Eagle Pass Summit Flags Driver Shortage, Nearshoring Strain on Border Fleets
Cross-border carriers report capacity crunch as Mexico trade volume climbs faster than driver supply at Texas ports.
How bad is the driver shortage at the U.S.-Mexico border right now?
Cross-border carriers operating through Eagle Pass and other Texas ports are running into the same driver-capacity wall that hit domestic fleets in 2021 — except this time it's compounded by nearshoring freight volume that keeps climbing while the qualified driver pool stays flat. Jazz Sidhu, vice president of operations at Fisher Brothers Trucking and Logistics, told the Port of Eagle Pass Trade Summit on Thursday that his company and others in the cross-border lane are struggling to staff trucks fast enough to match the surge in northbound loads from Mexican manufacturing hubs.
The annual summit, hosted by the City of Eagle Pass and WorldCity Inc., drew more than 500 trade stakeholders focused on infrastructure and freight growth along the border. The "State of the Trucking Industry" panel — moderated by FreightWaves and featuring Sidhu alongside Jeff Langloss, vice president of policy, regulatory affairs and safety compliance at the Texas Trucking Association — centered on three pressure points: nearshoring-driven freight growth, cross-border infrastructure investment that hasn't kept pace with volume, and the ongoing driver shortage that's hitting border carriers harder than most domestic fleets.
Why nearshoring makes the driver problem worse at border crossings
Nearshoring has pushed more manufacturing capacity into northern Mexico over the past three years, which means more finished goods moving north through ports like Eagle Pass, Laredo, and El Paso. That freight doesn't move itself — it requires drivers with commercial licenses, TWIC credentials where applicable, and the patience to sit in border queues that can stretch hours during peak periods. The problem is that the driver pipeline hasn't expanded at the same rate as the freight pipeline.
Fisher Brothers and other cross-border carriers are competing for the same driver pool as domestic long-haul fleets, but with the added friction of border-crossing delays and the regulatory complexity of operating in both countries. That makes recruitment harder and turnover higher. Sidhu's remarks at the summit didn't include specific hiring numbers or turnover rates, but the capacity concern was front and center in the panel discussion.
Infrastructure investment lags behind freight volume
Langloss pointed to cross-border infrastructure investment as a parallel issue. Ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border have seen freight volume climb steadily since 2023, but physical infrastructure — lanes, inspection bays, staging yards — hasn't expanded at the same pace. That creates bottlenecks that eat into driver productivity and make cross-border runs less attractive to drivers who could otherwise pull domestic loads with fewer delays.
Eagle Pass itself has taken steps to manage the congestion: CBP restricted northbound empty trucks to afternoon and evening hours starting in late April to clear morning lanes for loaded freight. That helps, but it's a scheduling workaround rather than a capacity fix. The broader infrastructure gap — more lanes, faster inspection throughput, better staging facilities — requires federal and state funding that moves slower than freight volume.
What this means for cross-border fleets and owner-operators
If you run cross-border equipment or lease to a carrier that does, the takeaway is straightforward: driver capacity is the binding constraint right now, not truck supply or trailer availability. Fleets that can offer better pay, predictable schedules, and shorter border wait times will pull drivers away from competitors. Owner-operators considering the cross-border lane should factor in the time cost of border delays — hours spent idling at a port of entry are hours not generating revenue, and that hits harder when fuel is above $3.50 per gallon.
The nearshoring trend isn't reversing, which means northbound freight volume through Texas ports will keep climbing. Infrastructure investment will eventually catch up, but in the near term the bottleneck is human — not enough qualified drivers willing to run the lane. Fleets that solve for driver retention and recruitment will have the edge as cross-border volume continues to grow.
