TIJUANA, MEXICO – Transportes Padilla, a Tijuana-based trucking company, is the third Mexican trucking company to receive authority to make long-haul deliveries in the United States as part of the cross-border trucking demonstration project, according to The Department of Transportation. The company intends to operate three vehicles.

Every day, thousands of Mexican commercial trucks make short-haul deliveries into border commercial zones, which extend approximately 20-25 miles into the United States. Last year, these trucks made more than 4 million crossings into U.S. cities like San Diego and El Paso, the DOT said.

In early September, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the start of a cross-border trucking demonstration project that would expand current border operations to allow up to 100 U.S. trucking companies to operate in Mexico and up to 100 Mexican trucking companies to operate beyond commercial zones in the U.S.

According to the DOT, every company, vehicle, and driver participating in the program must pass a rigorous safety audit and inspection before being allowed to participate in the demonstration project. Checks on Mexican companies, vehicles, and drivers are identical to, and in some instances more stringent than, those of their U.S. counterparts.