C.H. Robinson has unveiled a new cross‑border freight consolidation offering designed to cut costs and improve shipment visibility for goods moving from Mexico into the United States and Canada. Announced on September 11, 2025, the service combines in‑Mexico consolidation, cross‑border transport, customs brokerage and bonded warehousing, with the company saying shippers could save up to 40% and see load status as much as 48 hours sooner.
The program targets a long‑standing bottleneck: under‑utilized trucks at the border due to a Mexican rule that cargo on a single truck must be cleared by the same customs broker. By consolidating less‑than‑truckload shipments from multiple suppliers inside Mexico and managing border formalities end‑to‑end, Robinson aims to move freight on a single truck to the border and on a single truck across—then use its AI‑driven Optimizer to determine cost‑ and time‑efficient routing to final destinations.
Company leaders position the service as a practical fix for just‑in‑time manufacturers and other importers that struggle to see upstream movements until freight nears the crossing. They say earlier visibility enables better expediting decisions and more efficient deconsolidation for U.S. delivery, particularly across large supplier networks in sectors like automotive, electronics and industrial components.
Tariff strategy is also in focus. Robinson says moving goods in bond through U.S. bonded warehouses can improve cash flow and, for shipments transiting the U.S. to Canada, potentially eliminate certain duties—an option it highlights as automotive supply chains face higher levies on items containing steel and aluminum. The service’s bonded capabilities are pitched as one lever to offset trade‑policy headwinds that have complicated cross‑border planning in 2025.
The rollout comes as logistics players deepen their presence along the border. In Laredo—now a dominant U.S. trade hub—C.H. Robinson opened a 400,000‑square‑foot cross‑dock in 2023, adding to a regional footprint that includes more than 1.5 million square feet of cross‑dock and warehouse space. Local and federal initiatives are simultaneously advancing infrastructure aimed at easing congestion, including expansions at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge and a privately funded, cargo‑only elevated guideway project intended to streamline commercial flows.
Competitors are making moves too. Earlier this year, Kuehne+Nagel announced a new road logistics site in Laredo to meet growing demand for customs support and cross‑docking tied to nearshoring and shifting tariff regimes—signaling broader industry investment in U.S.–Mexico trade lanes.
Beyond cost, the business case for consolidation hinges on predictability. Robinson’s cross‑border market analyses throughout 2025 point to mixed industrial demand and evolving policies that shape everything from automotive exports to carrier operating costs—conditions that reward shippers who tighten control of upstream flows and border milestones.
As manufacturers continue to cluster around central and northern Mexico, and as cross‑border infrastructure modernizes, services that knit together consolidation, brokerage and post‑crossing distribution are becoming central to how importers balance cost, speed and compliance in North American supply chains.
Sources: FreightWaves, C.H. Robinson, Reuters, LMT Online
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