running cross-border shuttles, the change means repositioning empties in the afternoon or holding them overnight in Piedras Negras rather than queuing at dawn.
What this means for cross-border carriers
Carriers with dedicated Eagle Pass lanes will need to adjust dispatch schedules to avoid sending empties north before noon on weekdays. Fleets that rely on same-day turnarounds — dropping a loaded trailer in Eagle Pass, bobtailing back south empty, and hooking a new load in Mexico for a second northbound run — will lose the morning window for the empty leg.
The weekend window for empties is tighter: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, an eight-hour span compared to the eleven-hour weekday slot. Carriers that stage equipment over the weekend will need to plan around the compressed schedule.
For fleets moving loaded freight, the change should reduce wait times during the 7 a.m. to noon window, when inspection lanes previously handled a mix of loaded and empty trucks. CBP has not published wait-time data for Eagle Pass before and after the change, so the actual throughput improvement remains to be measured.
Eagle Pass in the broader cross-border picture
Eagle Pass is one of several Texas ports where CBP has adjusted commercial processing hours in response to congestion. The port handles a mix of automotive parts, produce, and general freight moving north from Coahuila and other Mexican states.
The schedule change comes as cross-border trucking capacity tightened in Q1 2026 due to security vetting and corridor concentration, creating rate pressure even as overall demand remained flat. Carriers operating Eagle Pass lanes can verify their active authority and SAFER profile to ensure compliance with CBP's commercial crossing requirements.
CBP has not announced similar empty-truck restrictions at other Texas border crossings. Carriers that run multiple ports may shift empty repositioning to Laredo or Del Rio if the Eagle Pass afternoon window does not align with their dispatch cycles.
