Freight Transportation: The Latin American Market

FHWA-PL-03-013

Latin America is a key trading region for the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study to examine characteristics of trade flows between NAFTA and Latin American countries and learn how countries handle trade-related transportation infrastructure, border crossings, and freight security.

The delegation observed that while the countries visited-Bahamas, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Panama, and Mexico-depend heavily on trade, the economic downturn has aggravated financial and infra structure challenges in those countries and limited trade expansion. Ports are major centers of trade for the countries, and the Panama Canal is emerging as the region's most strategic facility for NAFTA countries.

The scanning team's recommendations include continued monitoring of the Latin American market and the impact of trade on transportation infrastructure. The team also recommends that NAFTA countries work closely with Latin American countries and port authorities to coordinate border crossing and freight security strategies.

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