Mexico-based rail consortium Ferromex and U.S. railway Union Pacific (UP) have suspended permits for grain shipments to Mexico, after a train derailed south of Eagle Pass, Texas on October 12.
Although the track at the derailment site has since been reopened, UP says that the permit suspension will remain in place “until the current train lineup is cleared and trains are able to launch upon release.” This comes as rail networks in Mexico have struggled to keep up with recent increases in agricultural trade with the U.S.
In September, both UP and BNSF halted grain shipments into Mexico for roughly two weeks, over concerns stemming from ongoing backlogs of loaded grain shuttles. Months before that, a coalition of agricultural groups issued a letter to the Surface Transportation Board, detailing how rising volumes of trade between the U.S. and Mexico have been outstripping the latter’s capacity to move products by train. Mexico is the largest export market for the U.S. agricultural industry, accounting for more than two-thirds of U.S. grain exports moved by rail each year.
