Report: US to Require Vaccines for Cross-Border Foreign Truckers Starting Jan. 22

Truck drivers from Canada and Mexico will be barred from crossing the U.S. border as of Jan. 22 unless they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, citing a senior Biden administration official.  

While the vaccination requirement — applying to all nonresident essential travelers — had been announced in October, the U.S. had held off on setting an official date. Trucking industry groups have been pushing for a delay out of fears large numbers of unvaccinated truckers will stop moving cross-border freight.

The Biden administration had initially exempted essential workers from a vaccine mandate on foreign travelers, which took effect Nov. 8. The Department of Homeland Security had said the mandate for essential workers would come in early January. The new date pushes it back by two to three weeks. 

Less than 50% of Mexicans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while among Canadians the rate is nearly 80%, according to data from Oxford University. If those rates hold up among truckers, industry leaders say the results could be catastrophic for cross-border supply chains.

"The reality is we're playing a game of high-stakes chicken with the situation the supply chain is in right now," Steve Laskowski, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, told FreightWaves earlier this month. 

The CTA estimates that over 20%, or 22,000, of Canadian drivers could stop crossing the border because of the mandate. The CTA projects that another 16,000 U.S. drivers follow suit when a similar Canadian mandate takes effect in January.

It's not clear how much of a disruption the vaccine mandate will have on cross-border trucking with Mexico.

Ernesto Gaytán Jr., general manager of Laredo, Texas-based Super Transport International, said Biden's mandate could be a "huge issue" for the border trade community.

However, Mexican trucking companies are not allowed to operate in the U.S. When freight is trucked from Mexico to the U.S., it is brought to the border by Mexican truckers and usually switched to a U.S. truck for the final leg of the journey.

Trucks typically haul over $700 billion worth of freight between the U.S., Canada and Mexico each year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That number is on track to jump significantly in 2021 as pandemic restrictions have eased, and consumer demand has remained high. 

FreightWaves reporter Noi Mahoney contributed to this report. 

More coverage

• Canadian truckers forced to choose: COVID vaccines or forfeit US runs
• Canada to require COVID vaccines for US truckers
• Will you get the COVID vaccine if your company requires it?

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