“For supply chain companies, U.S.-Mexico border closures could be catastrophic”, 16^th March 2020

…Mexico’s deputy health minister says he’s worried about people coming into Mexico from the United States. The U.S. has far more cases of COVID-19 than Mexico. The Mexican government even said it might consider restricting access at its northern borders. For businesses that operate on both sides of the border, any shutdown could be catastrophic.

That includes businesses like, Hessen Group, which has an office in Brownsville, Texas. There, an 18-wheeler carrying pipes for oil and gas backs up to a loading dock. Hessen is a supply chain company — it acquires parts and components for other companies to build stuff. Its headquarters are in Matamoros, Mexico, just a few miles away…

Two-thirds of Mexico’s export business is with the United States. And 70% of that passes through Texas…

Everyone here has a laptop, [the director of Hessen Group] said. But he says the independent truck drivers and contractors who work on the loading docks, they have to be on site to run things.

Those people also only get paid if they show up for work. So, for now, they’re glad the COVID-19 hasn’t shut this part of Texas down, yet.