Borderlands Mexico is a weekly outline of developments in the world of trucking and cross-border trade between the United States and Mexico. This week: Cross-border boom collides with rising security risks; Mexico sets new quarterly FDI record with nearly $41B in Q4; and La Bonanza Avocados opens a logistics center in Pharr.
NEW ORLEANS — Cross-border cargo volumes between the United States and Mexico continue to increase, but infrastructure gaps, increased cargo theft and tightening compliance requirements are creating a more complex operating environment for shippers, according to industry experts at the 2025 Trimble Insight Tech Conference.
Monday’s panel discussion, “Cross-Border Evolution: Tech, Infrastructure and the Future of US-Mexico Freight,” featured Mark Vickers, EVP and head of international logistics insurance at Reliance Partners, and Ricardo Malacara, director of sales at Review. The session was moderated by FreightWaves cross-border reporter Noi Mahoney.
the Trimble Insight Tech Conference that took place from Sunday to Tuesday, included 1,260 participants and featured more than 200 information sessions and product demonstrations.
Vickers and Malacara said the current boom in US-Mexico trade was years in the making – accelerated by global shocks.
“We had a number of things all happening at the same time, and it ended up being kind of a perfect storm,” said Vickers, who cited the USMCA, the COVID-era congestion at the Port of Los Angeles, and the U.S.-China trade war. With Asian imports backing up on the West Coast, he added, many shippers rerouted cargo from Manzanillo, then Guadalajara, then Laredo, to reach US markets.
Malacara said the tariff environment continues to push manufacturing in the south.
“Countries that … have a huge tariff might find it cheaper just to set up a factory in Mexico and start shipping from Mexico,” he said. Laredo alone could see 6% to 7% more traffic this year, he added.
A key theme was the liability gap and lack of regulatory parity between the United States and Mexico – a drawback that Vickers said many first-time cross-border operators overlook.
“In Mexico, the law is the wild south, where there is almost no law,” he said. Under current UMA-based formulas, Mexican carriers are only responsible for about $2,000 on a typical 40,000-pound load. “If you’re expanding your footprint in Mexico and you don’t know that, you shouldn’t be in Mexico.”
Vickers said brokers should be prepared to offer cargo insurance, document waivers, and proactively inform shippers of coverage risks.
Vickers also noted that carrier vetting is no longer optional. Unlike the United States, “there is no FMCSA in Mexico,” he said, and brokers who unknowingly offer goods to carriers linked to cartels may face legal exposure.
Malacara said that Overhaul sees two types of customers: “those who have been robbed and those who are going to steal.” He described a dramatic escalation in criminal tactics.
“Criminal organizations are prepared. They are professionals … they even have inside information,” he said. “We saw fake military checkpoints, and they will check your cargo and see what you have to find what cargo you take.”
About 80% to 85% of robberies Review tracks in Mexico involve violence, Malacara said.
While Mexico continues to see more hijackings on the way, Malacara warned that US-style fraud — double brokering, TMS hacks, stolen DOT identities — is spreading rapidly south.
“Those bad guys are learning from the bad guys in the U.S. … you’re going to start seeing these ‘double brokering’ scenarios and cyber theft targeting cross-border networks,” Vickers said.
Malacara said the biggest mistake among new entrants is failing to plan routes and ignoring real-time risk signals.
“They stop where they shouldn’t stop … next thing you know, the merchandise is gone,” he said. The review uses AI-driven risk scoring, driver compliance checks and coordination with Mexican federal authorities to steer shipments away from active hotspots.
“We know where the low areas of cell phone coverage are. We meet every Friday with the federal government to tell them where the hotspots are,” he said.
Looking ahead, the two experts said that freight flows will continue to grow faster than the infrastructure that supports them.
“Cross-border operations will continue to grow. Cargo theft will continue to grow,” said Malacara. “The problems will not go away.”
Vickers noted that with the renegotiation of the USMCA, the United States is “tightening the screws on origin compliance,” making documentation more critical than ever.
Despite the mounting risks, Vickers said the business relationship remains enduring: “I do everything in Mexico right now.”
Mexico closed the fourth quarter with a historic increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), attracting nearly $41 billion in new capital – the highest quarterly FDI total in the country’s history, according to Mexico Business News.
The figure represents a 15% increase over 2024, driven mostly by a jump in new investments, which rose from $2 billion to $6.5 billion as companies accelerated nearshoring and industrial expansion.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the investments reflect stronger-than-expected investor confidence despite global economic pressures and new tariff regimes.
Mexico also reported continued export growth during the quarter, highlighting the country’s growing role in North American manufacturing and supply chains. Ebrard added that cumulative FDI between 2018 and 2025 grew almost 70%, reinforcing Mexico’s long-term momentum as a major global investment destination.
La Bonanza Avocados has begun construction on a new 110,000-square-foot refrigerated distribution center in Pharr, Texas, according to Texas Border Business.
Local leaders said the project would boost agricultural trade between the Mexican state of Michoacán and the United States
The facility will have more than 30 loading docks and expanded office space, serving as a key connection point for Mexican avocado producers entering the US market.
The President of La Bonanza Gabriel Villaseñor called the project a “strategic point to connect our areas with new markets,” emphasizing the company’s commitment to sustainable growth and cross-border collaboration.
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