Time Savings Benefits Assessment for Secure Border Trade Program -- Phase I

This research project sought to identify the travel time benefits and trends for three manufacturers participating in the Secure Border Trade (SBT) project, which collects shipping travel times for border crossing between twin plants in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Researchers used the SBT project?s global positioning system (GPS) data from January to July 2013. This report covers Phase I, a discovery phase when researchers assessed data quality and availability, defined the initial metrics, and conducted a preliminary assessment of travel time trends and benefits. Researchers analyzed the data from the seven-month period and presented preliminary findings. Although the total trip travel time reductions were not realized based on these partial data, researchers had interesting findings concerning border crossing time metrics: crossing times at the Bridge of the Americas port of entry indicate slight improvements, and one maquila is experiencing longer border crossing times compared to the other. By the end of the SBT project?s 18-month demonstration phase, researchers expect to have doubled the amount of data, and the preliminary findings will be either corroborated or revised. Phase II will explore the inclusion of control data from non-SBT sources.