Truck movement between Mexico and U.S. shifts as NAFTA kicks in.

Heavy duty Mexican trucks will be allowed to travel throughout California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas beginning Dec. 18. Likewise, similar American trucks will be allowed to travel throughout Mexico's six states bordering the U.S.

Until now, Mexican trucks have been allowed to travel into the U.S. only up to 25 miles north of the border, and American trucks 25 miles south of the border into Mexico, said Jay Van Rein, spokesman for the California Trucking Association, a trade association.

The eased regulations are part the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was effective Jan. 1, 1994 but is being phased in over a 15-year period. They affect any truck whose driver in the U.S. is required to have a commercial drivers license. These trucks include 18-wheelers, among others, Van Rein said.

Under NAFTA, by the year 2000 Mexican trucks are expected to be allowed to travel freely within the entire U.S., and American trucks freely all over Mexico, Van Rein said.

Under the regulations effective Dec. 18, Mexican trucks traveling in the U.S. border states will have to abide by the same safety requirements and other rules as American trucks, and the same for American trucks going into Mexico. However, since requirements for U.S. trucks are currently stiffer than those for Mexican trucks, the Mexican truckers should have more trouble adapting to new requirements, Van Rein said.

In general, the new NAFTA regulations should have a minimal effect on trucking patterns in the near future, he said. "Nobody expects a flood of trucks to go in either direction right at the beginning," he said.

"I don't see a whole lot of folks planning on opening up a Mexican division the first of the year," said Dennis Firestone, president of the Pomona-based trucking company KKW Trucking Inc. and president of the California Trucking Association.

There are still too really problems operating companies in Mexico, he said. These include dealing with the bureaucratic Mexican government and with the inadequate infrastructure, he said.

However, over the next few years there should be more movement by trucks going both directions, Van Rein said.

Eventually, the new regulations should "cut down on a tremendous amount of red tape" for sellers of goods, he said.

Currently, sellers in California shipping goods to Mexico contract with one trucking company to bring their goods to the border, and then contract with a Mexican trucking company to transport the goods to the buyer in Mexico.

Now California trucking companies will be able to transport the goods the entire way themselves. Thus, sellers could contract with one trucking company instead of two, he said.

Also, since there is also one less middle man, sellers should save money, Van Rein said.

Meanwhile, the new regulations present benefits to both American and Mexican truckers, he said.

Mexican truckers clearly have an advantage because they will be able to transport goods into heavily populated areas, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, for instance, that have high levels of consumer spending, he said. The border states in Mexico aren't as heavily populated.

American truckers, however, will also enjoy an advantage because American goods are more in demand in Mexico than Mexican goods are in the U.S., he said.

However, in the short term, the peso devaluation has led to less demand in Mexico than usual for American goods, he added.

Firestone said, though, that KKW Trucking and other carriers he has talked to are primarily interested in driving down to Mexico and bringing goods made there back to the U.S. "That's the demand right now," he said.

Looking in the other direction, once the Mexican truckers drop off their wares in California, they may not want to drive empty trucks back to Mexico. They may try to compete with California trucking companies by transporting merchandise from California to Mexico, Van Rein said.

But California truckers don't seem too concerned about this potential competition. They believe they will be able to hold their own in any rivalry by running more efficient operations, Van Rein said.

The Mexican carriers are intimidated by the size and sophistication of the U.S. carriers and "aren't ready to duke it out," Firestone said.

For the trucks, freight and drivers to meet U.S. standards, the drivers, first of all, must be certified by an agency of the Mexican government under the same standards as those required by the U.S. government, he said.

Also, the insurance on the trucks must be approved by the state Public Utilities Commission if the trucks plan to travel only within California. If they plan to travel in other states as well, they must be approved by the federal Interstate Commerce Commission, he said.

Furthermore, trucks coming into California will be inspected by the California Highway Patrol to make sure they meet safety regulations, he said. Those traveling in the other U.S. border states will be inspected by agencies in those states, Firestone said.

And the freight these trucks are carrying will be inspected at the border by the U.S. Customs Service, Van Rein said.