SkyBridge Mesa Hype Put Into Context

Hey! Is no one asking what's the impact on-the-ground for this flying-high that so many people and so much mainstream media appears to be "irrationally exuberant" over?
Airfreight between Arizona and Mexico increased 30 percent per year from 2011 to 2015 and currently totals about US$390 million per year, with the expectation that it will reach $650 million by 2025. The launch of SkyBridge Arizona is expected to increase annual cargo flights at the airport by 2,000 per year. ( https://aircargoworld.com )

Yes, the SkyBridge is an exciting piece of information, but it is not the first to house both US Customs and Mexico Customs agents.

Unified Cargo Processing Program Expands

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report >  https://www.strtrade.com/news

"The ongoing pilot test of the Unified Cargo Processing program will be expanded to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona in the coming months, creating what a press release from the office of Governor Doug Ducey calls “America’s first and only inland international air logistics and processing hub.”
Under the UCP, U.S. and Mexican customs officials conduct joint inspections of cargo at several locations, including

• Nogales, Arizona (imports and exports),
• Laredo International Airport in Texas (air cargo shipments for the automotive, electronics, and aerospace industries destined to Mexico),
• Otay Mesa, California
• San Jeronimo, Chihuahua (finished electronics shipped from Mexico to the U.S.).

The press release states that the SkyBridge Arizona service will enable e-commerce companies, manufacturers, and other commercial interests conducting business in Mexico and throughout Latin America “to more efficiently and cost-effectively transport goods between countries, while ensuring proper inspections and safety controls.”
All required documents, inspections, tracking, and other services will occur at this airport, and the customs processing status will follow packages and cargo electronically to their final destinations in any city in Mexico and eventually further into Central and South America. According to the press release, this will allow shipments to the region to bypass the “cumbersome and inefficient international customs center in Mexico City.”
__________________________________________________________________________The Laredo Airport in Laredo, TX also houses Customs from both sides of the border.
Under the UCP, U.S. and Mexican customs officials conduct joint inspections of cargo at several locations, including Nogales, Ariz. (imports and exports), Laredo International Airport in Texas (air cargo shipments for the automotive, electronics, and aerospace industries destined to Mexico), Otay Mesa, Calif., and San Jeronimo, Chihuahua (finished electronics shipped from Mexico to the U.S.).(See below)
Currently, products shipped between the U.S. and Mexico are processed through the Unified Cargo Processing (UCP) pilot program, operated between U.S. and Mexico customs, which approves incoming and outgoing freight at AZA bound for customers on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The UCP pilot program began last year in Nogales, Arizona.
There's already 17,000 trucks on the roads daily - it's more than likely that accommodating a projected 10-fold increase to 2,000 flights per day between Mesa, Arizona and Chihuahua, Mexico can create bottlenecks in shipping and handling logistics. What about flight patterns and airport noise affecting residents who live nearby? And what about quality jobs or the quality of life? . . . or is the City of Mesa anticipating a change in online e-commerce Internet sales tax laws to increase local sales tax revenues?
First of all keep in mind that according to excerpts from the following report 

Arizona Welcomes SkyBridge

Kim Taylor |Scarbrough International 08 Jan 2018  

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"SkyBridge Arizona is excited to open its doors to the public, offering tens of thousands of jobs, increased revenue for the city, and a new way to increase trade between the USA and Mexico border.

AZ Big Media “At its core, SkyBridge includes a first-of-its-kind joint United States-Mexico Customs inspections facility, which dramatically streamlines the Customs process with Mexico. Surrounding this facility are more than 2 million square feet of warehouse space, nearly 1 million square feet of office space, 900,000 square feet of light industrial and flex space, more than 800,000 square feet of air cargo operations, a 242-bed hotel and 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, and more.”

Yes, the SkyBridge is an exciting piece of information, but it is not the first to house both US Customs and Mexico Customs agents. . . "