The Data
Endpoints.
Every figure on this desk is served as JSON at the same moment it is drawn on a chart. Here is each endpoint, what it returns, where the numbers come from, how often it refreshes, and what its timestamp actually means. No key, no sign-up, no rate limit beyond common sense.
These endpoints exist so an analyst, a student, or a model can read the same numbers the dashboards read. They are cached at the edge, so a request costs the source agency nothing. Please cache on your side too, and keep the attribution below with anything you publish.
Every payload carries its own stamp. When a source cannot supply a figure, the field comes back null. The desk never fills a gap with a placeholder, so treat null as "not published yet," not as zero.
8 open JSON routes
Laredo corridor
GET /api/corridorMonthly BTS crossing counts for Port Laredo (trucks, trains, personal vehicles, pedestrians), live CBP wait times for every Laredo crossing, and the trailing-12-month truck ranking across all U.S.-Mexico ports.
Live pulse
GET /api/liveThe two figures the desk refreshes on every page: the World Trade Bridge commercial wait and the peso/USD rate.
Every crossing
GET /api/bridgesCBP wait times for every U.S.-Mexico crossing, normalized, with the busiest commercial crossing called out.
Ports by trade value
GET /api/portsTop 5 U.S. ports of entry by total trade value over a rolling 12 months, plus the top HS2 commodity chapters crossing Port Laredo in each direction.
U.S.-Mexico border by port
GET /api/usmxTrade value for all U.S.-Mexico land ports of entry, by port and by state, with the truck-crossing series behind it.
Covarrubias Lozano Border Trade Index
GET /api/clbtiThe monthly CLBTI composite for the Laredo customs district, its three weighted components, event readings, and the full robustness battery.
Desk signals
GET /api/signalsThe policy clock and the desk's current readings: upcoming deadlines with day counts, live figures, and the standing figures behind the weekly Border Brief.
Desk inventory
GET /api/lab-statsWhat the desk currently publishes: counts of dashboards, tools, stories, and reports.
Terms, in one paragraph
CC BY 4.0- The underlying data is public U.S. and Mexican government data. The compilation, normalization, and the CLBTI index construction are the desk's work, published under CC BY 4.0.
- Attribute the desk when you republish a figure or a chart built on one. The citation below is the form to use.
- Cache what you pull. These routes are cached at the edge and hammering them helps nobody.
- Corrections and questions go to dcova@tamiu.edu.
Covarrubias, Daniel. The Border Intelligence Desk. Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development, Texas A&M International University. labs.drdanielcovarrubias.com.