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An aerial view of traffic on The Bridge of the Americas Land Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas. R+L Carriers recently expanded its El Paso service center. (gsa.gov)

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Trade between the United States and Mexico continues to boom and with the domestic freight recession now entering a third year, carriers and logistics providers are increasingly seeking fresh cross-border opportunities or expanding their operations.

Mexico is the biggest trade partner of the U.S. at 15.9% of total trade, according to Census Bureau data.

Through the first seven months of 2025, U.S. imports from Mexico were valued at $309.8 billion, compared with $290.7 billion in same period 12 months earlier, the data shows.

Southbound demand also is increasing, according to fourth-party logistics provider Redwood Logistics, as a result of an expanding central Mexico retail sector.

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“The question is not if it will grow, it is how fast; whether that is single or double digits,” Echo Global Logistics Chief Commercial Officer told Transport Topics during the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ Edge 2025 conference.

In contrast, trucking activity in the U.S. decreased in September, reaching its lowest level in three months, according to American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.

So, less-than-truckload carriers and are among the latest fleets seeking to win some of the growing activity traversing the United States’ southern border.

El Paso Expansion

Wilmington, Ohio-based R+L Carriers expanded its El Paso, Texas, service center in October.

The expansion added 14 dock doors, taking the facility’s total to 45; a new two-lane fuel island, and more than 10,000 square feet of dock space, the carrier said Oct. 17.

“Our El Paso location is strategically located to facilitate cross-border shipments between the U.S. and Mexico,” Chief Operating Officer Dusty Ruthven said. “As part of the El Paso-Juarez Gateway, this terminal reflects the importance of continued investment in our Texas service centers. With its increase in capacity, we aim to reduce service times for West Texas customers, as well as cross-border deliveries.”

R+L Carriers is pleased to announce the expansion of its El Paso, Texas service center. These latest additions utilize updated infrastructure and additional amenities to better service local and regional customers.

News release: — R+L Carriers (@RLCarriers)

R+L Carriers ranks No. 15 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 5 in the LTL segment.

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic-centric fleet Pyle, meanwhile, launched a cross-border service for the first time. West Chester, Pa.-based Pyle’s new service links cross-dock operations at key inland ports such as Laredo and El Paso, Texas.

Director of Strategic Planning Craig Lough noted on social media that the service integrated three service lines and would provide faster transit times.

Pyle ranks No. 56 on the for-hire TT Top 100 and No. 16 among LTL carriers.

Navigating trade policies

Supply chains are tricky though, particularly as shippers and carriers navigate the intricacies of Mexican customs regulations and the Trump administration’s mercurial trade policy.

The average U.S. effective tariff rate is now 16.4%, the highest since 1936, according to Uber Freight’s Q3 Market Update released Oct. 15.

Such developments offer opportunities for logistics specialists.

In September, C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. announced a consolidation option for U.S. customers importing freight from Mexico.

Launched Sept. 11, C.H. Robinson argues that the artificial intelligence-enabled service could save cross-border shippers as much as 40% on their costs.

Utilizing bonded warehouses on the southern side of the border will enable shippers to sidestep Mexican customs regulations and engage fewer trucks, the Eden Prairie, Minn.-headquartered logistics giant said.

Mexico's Regulations

Mexican law requires all the freight on a truck be cleared by the same customs broker, blocking consolidation of LTL shipments from different suppliers or manufacturers headed to the same end point.

C.H. Robinson ranks No. 2 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America.

Also in September, Echo opened an office in Monterrey, Mexico, to expand its cross-border services.

The Monterrey office has between 35 and 40 employees, while Echo’s first Mexican location — Laredo — has more than 30 team members and its Mexico City office has upward of 15 employees, head of Mexican business development Jesus Alvarez told TT at the CSCMP conference.

Alvarez explained that the expansion of Echo’s Mexican operations is due to opportunity but also the intricacies of freight crossing the border, with Mexican customs licenses limited to a handful of ports, and three times the probability of disruption compared with domestic U.S. LTL shipments, for instance.

“Customers often treat this like a U.S. domestic shipment, but there is no way this can go well if this is the case, if you expect delivery later that week,” Alvarez said, “That’s why it is so important to have the boots on the ground.”

“You can see your freight wait at the border for four or five days rather than the 24-48 hours you plan for,” he said, adding that some customers say it is easier to import goods from Asia than Mexico.

Echo ranks No. 21 on the TT logistics Top 100 and No. 5 among freight brokerages.

Planning and route optimization through the use of AI is a tool Echo is using to navigate the maze for transportation management customers.

Uber Freight, which ranks No. 14 on the logistics Top 100 and No. 10 among brokerages, is moving in a similar direction.

Uber Freight Director of Design Shawn Piper told CSCMP attendees the company was beta testing a network optimization tool currently known as “Insights AI.”

Insights AI has about 20 customers, and Uber Freight is on version three of the initiative, Vice President of Product Steve Barber added in an interview at the conference.

Uber Freight is unlikely to make it a stand-alone product, said Barber, adding that the company likely will integrate its use with the company’s transportation management system. He demurred when asked when Insights AI would be commercially ready.

Still, warehouses and service centers are needed to move the freight, and more are opening as shipments rise.

Maersk Ground Freight opened a service center in Coppell, Texas, at the start of October.