The federal transportation crisis has a set date: in October, there will not be a single metal license plate available at the Federal Transportation Directorate (DGAF) , according to Eucario Reyes, president of the National Association of Transportation Representation (ANRA) .
What should be a basic procedure has become an obstacle that threatens to slow down more than 12,000 units throughout Mexico.
The transporters’ warning is also reflected in official data. In April 2025 alone, 14,000 cargo permit applications were completed , of which 858 corresponded to license plate replacements and 1,090 to issuances, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) . The highest concentration was in Mexico City, Nuevo León, and Jalisco, states that currently bear the greatest administrative pressure due to the backlog.
The transporters looked for a way out before the storm hit . They proposed covering the cost of the license plates directly from the supplier and paying the SICT for the entire process.
The proposal was intended to compensate for the lack of public resources, but was rejected by the SICT’s Legal Affairs Directorate, arguing that it would involve corruption , Reyes explained.
The consequence is a sector trapped in temporary permits of 30 days or three months , measures that are practically useless for an industry that operates on annual plans and customer commitments, Reyes warned.
“There is great willingness on the part of Ernesto Bueno, Executive Director of Procedures and Services for Federal Motor Transport at the SICT; he has sought out a thousand and one ways to help, as has the administration department. There is willingness on the part of the General Directorate of Federal Motor Transport, but not on the part of the authorities above Luis Ruiz, Director General of Federal Motor Transport,” Reyes stated.
The drama is compounded by other shortcomings: there are no training records for operators and insufficient appointments to obtain federal licenses . Even so, official figures show progress.
By early October, Reyes warned, there wouldn’t be a single plaque at the Federal Transportation Directorate. The scene he describes is bleak: there’s nothing and the situation is “very sad,” a reflection of the void in which transportation is trapped when bureaucracy overrides daily operations.
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