Migrants fill the top of a northbound freight train in Irapuato, Mexico, Sept 23, 2023. Thousands of other migrants were stranded in other parts of the country after Mexico’s biggest railroad said it halted 60 freight trains, citing so many migrants hitching rides that it became unsafe to move the trains. (PHOTO / AP)

MEXICO CITY - The costs of spiking migration for a key Mexican border state due to a sharp downturn in US-bound cargo trucks total nearly $1 billion over about two weeks, state officials said Tuesday, as authorities in both countries struggle with the latest surge.

The state government of Chihuahua announced in a statement that its trade-dependent economy lost more than $947 million between Sept 18 and Oct 2, blaming a "migrant crisis" for preventing the usual flow of goods from crossing into the United States.

Earlier this month, some US-bound cargo trains were also disrupted when a major Mexican freight rail operator temporarily suspended operations after migrants died or got hurt by jumping on the trains

Chihuahua borders the US states of Texas and New Mexico, both of which host major points of entry crucial for trade between the two neighbors.

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Just on Monday, the Chihuahua government said related losses totaled about $77 million.

"These impacts stem from the migrant crisis caused by the arrival of thousands of people (crossing through the state)," according to the statement, which also criticized Mexico's federal government for not taking "any action" to mitigate the losses.

Chihuahua's government is led by a governor who represents a center-right opposition political party.

The losses follow a decision by US authorities to increase border security checks that have also caused trade delays.

Like many US officials, Mexico's top diplomat has also described surging migration as a "crisis" situation.

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Earlier this month, some US-bound cargo trains were also disrupted when a major Mexican freight rail operator temporarily suspended operations after migrants died or got hurt by jumping on the trains.

A man with a young child crosses the Rio Grand River to wait with other migrants looking to find a way over the razor wire, in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept 25, 2023. Dozens of migrants arrived at the US-Mexico border on Sept 22, 2023, hoping to be allowed into the United States, with US border forces reporting 1.8 million encounters with migrants in the last 12 months. (PHOTO / AFP)

In a separate estimate of border disruptions, about 8,000 trailers carrying an estimated $1 billion worth of goods have been stranded on the Mexican side over the past few weeks, a transport association representative in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican border city in Chihuahua, said at the time.