Cross-border trucking (Click for larger image)

Mexico. Trucking. Utter those two words together and most U.S. truckers will instantly think of the political football that's been kicked around for years and may yet — someday — allow Mexican motor carriers the same access to U.S. roads that Canadian fleets enjoy under the tri-nation North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Since U.S. truckers show little interest in being allowed full access to Mexican roads, when the topic is trucking in Mexico, the talk is about another game altogether. This one is not political, but it is challenging and complex — and demands that motor carriers and logistics providers make a solid, lasting commitment to serve shippers and ensure their own success south of the border.

Managers of U.S.-based operations that have been willing to work long and hard to engage in this lucrative freight market tell Fleet Owner their firms have been and will continue to profit from these efforts.

To be sure, these carriers and logistics providers have invested substantial time, money and effort to develop their cross-border capabilities — no mean feat considering the geopolitical issues and cultural differences involved not to mention the sheer physical distances that must be traveled.

Getting U.S. freight delivered in Mexico is not a market niche for the faint-hearted. That's why once a carrier makes the substantial commitment required to develop business contacts and relationships in Mexico, to hire whatever bilingual staff may be needed, and to invest in freight and trailer tracking technology, etc., it generally takes a long view of its prospects.

One prominent international truckload carrier got its start hauling freight into Mexico almost by accident when it was approached to provide transportation to maquiladora manufacturing plants positioned near the border nearly ten years before NAFTA was even inked. And other name-brand U.S.-based players have been plying these routes as long, if not longer, in one capacity or another.

A fleet owner just thinking of dipping a toe in these waters needs to first grasp that there are essentially two different cross-border freight markets. First, there are the services that revolve around delivering maquiladora freight, including both materials inbound to Mexico and finished goods outbound to the U.S. Second, and arguably the more challenging niche, is delivering U.S.-sourced freight wherever it needs to end up inside of Mexico.