Document Type

Border Policy Brief

Publication Date

2011

Keywords

Trade, Transportation, Border Security

Abstract

In prior articles we have described problems with efficacy of the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) trusted-shipper program at the Blaine, Washington, port-of-entry (POE). At Blaine, state and provincial transportation agencies invested in the construction of highway lanes dedicated to FAST trucks, but there has been relatively light usage of those lanes. In a 2009 field study we found that 23 percent of southbound trucks and just 2 percent of northbound trucks used the FAST lanes. Of the southbound FAST traffic, 73 percent of the trucks were empty. Southbound, the FAST lane seems primarily to be a rapid path by which a FAST carrier and driver can travel empty across the border—i.e., rather than expediting the cross-border flow of goods, FAST expedites empty backhauls and therefore serves as an incentive to inefficient freight transport, from an environmental point of view. Meanwhile, long delays are a frequent occurrence in the standard truck lanes.

Volume

6

Issue

2 - Spring

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

United States--Boundaries--Canada; Canada--Boundaries--United States

Geographic Coverage

United States; Canada

Genre/Form

technical reports

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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