Mexican carriers to gain access throughout U.S.

[Maggie_May]

WASHINGTON – A long-delayed plan to allow Mexican trucks to roam throughout the United States for the first time since 1982 appears to have surmounted its last legal hurdle.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco yesterday rejected an appeal from the Teamsters union to block the controversial initiative.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070901-9999-1b1mextruck.html

[alarimer]

1. This sucks.

Those Mexican trucks and truckers are very unsafe so get ready for a lot of accidents.

[Maggie_May]

2. I am not a truck driver

but don't we train our people a lot for this job. I can't imagine these Mexicans being train to drive these trucks I may be wrong.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. Ok maggie that is like totally bigoted.

First of all, 'truck driver' is not exactly a highly skilled profession. Secondly, why do you think Mexicans are incapable of driving trucks safely? I think you have watched too many Hollywood movies.

Canadian truckers have the right to drive anywhere in the US, are you terrified by that?

NAFTA sucks and this is more more suckage from NAFTA, but it is reciprocal suckage. Our trucks are also now allowed to drive past the 20 mile border region anywhere in Mexico.

[Maggie_May]

4. I am not a bigoted just doing the reading

Critics, including trucking and safety organizations and dozens of lawmakers, have alleged that U.S. transportation officials have failed to comply with congressional requirements aimed at guaranteeing that Mexican trucks will be safe on U.S. highways.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070901-9999-1b1mextruck.html

[Warren Stupidity]

7. Why exactly would this be any different than Canadian trucks?

Or for that matter, with domestic trucks? Safety inspections are safety inspections. Either the inspection process works or it doesn't.

[lonestarnot]

30. It doesn't work.

Old broken down rickerbait smokestackblacksmokeblown'n baldtired woodenboarded chalkbreak'n tearing up the roads and jamming traffic trucks because they're stalled in the middle of the freeway. But then I do not have a good basis for comparison because how are Canadian truck distinguishable from American trucks? Do they drive trucks that are in the shape I see Mexican trucks are in?

[Progressive_In_NC]

57. When I did a consulting job at a bank in Mexico City -- some of the drivers were 17 years old

Driving local and long haul trucks. I asked my host about it and he said 17 wasn't an uncommon age for a local route driver and for some long haulers in Mexico. I wasn't a bad driver at 17, but to be honest, I wouldn't want me driving a big rig back then.

[lonestarnot]

71. Comforting knowledge, thanks...

:scared:

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Does Mexico have the regulatory capabilities to ensure that

their drivers are qualified? Or can you buy a license by slipping the guy in the license office $500? I have no problem with Canadian truckers because they are not licensed by a government that is rife with corruption. In fact, if anything, it's the other way around - with the corruption that is beginning to permeate Republican American, if I were Canadian I'd be rather leery of American truckers.

In its original intent, NAFTA was to produce equivalence between its three members - equal regulations, equal enforcement, equal standards, all of which would create, in the long run, equal compensation more or less. But instead it has resulted in dragging down our standards, and doing little if anything to raise standards in Mexico. Instead of Mexican factories competing on a level playing field by them improving their pollution controls and worker safety standards, we close our factories here and move them there so we don't have to deal with pollution controls and safety standards.

If Mexican truckers don't have the standards US truckers do, and Mexican trucks can go anywhere in N America, more trucking contracts will go to Mexican companies. Even if standards are the same, the pay differential makes it cheaper to hire truckers in Mexico than to pay the going rate for US or Canadian truckers.

It's not about bigotry. It's about the disaster that is NAFTA.

[Fierce]

10. Well said.

It's not bigoted to want the same standards for every country.

[TahitiNut]

20. It's NOT a matter of "the same standards for every country."

It's a matter of self-governance. When commercial/corporate forces can manipulate the law to create a 'class' of corporate enterprise exempt from the sovereign will of the People, the "government of the people, by the people, and for the people' WILL "vanish from the earth."

I don't have much problem with the people of Mexico exercising their sovereignty in a manner that serves their own domestic interests in ways unique to themselves. I do have a problem with the corporate colonialism that subverts the interests of any people and then uses the back-door of "international trade" to nullify our own sovereign self-determination.

This, in effect, is what the perversions of NAFTA and WTO have wrought.

[brentspeak]

29. That's an excellent point. Many of these trade deals might just violate the Constitution.

We need talented lawyers to argue those kind of points before the courts. With any luck, some of these trade agreements could be found unconstitutional.

[Warren Stupidity]

54. Which I agree with completely.

As I said, my reaction was simply about the conclusion without evidence that all Mexican truck drivers and Mexican trucks will be unsafe. That is just xenophobic claptrap. Opposing NAFTA does not mean we have to hate them foreigners.

[Warren Stupidity]

16. NAFTA sucks.

However statements that indicate that Mexicans are incapable of driving trucks safely are just bigotted nonsense.

[RaleighNCDUer]

23. Certainly, they are capable.

I'm capable. But I'm also completely untrained. Capability has nothing to do with it. Training and licensing has everything to do with it.

What kind of training and licensing is required in Mexico? If you can show me that training and licensing is rigorously enforced, and that drug cartels can't purchase truck licenses by the fistfull for their couriers, then I will withdraw that objection.

[lonestarnot]

31. Nafta sucks ass and 6 other treaties stand in line for approval.

Peru and ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

[alarimer]

47. They currently don't have the rules we do

both for the truck safety standards and driver standards.

But it is all about making it cheaper for corporations; they do not care about safety.

[edhopper]

17. If you don't understand

the skill it takes to drive an 18-wheeled, double clutched Semi for thousands of miles, you really shouldn't comment.

[A HERETIC I AM]

21. "Double Clutched"?

The only driver that consistently double clutches a heavy truck transmission has either a Safety Director sitting next to him or no clue how to float a shift.

The rest of your sentiment i agree with.
Driving a Tractor Trailer is not exactly brain surgery or akin to a highly skilled engineer, but there are plenty of people with lots of education that i wouldn't let behind the wheel of a Semi for any more than about ten feet.

[edhopper]

39. Thanks for the correction

I haven't driven anything bigger than a minivan in 15 years. :-)

[here_is_to_hope]

22. Wait a minute...

"First of all, 'truck driver' is not exactly a highly skilled profession..."

I would beg to differ. My husband is a Owner Operator and being an OTR driver is much more complicated than you think.
Care to figure out bridge limits/axle spreads? Hazmat routes and compatible cargo? Drivers logbooks? The myriad of permits that still vary state by state?
Fuel permits? Road taxes? (17k a year for us to the state of Oregon)
Care to wrangle 80,000 lbs. across I 80 in Wyoming...in January?

There is so much more..but I will tell you this...without these guys and gals, you would starve to death.
Almost everything you touch today has been on a truck at some point.

[StarryNite]

50. Here, here!

:applause: :applause: :applause:

[brentspeak]

26. That's strange. You have a "Kucinich 2008" avatar, but you're defending the trucks scam

Dennis Kucinich is 100% opposed to letting in the Mexican trucks and truck drivers. So, er, why are you defending this?

Also, you don't strike me as someone who would know even the first thing about driving a rig.

[Warren Stupidity]

53. No I'm opposed to anti -mexican bigotry.

As I said here NAFTA sucks, but observations that Mexicans can't drive a truck safely are bigotry. Mexicans are just as capable of truck driving as any other human.

[brentspeak]

55. Oh, yeah...the ol' "bigotry" canard.

The GOP and DLC likes to trot that out every time trade issues pop up.

[Warren Stupidity]

56. One more time

my opinion: NAFTA sucks.
my other opinion: Mexicans are just as good at driving trucks as we are.
my third opinion: opposition to this part of NAFTA based on "Mexicans can't drive trucks" is bigotry.

If you would like to invent other arguments for me, or call me a liar, or insist I am on the side of the DLC or the GOP, be my guest.

[Maggie_May]

61. Ok one more time

"I am not a truck driver but don't we train our people a lot for this job. I can't imagine these Mexicans being train to drive these trucks I may be wrong." What I my intention was were they going to trained will they have to meet our standards. Not that Mexicans can drive of course they can drive. They can drive trucks too but our they going to hold the same standards as our truck drivers. Did a little research and it looks like they will have to have training how much and what the conditions of the trucks well we will have to see.

Hundreds of trucks pass through from California each and every day. At the first place Mexican drivers would stop once they cross into Nevada, drivers there say this political promise could end up being a disaster.
The lonely life on the open road could be coming to a screeching halt for truck driver Eric Oliver. "It's like a free pass."
Oliver is upset at new rules allowing Mexican truck drivers to carry heavy loads anywhere in the U.S. His main concern is safety. "If you've worked down there, you know, you've seen those trucks that are running down there by the border. Pieces falling off of them and stuff like that. That's just creating hazards for us out here on the road."
Mexican drivers will have to understand English and follow all rules for documentation and safety. But inspectors will have to take the driver at his word nearly each and every time.
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=7002057

Trucks and Drivers Entering the U.S. from Mexico Frequently Do Not Meet U.S. Standards -- Additional Inspection Resources Are Needed” -- Kenneth M. Mead, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation, Report # TR-1999-055.

Since 1995, the U.S. has wisely kept its border closed to Mexican trucks due to unresolved safety issues. However, a NAFTA business tribunal has ordered the U.S. to either open the border or pay damages to Mexico. In essence, the enforcement of this trade agreement will undermine U.S. highway safety policies because there are not enough inspection and compliance resources on either side of the border to ensure that Mexican commercial trucks crossing into the U.S. and their drivers are operating safely.

It has been well documented over many years that far too few Mexican trucks (less than 1%) are being inspected on either side of the U.S. - Mexican border, and too few of those inspected comply with U.S. standards on safety, weight and insurance. Also, Mexican drivers are often not trained to handle hazardous cargos and are not subject to limitations on time behind the wheel.
http://www.trucksafety.org/Docket_Submission.php

[alarimer]

46. The trucks won't meet DOT standards even

They are currently allowed to operate near the border and those trucks do not belong on the road there. Sometimes they have 16 year old drivers. One of those 16 year old drivers dumped a load of furfural (a toxic chemical) during an accident and then fled the scene. This was a number of years ago.

In any case I think this move is simply to break unions and begin the North American Union process. This includes the super highway they are planning to build in Texas, which will eventually connect with ports in Mexico, thus bypassing the Longshoreman's unions on the West Coast and the Teamsters and other unions.

[The Backlash Cometh]

42. Get the names of the lobbyists and congressmen who allowed this to happen.

So we can display their names when someone gets killed on the road because the trucks from Mexico aren't maintained to the standards expected from American trucking companies.

[VP505]

5. This is one issue

that EVERYONE should be yelling at our Reps, not just NO but HELL NO! Aside from all the safety issues, there are the Longshoreman jobs that will be in jeopardy, there are the issues of Chinese goods coming into the country through Mexican Ports without any over-site. Then there are the drug cartel issues, human smuggling issues, etc, all adding up to something that could be another big Bu$h Admin cluster fu** at the expense of ALL Americans.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

6. Another union busting by Shrub. Part of this plan BTW is to bring cargo to Mexico

and that will also kill the dock workers on the West Coast. Bush tried to kill that Union early in his first term, and will now be successful in a roundabout way.

[tom_paine]

8. Exactly. Ship to ports in Mexico. East to the interior, then North

Colbert did a funny bit on it, but the issue is all too real.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

12. How much more proof do we need that George Bush HATE$ Americans? eom

[madrchsod]

14. this was clinton`s baby all grown up.

they are both to blame in this neolib/con wet dream..

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

25. Yes, you're right. I have said quite often, getting flamed at times,

that Clinton was one of the best Republican Presidents we've ever had.

[brentspeak]

38. It's the NAFTA issue that had me rethink Bill Clinton's presidency

He balanced the budget, and he helped to stop the Balkans conflicts. But that's about it.

[Maggie_May]

62. Bill was the one who started this

Thats why I wonder about Hilary.

[Critters2]

68. I don't wonder

I'm sure she'd continue the "free trade" policies of Bill and the DLC. She must not be our nominee!!

[leftofthedial]

11. this will be a huge boon

to funeral homes and traffic cops

[madrchsod]

13. you could be right.

i do`t think trucks stops across the nation are going to be very friendly places...then there`s the police.

[Wiley50]

15. The Marijuana Supply Is Gonna Get A Lot Better n/t

[edhopper]

18. Remember when

we wouldn't lose all our manufacturing jobs to Mexico because we were opening up our goods to their buyers. Tell that now to ex-auto workers in Detroit.
Ship to Mexico, truck at half the cost in US. Goodbye American truckers.

[bbgrunt]

19. I am hoping for some kind of action by teamsters......which I will

support in any way possible. Does anyone know if they have any plans?

[kurth]

24. Kill NAFTA

Kill it DEAD.

[Stargazer99]

27. Its time for the Teamsters Union and the Dock Workers Union

To put an end to this screwing of the people by any means necessary and watch the RW conservative send out the police and the National Guard...The French Reveloution sounds pretty good at this point.

[lonestarnot]

32. Time to yes.

Kick ass!

[brentspeak]

36. The thing is, there's plenty of conservatives who are on the same side as us on this issue

[A HERETIC I AM]

28. I am curious how many of the posters on threads like this think Mexican trucks will be hauling from

point to point inside the United States.

There seems to be a massive amount of misinformation about this subject and the idea that this will somehow cost American Teamsters their jobs is absurd. The amount of northbound cross-border, Mexico originated freight hauled to destination by Teamster drivers could be measured with a desk-top scale. It is minuscule.

Just exactly how much freight is currently hauled by Teamsters out of the Port of Long Beach/Los Angeles all the way to destination?
Anyone know? How much freight moving from east to west is driven by Union drivers? Anyone know that either?
Of the major LTL Union carriers in this country, what is the average length of haul? Any idea? (By length of haul, i mean how far is the trip, driven by a single driver or a team, hauling the same trailer to the delivery point)

So many people on these threads seem to be under the impression that presently, the freight comes across the border and is picked up by a Teamster driver and moved to its destination by that Teamster, and this program is so horrible because it will cut out that Teamster Driver.
NOTHING could be further from the truth.
So many people also seem to think that this program is going to basically open the gates and any old Mexican truck will be allowed across the border to haul freight as he pleases inside the US with no inspection or insurance or licensing.
Again, NOTHING could be further from the truth.

[w8liftinglady]

33. Are there many Teamsters in Texas?I seem to see only independent operators

Just an observation.Texas is not big on unions,anyway.I'm surprised they aren't already getting by with this here.Our Highway patrol is gutted.The "Highway patrol" on my section of I35 is a mannequin dressed in a cop outfit in a police car.No kidding.

[A HERETIC I AM]

37. Here are the major National Teamster trucking companies;

According to http://www.teamster.org/

ABF Freight System, Inc.
New Penn Motor Express
Roadway Express, Inc.
USF Holland
Yellow Transportation

For a full list of the divisions covered by Teamster contracts, hover your mouse over the "Divisions/Conferences" link on the top banner of the Teamster home page.

That's it. When you see a truck from Yellow Freightways or Roadway or the others, it is a Teamster behind the wheel.
The other major transport company that uses ALL drivers that are members of the Teamsters is United Parcel Service.
The other major sector of the surface transportation industry where Teamsters are highly numbered is Car-Haul but the number of non-union car haul companies is enormous and growing.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

35. You keep saying nothing is further from the truth without giving us what the Truth is. Do you

have the data to prove that these concerns are not truthful? If you do, please Enlighten us? Thank you.

[A HERETIC I AM]

41. This argument has happened a number of times before on DU and the evidence is as far away as Google

You want me to do the research for you?

Nope. Sorry. I do not have the inclination to do a simple Google search that you could just as easy carry out. Not to mention that i think it is pointless to offer evidence that will be either ignored or ridiculed because it happens to come from a government source. After all, it is the Bush administration, right? And everyone knows that every single public servant in every single government agency does everything he is told to do by a White House staffer. Right?:sarcasm:

Instead of just reading articles from the San Diego newspaper or where ever, read about this proposal from the sources that actually constructed it. There is plenty of data, regulation and volumes of research carried out by the FHMCSA, the DOT and the various national and state regulatory authorities.

If you want nothing but hysterical hyperbole, only pay attention to what the OOIDA and the Teamsters say on this subject.

BTW, I was a Teamster and I drove tractor trailers over the road for 22 years. I am HARDLY anti union and i am not for a complete swinging open of the gates to Mexican trucks. Thats not what is going to happen anyway.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

49. Sorry, when one makes claims, one should back them up. I'm not going to

take you at your word, nor am I going to search it out.

Have a lovely day.

[A HERETIC I AM]

51. Fine with me. Don't take my word. I applaud that, in fact.

But if you aren't going to take the time to search it out, then your opinion is going to be shaped by what? The uninformed, hysterical opinion of others who ALSO refuse to do the simple research needed to find out the truth?

I am glad you do not take my opinion as fact. That shows a healthy skepticism.

That you refuse to search for the facts yourself shows something else entirely.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

52. Frankly, in the last 4 years I have done so much research that at this point

I am just exhausted. I try never to make claims without having the info at my fingertips to back them up. And yes, I do question most everything to the point that I'm exhausted from that too. So much is being shoved down our collective throats by this sociopath administration, in such abundance, that most people cannot keep track of it all. Personally, right now, I'm overwhelmed.

So when I am responded to by a poster who claims that the fears of this new opening of our borders are far from the truth, a poster in fact that I'm not familiar with, of course I cannot take that poster at his/her word without their evidence to back it up. And yes, very skeptical when the chicaneries of this pResident is behind such a program.

[tammywammy]

58. Off topic warning, but your cat

looks just like my Mia

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

60. OMG!

She looks so much like Amy when Amy was svelte! Needless to say, Mia is Gorgeous!

[OzarkDem]

40. It affects all US truck drivers

and all US truck drivers deserve support.

The media focus is on the Teamsters because they are well funded and organized. But owner operators and non-union truck drivers will also be hurt.

My brother is an over the road truck driver and I know they work incredibly hard in a stressful job; safety and skill are of the utmost importace and they do a good job of training and policing each other. Wages have declined greatly in their field over the last couple of decades.

[A HERETIC I AM]

43. That's right. Wages have declined. And it had nothing to do with Mexican Trucks.

But what i just don't see is how this proposal "affects all US truck drivers" any more than the current agreement we have with Canada and Canadian truckers. Don't THEY also affect American truckers and their jobs? Yet no one ever starts a thread about how Canadian truckers are taking American jobs.

It seems a large part of the fear also stems from the safety side where many who post on this subject are CONVINCED that every single Mexican truck that will travel in the US has bald tires, is held together with chewing gum and baling wire and driven by an uninsured, drug-crazed 17 year old who has not slept in 4 days.

It's nonsense.

[Progressive_In_NC]

59. This is one step in the plan to cut out the doc workers -- check out the NASCO corridor

http://www.nascocorridor.com/pages/ports_network/ports_network.htm

They plan to put Mexican ports in Kansas City, and then they can offload from there and move it anywhere they want to. Basically, the can cut US truckers and dock workers out of the whole process of moving goods from Mexico to Canada.

In the end this whole scheme will hurt the doc workers a TON more.

[A HERETIC I AM]

63. Bullshit. The Port of LA/LB is undergoing an expansion because it is at CAPACITY...

If it is at capacity, where should the ships that need to unload go to?

There is a limited number of deepwater ports on the west coast that can handle the larger class of container ships now entering service. If you are familiar with California, there are presently only TWO major container ports capable of handling such ships in the number needed - Los Angeles/Long Beach and Oakland/Alameda. There are other deepwater ports on the west coast (San Diego, Portland and in the Puget Sound) but they are at or near capacity also or, as is the case in San Diego, the majority of the land area in the port is controlled by the US Navy and not available for serious expansion. There is another facility that could be expanded on in Ventura County, CA (Oxnard) but it is also largely military and the rail service into and out is severly limited because it is a single track line and there is a mountin range in the way that makes expansion cost prohibitive.

Regarding the inland port in KC, so what? No shipper in his right mind is going to use tractor trailers to haul containers from Lazaro Cardenas to Kansas City. But let's say they do. What is being put in place in KC is a Free Trade zone. What if an American company were to build an assembly plant in KC to utilize those shipments of parts and/or supplies in order to make a product? What if that factory and similar factories created enough jobs to more than offset any losses potentially seen in other areas? Would that be ok? The liklihood of the above scenario occuring is quite high, btw.

[brentspeak]

64. How much stock do you have in companies that are pushing for this NAFTA plan, again?

[A HERETIC I AM]

65. Just enough to piss you off and annoy you.

No more, no less.

[brentspeak]

66. Then cash them in for profits, and go and count your blood money.

And then choke on it.

[A HERETIC I AM]

67. Wait....let me write this down......

cause that is FUCKING RICH! (oops! pun intended)

Sheesh there, Brent. Lighten up.


:::Goes back to counting a huge pile of ill gotten blood money....ten...twenty....thirty thousand....:::




:::smacks the kitten for good measure::::

[brentspeak]

69. I don't take lightly the loss of American livelihoods...and lives.

Which this new expansion of NAFTA will accomplish.

[Progressive_In_NC]

72. Actually, Kansas Southern rail (behind the inland ports) has been buy up raillines in Mexico

for the past decade.


http://www.kcsmartport.com/sec_news/media/articles/ajt_052305.htm

snip

===================================================
Talk about setting up a new route to bypass congested US West Coast ports emerged in dozens of official and unofficial meetings in Kansas City and Mexico. It culminated in March with the signing of a cooperative agreement between Kansas City and the Western Mexican port city of Lazaro Cardenas.

"In terms of opening the Midwest to Asian trade through Mexican ports, this agreement signifies substantial completion of the extensive efforts devoted to establishing the political, economic and cultural foundation enabling this trade route to work," Alfred Figuly, president of the Greater Kansas City Foreign Trade Zone, said shortly before the formal signing of the pact. "It also marks the beginning of the implementation phase."

The Lazaro Cardenas signing was, "exciting and historic," according to Chris Gutierrez, president of non-profit trade-promotion group Kansas City SmartPort. He recently told the AJOT that a lot of containers already pass from Asia's prolific exporters through Manzanillo, but generally do not go to Kansas City. "All traffic though Lazaro Cardenas can go to Kansas City on Kansas City Southern trains," he said.

According to Mexican law, he said, all in-bond trade must move through the country by rail. Kansas City Southern's acquisition on April 1 of its Mexican partner, TFM, S.A. de C.V. (TFM), puts it in an excellent position to provide this service, Gutierrez said. The Kansas City carrier already controlled the Texas-based line, The Texas Mexican Railway Company, known as TexMex. Southern's chairman and chief executive officer Michael Haverty said in a news release, "TFM, Southern Railway and (TexMex) will now operate under common overall leadership, creating a seamless transportation system that spans the heart of North America." Southern states that common ownership will enhance investment in cross-border infrastructure, training and cargo tracing and tracking systems.

As for Lazaro Cardenas, Gutierrez said that giant Hong Kong-based port developer Hutchison Port Holdings plans to expand the Mexican port's throughput from a negligible 45,000 teus in 2004 to two million in the near future.

Already, US Customs clears more than $9 billion a year in imports in Kansas City. The city has plans to build former Air Force base Richards-Gebaur into an intermodal transit and cargo center. Negotiations are underway to open a groundbreaking Mexican Customs inspection office for cargo going from Kansas City to Mexico.
===================================================

[Joanne98]

34. Happy Labor Day! geeezzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!

What happened to the 9th Circut!

[bluesmail]

48. One step closer to the New World Order

and Yes, Happy Labor Day

[Pierzin]

44. Goodbye Middle Class!!! vote for dennis

NAFTA< CAFTA, WTO
they all mean less wages and less jobs for Americans.
I swear to God, when are the 25%percenters going to wake up and figure it the f**k out?? I'm a union member, and before that, I got pissed on all the time. Now Bushco can shove this crap down our throats and take jobs away from other union members! What a load of crap.
I'm mad as hell. I'm gonna campaign for Dennis!

[bvar22]

45. Some people benefit from NAFTA.

"The Ownership Society" does well with MORE FREE TRADE.
The top 2% can afford to buy MORE representation!
Listen to Clobama SPEAK OUT for Americans who Work for a Living.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Still listening?


Roll On, Big MAMA, Roll On!

[cascadiance]

70. About the only good thing that might come out of this is perhaps getting more imported Mexican Coke!

You know the REAL Coca cola with real cane sugar instead of HFCS!

Maybe?... We're already getting it down here in Costco in SoCal.