The average salary or hourly wage might be lower than in other parts of the United States, but so are the costs. For example, a home selling for $300,000 in California might sell for $60,000 in the Valley. When a dollar stretches that much farther, people come in search of jobs.
“There are new ‘Help Wanted’ signs every day, and as we keep expanding, so do the amount of jobs available,” Ruiz says. “It means that as long as they’re willing to work, people can afford to live comfortably. It’s a very competitive place to do business, and it’s a market that more and more people are trying to get into.”
The Mazatlán-to-Matamoros Highway
The Supervía, which stretches from Sinaloa through the mountains of Mexico to the U.S. border, has become a major pipeline for buyers and sellers of produce, bringing a major boost to the entire Valley in general, and to the Pharr International Bridge in particular.
“We’ve already seen an expansion of business in the Valley and more business bound for the most populous areas,” notes Ruiz. “As Mexican companies and U.S. importers begin to take advantage of the savings to the East Coast, I can see this region becoming the main import [hub] for any produce bound to the eastern United States.”
The area is also home to an influx of customs brokers, according to Armando Flores of Ace Customs Brokers, Inc. in Hidalgo. “There are more U.S. customs brokers now in South Texas, and that’s having a big impact on our business, because there’s more competition. Importers from other ports are relocating and importing through Hidalgo and Pharr now.”
And while there seems to be plenty of business to go around, Flores says, “The competition gets tougher every year, because more and more people are getting into the customs brokerage business. It comes down to a question of supply and demand. Everyone wants a piece of the pie.”
The direct route to South Texas certainly makes good fiscal sense, reducing diesel costs and travel time. This also helps truckers in the current regulatory environment, especially with hours of service rules, though the latest federal budget passed in December included a rollback of two of the more restrictive provisions of the 34-hour restart rule.
