Laredo: Epicenter of the Lázaro Cárdenas-Kansas City Corridor
The Lázaro Cárdenas Port, which began operations in 2007, is projected to handle cargo that would otherwise arrive at overworked U.S. ports, such as Long Beach and Los Angeles. Together, these ports move 10.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year. NAFTA trade is projected to grow $60 to $120 billion per year to dynamically impact Laredo demographics.
The NAFTA Railray Operations at Lázaro Cárdenas have already demonstrated improvements in Mexico's domestic trade. With the infrastructure quickly developing at Lázaro Cárdenas, allowing Asian cargo to dock in Mexico, the rail corridor is the tool for continuing the movement of trade. In 2005, Kansas City Southern Railway, and the two Mexican Railways agreed to a common leadership to create a seamless rail transit system from the port into the heart of North America. Known as the "NAFTA Railway" this 1,300-mile rail system facilitates the free-flow of locomotives and rail cars between the United States and Mexico via the Kansas City Southern's railroad bridge at Laredo, Texas