The report is part of a study to develop information which can be used by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to assess impacts of growth in truck traffic in the Texas-Mexico border area roadway network. Dramatic increases in the maquiladora and other international trade between Texas and Mexico have generated substantial concern over the adequacy of the infrastructure systems that serve the ports of entry. These industries rely heavily on truck traffic to carry goods within the border area and between the border area and the other regions of the U.S. and Mexico.

Here is a one-stop research resource on the assembly and manufacturing plants on the U.S.-Mexico border, termed Maquiladoras. A combination bibliography and directory, Las Maquiladoras focuses on various aspects of the American-owned companies that are located in Mexico and employ Mexican citizens.While the thrust of the items included in the select bibliography is on the industrial, commercial, and financial aspects of the phenomenon, including the actions of multinational corporations and their investments, there are also entries dealing with the matter of labor, United States and Mexican governmental undertakings, legal and urban problems, regional development and planning, population, technology transfer, sociocultural considerations, and the interdisciplinary field of border studies, which is concerned with a host of topics ranging form health and education to urban geography, economic matters, and the cultural impact on border residents of the establishment of maquiladoras. The impact of economic development, industrialization, and urbanization on border culture is also reflected.In the directory, readers can locate names and addresses of local, state, and federal level government agencies in the U.S. and Mexico; information centers; labor unions; professional associations; and research centers.The bibliography, comprised of books and book chapters, pamphlets, conference papers and proceedings, government publications, scholarly dissertations, videotapes of television programs, and magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, will be an indispensable tool for business people, bankers, journalists, government experts, economists, students, and librarians. The current interest in border studies and in Mexico, in particular, will make this unique book especially useful to scholars of folklore, geography, history, labor, political science, and sociology.Special features in the book include a list of experts in a variety of disciplines and a listing of U.S. and Mexican cities and towns on opposite sides of the border. Because the number of maquiladoras is expected to continue expanding rapidly, this volume should remain a highly valuable resource.

Effective transportation planning for the 1,230-mile (1,980-km) long Texas-Mexico border must take into account not only the unique characteristics of a binational environment, but also the possible impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Accordingly, this study developed two complementary concepts useful in such binational transportation planning: sector analysis and super-crossing. Sector analysis--a concept based on major traffic diversion areas--provides aggregated revenue and/or demand estimates that address regional (as against site-specific) transportation planning issues. The super-crossing concept, developed to address post-NAFTA commercial traffic, is based on Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) guidelines intended to foster multi- and intermodal facilities. Both concepts are fully described in this report. Additionally, border transportation planning and the implementation of sector analysis methodology require, in turn, assessments of traffic flow patterns and of post-NAFTA socioeconomic indicators. Thus, NAFTA socioeconomic impacts and origin and destination patterns are included as study objectives, both of which are fully documented in this report.

With the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) looming large and imminent, this book explores the socio-economic fabric of the U.S.-Mexico border region as a measure of NAFTA's future. It presents the social and economic history of the Lower Rio Grande Valley on the Texas-Mexico border. .

This report presents a methodology useful in forecasting the effects of NAFTA on the demand for freight transportation at the Texas-Mexico border. In developing long-term estimates of future freight-related traffic crossing the border, the methodology employs three steps: (1) an economic analysis of the region, (2) calibration of modal choice models, and (3) an assessment of inventory practices. This methodology is designed to improve upon previous efforts by considering how NAFTA would alter the economic environment in which firms operate, as well as the decisions these firms make regarding modal choice and shipment size.