Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
DEL RIO, Texas — Record truck traffic through Del Rio and growing cross-border manufacturing in Ciudad Acuña are strengthening the economic case for the Ports-to-Plains corridor, according to Dr. Daniel Covarrubias of Texas A&M International University.
Covarrubias, director of the Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development, presented “USMCA and the Corridor Economy — Moving Trade from Border to Market” at the Ports-to-Plains Alliance Annual Conference in Del Rio on Sept. 10.
Del Rio handled 93,031 truck crossings during the 12 months ending in July 2026, an increase of 20.5%, according to data presented by Covarrubias. Eagle Pass increased 0.8%, while Laredo declined 0.8% during the same period.
“This crossing has never handled this many trucks,” Covarrubias said.
The numbers extend beyond truck counts. Del Rio recorded $6.06 billion in two-way trade with Mexico during the period, up 12.7%. Imports increased 19.4%, from $3.32 billion to $3.96 billion, while exports rose 1.8%, from $2.06 billion to $2.09 billion.
Covarrubias said four categories — machinery and computers, seats and seat parts, electrical machinery, and vehicles and parts — represented 82% of Del Rio’s imports from Mexico.
Ciudad Acuña had 52 IMMEX manufacturing establishments employing 35,858 workers as of June, according to INEGI data cited in the presentation.
One product particularly indicates what is driving the increase. Seat parts rose about $365 million in one year, from about $553 million to $918 million. Covarrubias said the category accounted for about 56% of Del Rio’s total import growth.
Aircraft and aircraft parts, meanwhile, were Del Rio’s largest export to Mexico at $521 million, or 24.9% of the port’s southbound exports. Howmet Aerospace operates facilities on both sides of the border, demonstrating the two-way nature of the region’s aerospace supply chain.
Covarrubias also addressed USMCA and the challenge created when long-term infrastructure investment operates on a different timetable from trade policy.
“Two clocks that do not line up,” he said, contrasting a corridor development process that can require 10 to 20 years with recurring USMCA reviews.
He described the resulting uncertainty as a “precarity premium,” saying prolonged uncertainty can make investment more expensive and commitments shorter.
Still, Covarrubias argued the Ports-to-Plains corridor offers three fundamental advantages: “proximity, redundancy and short supply lines.”
The I-27 System covers 963 miles across 26 Texas counties, connecting Laredo, Eagle Pass and Del Rio northward. His preliminary analysis also found that sorting northbound freight at the border instead of routing it through a Dallas distribution center could eliminate hundreds of additional miles for several Texas and western destinations.
Covarrubias urged corridor leaders to design infrastructure around actual freight, continually use current trade figures, and publish port-level data monthly.
His closing message captured the opportunity facing Del Rio. “Imagine what it does with a corridor behind it.”
Source: Presentation and data compiled by Dr. Daniel Covarrubias, Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development, Texas A&M International University.
