Borderlands: Halliburton Lays Off 650 Workers; DHL Expands El Paso Freight Operations

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Halliburton lays off 650 oil and gas workers; DHL expands cross-border operations; Carrier partners with Fr8Hub to expand Mexico shipping; Logistics firm opens new warehouses in South Texas.

Halliburton Lays Off 650 Oil and Gas Workers in Four States

Energy services provider Halliburton Company HAL is laying off 650 oil and gas industry workers in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming.

Many of the jobs that were eliminated were in hydraulic fracturing and oil and gas well-cementing positions, according to documents filed with state agencies.

Truck drivers, mechanics, electronic technicians, safety personnel and other workers were affected by the layoffs as well. 

"Making this decision was not easy, nor taken lightly, but unfortunately it was necessary as we work to align our operations to reduced customer activity," the company said in a statement on October 9.

Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Houston, Halliburton has more than 60,000 employees in 40 countries.

The company made a $1.66 billion profit on $24 billion of revenue during 2018.

DHL Global Forwarding Expands Its Freight Operations in El Paso

DHL Global Forwarding recently announced the expansion of its facility in El Paso, now offering air freight, ocean freight, foreign trade zone (FTZ), and cross-border services.

The El Paso facility is located on the U.S.-Mexico border, and also recently increased its square footage by 50% and added 70 additional work spaces.

"This location is of key importance to us because of its strategic location," Alejandro Palacios, DHL Global Forwarding south regional vice president, said in a release.  

Palacios added, "This is a key pillar for our southern border region where we are now offering our full range of freight forwarding capabilities to a broad base of customers at both sides of the border."

Fr8Hub Partners with Mexican Freight Carrier to Expand Cross-Border Shipping 

Fr8Hub recently announced a partnership with Transportes Monroy Schiavon (TMS), an asset-based carrier in Mexico. 

Officials at TMS said the company is planning to expand its cross-border shipping operations to and from the United States by using Fr8Hub‘s digital cross-border freight marketplace. 

"Fr8Hub's cross-border expertise will help us completely revamp our shipping operations into the U.S.," Raul Monroy, TMS owner and general director, said in a release. "In addition, working with Fr8Hub will provide our shipping customers with unprecedented visibility for loads while out in transit." 

TMS is based in the city of Cuautitlan Izcalli, just north of Mexico City. 

"The partnership with TMS is a win-win: we have the platform and they have the trucks," Ohad Axelrod, Fr8Hub's co-founder and chief executive, said in a release.     

Commodities Integrated Logistics Opens Two New Warehouses in Texas' Rio Grande Valley

Commodities Integrated Logistics Group (CIL) recently opened two warehouses in Weslaco, in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

One of the warehouses has 200,000 square feet, while the second one has 82,500 square feet. The warehouses will be used to store cotton. CIL Group ships U.S. cotton into Mexico. 

"The warehouses are located in the central part of the production, this is why Weslaco, Texas, was chosen to continue growing," said Laura Salazar, general manager at CIL, according to Mexico Industry.

The warehouse project cost CIL $8 million. In 2017, the logistics services company moved its headquarters to Weslaco, around 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

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