Mexico: the border crossing is the plan

Manufacturing sets the direction of flow

Mexican industrial capacity is concentrated in the north and centre, and much of it produces for export northward. That gives the freight profile a strong directional character: what moves out is finished and semi-finished manufactured goods, and what moves in is components, materials and equipment feeding the same plants.

Directional imbalance matters commercially. A corridor that is busy in one direction and quiet in the other prices differently by direction, and equipment availability follows the same asymmetry.

The land border concentrates the difficulty

Road freight crossing between Mexico and the United States passes through a limited number of crossings, and the practical throughput of a movement depends on which one it uses, the documentation being right first time, and how the trailer is handed over.

Cross-border road movements frequently involve a change of tractor and a drayage operator at the border rather than a single vehicle running through. That handover is a real operational step with its own timing, and it belongs in the plan rather than in the assumptions.

Requirements vary by commodity and by the programmes a carrier participates in. They should be confirmed with the relevant customs authority for the specific movement.

Ocean serves the trades the border cannot

Pacific ports handle trans-Pacific trade, principally with Asia, and Gulf ports serve trade with Europe and the eastern seaboard. For cargo whose origin or destination is outside North America, ocean is the sensible route and the land border is irrelevant.

For cargo moving between Mexico and the United States, ocean is rarely competitive: the road corridor is shorter, more frequent and better suited to the manufacturing flows that dominate the trade.