KCS de Mexico marks first shipment through new inspection facility

A shipment of pet food that arrived to the new SENASICA inspection program marked a milestone for Kansas City Southern de Mexico S.A. de C.V.’s (KCSM) Puerta Mexico intermodal facility, the railroad announced last week.

Pet food was in the first container shipped to the new inspection facility, KCSM officials said in a post on the railroad's website.

Puerta Mexico is one of four locations in Mexico participating in a pilot program with the Mexican government to create an easier way to move regulated commodities into Mexico, officials said. KCSM partnered with Schneider for the inaugural shipment.

Four products — pet food, peat moss, artificial creamer and soybean flour — were chosen to be part of the pilot. Previously, the Mexican government required inspection of these products before they entered Mexico, which hampered crossing over the border and the option of moving the goods via intermodal transportation, officials said.

Under the SENASICA program, the pet food crossed the border "seamlessly" and inspected upon arrival at Puerta Mexico, which reduced the total transit time, they said.