Cross-border operators are bracing for fresh slowdowns after Mexico rolled out another customs change that tightens compliance for small‑parcel imports — the latest turn in a fast‑moving rulemaking cycle that freight stakeholders say could jam up northbound trade. The concern follows new reporting that a recently introduced customs requirement in Mexico may stall cargo at ports of entry, complicating already delicate handoffs between Mexican drayage, U.S. carriers and customs brokers. ([]())
Since Friday, Mexico’s “Sixth Modification” to the General Rules of Foreign Trade (RGCE) has been in force, adding an after‑hours provision that affects express carriers. Under revised Rule 3.7.35, registered courier and parcel companies can now determine and pre‑pay import duties for certain shipments after 6 p.m., before presenting them for customs clearance. Officials and brokerages describe the change as a narrowly targeted facilitation step intended to smooth nighttime flows — but only within the simplified-entry channel used by express operators.
Why it matters for trucking: most linehaul volumes don’t move through express procedures, but parcel rules increasingly shape what shows up at the docks. When duties and data requirements on low‑value e‑commerce tighten, consolidators and merchants often push freight into alternative routings — including ground moves to border warehouses for conversion into formal entries. That can swell cross‑dock activity in Laredo, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley and lengthen brokers’ document review cycles, a dynamic the industry has seen each time Mexico adjusts simplified‑entry parameters. The new after‑6 p.m. pre‑payment option may ease some queueing for express carriers, but it also shifts more of the compliance burden earlier in the day, and it doesn’t touch full truckload or formal entry workflows where most trade by value still sits.
Context the market can’t ignore: Mexico has already increased the global rate applied to many courier imports this year and clarified thresholds for U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) shipments in the simplified channel — with sub‑$50 parcels from the U.S. and Canada still exempt, $50–$117 assessed at a reduced rate, and items above $117 subject to a higher global rate. Those parameters, affirmed in fresh coverage over the weekend, are sending more parcels into costlier lanes or toward formal entries — both outcomes that can ripple into trucking capacity at the border.
Near term, border fluidity is being tested by more than paperwork. In Laredo — the busiest U.S. land port — a city lane closure tied to a Customs and Border Protection construction project begins today, Oct. 27, adding another pinch point near key administrative facilities. Even minor surface‑street disruptions around the bridges and CBP compounds can stack up dwell times for drayage and northbound handoffs during peak windows.
What to watch next for carriers and brokers:
– Evening waves. The new after‑hours pre‑payment rule is in effect; watch whether express operators throttle up late‑day handoffs and whether that pulls more cross‑dock labor onto night shifts at border warehouses.
– Modal spillover. If simplified‑entry costs continue to rise for non‑USMCA origin goods, expect some merchants to consolidate into truckload or LTL formal entries, raising documentation touches for brokers and intensifying yard congestion on the Mexican side.
– Local construction and staffing. Temporary closures around CBP facilities and any staffing changes on either side of the line can magnify the impact of customs tweaks; plan buffers on Laredo turns this week.
Bottom line for the trucking desk: Mexico’s latest customs shift adds another layer of timing‑sensitive compliance that could slow freight that isn’t perfectly pre‑documented — even as it grants a narrow efficiency valve to couriers after 6 p.m. For cross‑border truckers and brokers, the winning play is the unglamorous one: front‑load data collection, tighten shipper documentation SLAs, and build in evening coverage where express parcel touches are part of your book. The regulatory direction is clear — more scrutiny, more specificity, and less tolerance for sloppy paperwork — and that tends to be felt first in dwell times and missed cutoffs at the bridges. ([]())
Sources: FreightWaves, Xtrategas, GOMSA, El Diario de Juárez, LMTonline
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