Dell Computer Company Funds Extra Hours At Border Crossing
Dell computer company is financing extra hours at a port of entry in southern New Mexico to allow commercial truck traffic more time to cross south of the border.
The company's investment is a continuation of a program that facilitates partnerships between the private sector and the federal government. In this case, Dell is footing the bill for keeping the southbound lanes at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, border crossing open an extra four hours on weekday nights.
"Dell is essentially paying for extra personnel hours between the hours of 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., Monday through Friday," said Jerry Pacheco of the Border Industrial Association.
Pacheco said the annual cost runs about $300,000. The extended port hours began Jan. 18 and are available to all southbound commercial traffic.
Dell products, including desktops, laptops and servers, are made at a 1.5 million-square-foot factory run by the Taiwanese firm Foxconn just south of the Santa Teresa border. The company sends some 200 trucks back and forth daily.
Traffic at the Santa Teresa border crossing has been growing steadily in recent years and is now averaging 80,000 crossings per year. Last year, New Mexico extended its overweight zone for commercial trucks coming from Mexico from 6 to 12 miles. Within those limits is a newly built Union Pacific rail facility that caters to international commerce.
The same partnership program allows city and state governments to reimburse the federal government for additional services. In Arizona, the city of Phoenix will soon begin paying overtime for customs officers working at the airport.
