Metal Rock and Roll as Railroad Bans Mexican Shipments

If you think that U.S. metal theft is a big deal, the problem has brought down a whole railroad business. The Kansas City Southern Railway has stopped accepting ferrous scrap and certain steel product shipments on its Mexican rail line because of thefts from gondola cars. The Kansas City, Missouri-based railroad said its Mexican unit, Kansas City Southern de Mexico SA de CV, has issued a limited documentation restriction to the transportation services of scrap and other steel products, excluding steel coils and slab, on its F line route from the Mexican border town of Matamoros and Monterrey, Mexico. Matamoros is across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas. A spokeswoman for the railroad said its Mexican unit imposed the ban January 11 due to vandalism.