Shipping Freight Across the U.S.-Mexico Border

As one of the United States’ top trading partners, Mexico presents an abundance of opportunity for companies looking to expand their cross-border operations, reach new markets, and leverage the strengths of this neighboring country.

Totaling roughly $557 billion in 2017, U.S. trade in goods with Mexico includes a high volume of exports (about $263 billion in total) and imports (approximately $314 billion)—numbers that rank the country as the U.S.’ third largest goods trading partner worldwide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For shippers, importing to and exporting from Mexico presents a unique set of challenges. From security measures to regulatory requirements to capacity constraints, the list of potential hurdles is long but manageable.

After all, the sheer volume of trade that takes place between the two countries on an annual basis is proof of the opportunity and potential.

7 key questions to ask regarding shipping freight across the U.S.-Mexico Border

With 80 percent of Mexico’s exports currently coming to the U.S., and with so many companies having their own Mexican entities for building or supplying components, the overall supply chain between the two countries has become very integrated, making cross-border trade a significant part of the logistics market for both countries.

Here are seven questions that all U.S.-based shippers should ask as they start or expand their cross-border trade operations:

• How difficult is it to manage the regulatory environment?
• How can we make sure we’ll have capacity for freight moving in and out of Mexico?
• Why is freight security so critical when handling cross-border shipments?
• What are the difficulties of maintaining freight visibility in Mexico?
• How can we navigate the challenges of shipping time-sensitive freight across the border?
• What do we need to know about getting heavy or specialized freight over the border?
• Should we pick one provider to handle all of our cross-border logistics?