conomic development along the southern and northern U.S. borders took a brief, but significant, body blow in the first months following the 9­11 terrorist acts, but has rebounded nicely by most accounts.
        The contiguous U.S. states and Canada share a 3,987-mile (6,415-km.) border. (Alaska's border with Canada runs 1,538 miles, or 2,475 km.) The U.S.-Mexico border is almost half that at 1,933 miles (3,110 km.).
        Development along both borders is similar in many respects with the automotive, chemical and electronics industries and their suppliers dominating. Along the southern border, where the maquiladoras drive many economic engines, apparel and textile firms are still running, while medical clusters and food processing are in the mix in business corridors along the U.S./ Canada border.
        Canada is the largest U.S. trade partner and, despite recent battles over forestry products, the relationship is growing, primarily due to the proximity of Canada's population centers.
        "The outlook is extremely positive for growth along the Canadian/U.S. border for the foreseeable future," says Jim Phillips, executive director of the Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance, a trans-continental organization that promotes trade between the two countries.
        "Business between Canada and the U.S. is expected to double by 2008, and the rate now is US$2 billion a day," Phillips says, noting that growth in regional corridors, particularly in the Western U.S.-Canada region, is strong.
        Phillips says if any good comes out of 9-11, it will be improved border management, which should lead to a smoother flow of low-risk people and goods across the border.
        On the southern U.S. border, development is also on an upward swing. Two Texas border metro areas, Brownsville and McAllen, were ranked in May by Forbes and the Milken Institute in the Top 10 cities for busi ness and careers in the U.S.
        McAllen, a center of increasing cross-border trade, ranked third and was cited for job growth (28 percent) and high-tech GDP growth (67 percent). Brownsville, ranked ninth, experienced an explosive high-tech growth rate of 285 percent.
        Nancy Boultinghouse, marketing director for the McAllen Economic Development Corp., says 12 companies have located in the metro area so far this year, and several more will soon make similar announcements.
        Obviously, the Sept. 11 terrorism delivered a new reality to cross-border trade. Dennis L. Soden, executive director of the Institute for Policy & Economic Development at the University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP), says while there was a slowdown, today it's pretty much business as usual.
        "There has been a shift from automobile to pedestrian crossings," he says, "but while it does take more time to cross, it hasn't stopped traffic. People are continuing to go back and forth across the border."
        Soden says an economic downturn in the region was under way prior to Sept. 11 with some maquiladoras moving offshore and employment decreasing. So, the terrorist acts just exacerbated the trend.
        "The border had already adjusted to a slower economy, so the effect was less noticeable," Soden says. "Things have been pretty flat for about a year."
        Soden believes the El Paso area's infrastructure is strained and could use another commercial crossing for trucks. Currently, there are five border crossings in the area, including one in New Mexico.

The Santa Teresa Project in New Mexico involved the virtual creation of cities on both sides of the border. The 77,000-acre (31,200-ha.) project will link Santa Teresa, currently a non-incorporated community, to the new city of San Jeronimo, Mexico.

        A task force is looking at a port authority concept to develop a new crossing, he says. Tens of thousands of people cross the border daily. UTEP is a magnet for the region, drawing about 10 percent of its enrollment from Mexico.
        Time in crossing borders is becoming a larger issue, says John Rhodes, president of Moran, Stahl & Boyer, a business location and site selection consulting firm based in Atlanta. Rhodes recently spoke during a roundtable discussion on various risk factors inherent in site selection at the CoreNet Global Summit in Salt Lake City in May. He told the overflowing audience of developers and economic development officials that companies must consider whether the Canada/U.S. border or the Mexico/U.S. border is easier to cross when looking for a business location.
        "Putting your operations in a lower-cost area may not necessarily be good in terms of border crossings," Rhodes says. "Canada might be a good opportunity rather than going to South America where the borders may be tougher to cross and less timely."

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