The movement of goods between Mexico and the United States still faces challenges at the border. Crossing times, inspections, and heavy paperwork, particularly for imports into Mexico, add to the demands placed on carriers to maintain operational efficiency and meet customer needs.
The scale of the operation is reflected in the flow of cargo vehicles . Between January and May 2026, 3,253,654 truck border crossings were recorded, of which 1,295,848 corresponded to Nuevo Laredo (Laredo), nearly 40% of the total, according to data from the General Directorate of Federal Motor Transport (DGAF) , with information from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) .
For companies involved in cross-border transport , part of the challenge lies in those factors they can control: safety, operator training, compliance with regulations, and the physical and mechanical condition of the vehicles.
Fernando Páez, from Transportes Olympic , believes there are opportunities to make border crossings more efficient, especially in the movement of goods from the United States to Mexico.
“I think there are many, many delays, especially in the import of materials, products, and supplies from the United States to Mexico,” Páez said.
From their perspective, while movement from Mexico to the United States can be done more easily, in the opposite direction there are processes that increase the documentation and reviews necessary for certain goods.
“It’s very easy to cross a truck from Mexico to the United States, but not from the United States to Mexico. There are many, I believe, non-tariff barriers that make different types of products require a lot of paperwork and a lot of inspection in order to cross,” he explained.
The executive believed that simplifying these processes would speed up border crossings, benefiting international trade.
Prepare to cross
While some of these conditions depend on border processes, carriers face the challenge of working on those elements that are directly related to their operation.
For Páez, safety is one of the main pillars , accompanied by compliance with the provisions established by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) , physical-mechanical inspections, the good condition of the units and programs such as CTPAT , required by some clients to work with their transportation providers.
These elements have been further strengthened by the dominance of English by operators who travel in the United States.
“Fortunately, this mandatory English regulation for operators caught us very, very well prepared because we had a program in place since 2010. We didn’t really have to start from scratch, but simply strengthen the programs we already had,” he commented.
Keys to sustaining cross-border
Transportes Olympic ‘s cross-border experience dates back several decades. The company began operations in June 1990 and, according to Páez, received authorization to operate long-haul routes in the United States in 2007.
This allowed him to transport goods directly from their origin in Mexico to destinations in the United States and Canada without the need for transshipments at the border or changing boxes, platforms, operators, or trucks, he explained.
For Olympic, one of the keys to maintaining service in cross-border transport has been to reduce those frictions that are within the company’s control and facilitate operations for its customers.
“We’re trying to make the service ‘frictionless,’ that is, without friction, to make it simpler, easier; so that customers can focus on what they do and let us do what we know how to do for them,” Páez stated.
The challenge, however, extends beyond the operation of a single company. Congestion at border crossings, customs and clearance times, inspections and reviews, rail and road infrastructure, as well as the digitalization of foreign trade, are all part of the issues that accompany the exchange of goods between Mexico and the United States.
These challenges will be part of the discussion at the panel “Saturated Borders: The Critical Challenge of Mexico-United States Trade ,” which will take place at ETYL MTY , organized by Grupo T21 , on October 14 and 15 at the Presidente InterContinental Monterrey in Nuevo León.
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