Cross-border logistics between Mexico and the United States faces pressures that extend beyond infrastructure and border crossings. The availability of carriers, regulatory changes, rising costs, and a lack of integration among supply chain participants are forcing automotive companies and their logistics providers to rethink their strategies.
During the panel “Cross-border logistics under pressure: Keeping the flow of goods in North America”, held within the framework of Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain , one of the central points of the conversation was the need to anticipate disruptions , where uncertainty ceased to be an extraordinary scenario and became a permanent condition of operations, so companies need to develop alternative plans and the capacity to respond to changes that may occur with little room for reaction.
Raúl Gamboa, head of Logistics, Production Control, and Production Systems at the BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosí, explained that in automotive manufacturing, each day presents diverse conditions, making it difficult to maintain logistical planning using traditional methods. Therefore, BMW has been working on digital tools that allow them to identify potential disruptions, evaluate alternative routes, and simulate the effects of modifying a transportation strategy.
The executive emphasized that changing a route or mode of transport doesn’t necessarily represent an improvement. In an automotive operation, where components must arrive in specific sequences and timeframes, a decision can impact various stages of production. Therefore, before modifying a flow, it’s essential to evaluate its consequences all the way to the finished product.
At this point, collaboration with suppliers and logistics partners is essential. Gamboa emphasized that visibility allows for linking the movement of materials with production needs and anticipating whether a component will be available when required, with the goal of preventing a transportation disruption from halting a manufacturing line.
Documentation, an obstacle before reaching the border
Victor Salazar, Director of International Operations for Trayecto , indicated that one of the main problems lies in the coordination of the processes prior to crossing, since sometimes carriers spend more time waiting for the necessary documentation than actually crossing the border.
The executive put the scale of the operation into perspective, noting that there are approximately 49,000 crossings between Mexico and the United States daily, of which about 20,000 are at Laredo, Texas. At that volume, an interruption of just a few hours can take several days to restore the planned operations, particularly in high-demand corridors. Therefore, he deemed it necessary to relocate the control points to earlier stages of the process, so that inconsistencies can be detected before the merchandise leaves the plant or reaches the border.
Adding to this situation are the restrictions placed on operators making international crossings. Gamboa identified visa and regulatory requirements in the United States, as well as the availability of operators, as factors that have reduced effective transport capacity, in a context where companies are also facing higher costs. According to the International Road Transport Union (IRU) , Mexico is short approximately 99,000 trucking operators.
In this regard, the response has been to strengthen coordination among the areas involved in exporting, from the availability of units and materials to the documentation processes. The intention is that restrictions can be identified before the shipment arrives at the plant and becomes an operational problem, the BMW representative indicated.
Salazar, for his part, commented that Trayecto has been working on preparing its drivers to meet the English communication requirements and applicable regulations for operating in the United States. He mentioned that the company has approximately 250 drivers involved in its operations between Colombia and Laredo, and that some authorization renewal processes can involve several months of waiting.
It is worth remembering that since 2025, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun withdrawing visas from motor carrier operators designated as B1 , meaning they can provide service between cities in Mexico and the United States, but not between two points within the United States.
The above, which is called cabotage , is one of the main excuses, along with the poor command of the English language, for withdrawing B1 visas from operators .
Between April 2025 and April 2026, U.S. authorities revoked the visas of 20,000 Mexican truck drivers for failing to demonstrate proficiency in English, a requirement for operating on U.S. highways, according to data from the National Chamber of Freight Transportation (Canacar) .
Another point raised by the panel was how to better utilize available capacity through cargo consolidation schemes. Danny Gordon, Director of Cross-Border Strategy at CH Robinson , outlined the main challenges facing the movement of goods in the region, which continues to grow.
In June 2026 alone, merchandise trade between Mexico and the United States reached $89.2 billion , an increase of 22.2% compared to the same month in 2025, with road transport as the main means of moving goods, reported the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) .
The agency detailed that during the period, $68.5 billion worth of goods were moved between the two countries via trucks , while $8.5 billion was transported by rail at an annual rate.
Gordon explained that given this scenario, it is necessary to find opportunities to reorganize shipments from strategic points in Mexico, without necessarily concentrating all operations at traditional border crossings.
The executive pointed out that these results require joint planning, sufficient information, and coordination among the participants in the supply chain. Consolidation, in that sense, represents an alternative for improving resource utilization and reducing non-value-adding movements.
Technology also emerged as a tool for anticipating risks. Salazar explained that Trayecto works with information from the units, trailers, and external factors, such as weather conditions and interventions by authorities, to identify potential disruptions during the journey.
The panelists agreed that the continuity of the flow of goods in North America will depend on greater integration between manufacturers, carriers, and service providers.
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