Cover Story of Manzanillo . “ We went from 95 days from Shanghai to El Paso to 35 days from Shanghai to Juárez ,” Aguirre said .
Agile and fast systems are needed to affect that type of switch .
“ You need experience , not just within the four walls of the warehouse , but from the data perspective as well ,” he said .
Hub Group and Mexican drayage carrier Transportes Easo formed a joint venture to share resources on cross-border intermodal moves in October . And lessthan-truckload ( LTL ) carrier Southeastern Freight Lines added a new lane to Las Cruces , New Mexico , part of the Borderplex region that includes El Paso and Ciudad Juárez .
All these developments underscore the desire and need to extend and strengthen cross-border transportation networks as the volumes moving through border crossings such as Laredo , El Paso , Otay Mesa and many smaller ports of entry continue to grow .
“ This is a challenge now , and it will become even more complicated over the next few years ,” Jesus Ojeda , executive vice president for Mexico at Uber Freight , told the Journal of Commerce . Uber Freight manages 2,000 US-Mexico shipments daily .
The logistics provider is gaining more cross-border business from existing customers in a variety of industries . That shipper base has increased its cross-border activity with Uber Freight by 77 % this year , the company said , and Ojeda doesn ’ t see that trend slowing .
“ Our customers are experiencing increasing volumes , and they ’ re trying to push more materials out from their facilities , more shipments , so they can produce more ,” he said .
Efficiency adds capacity
Short of building more bridges and warehouses , the quickest way to gain needed capacity is by increasing efficiency in cross-border moves and end-to-end supply chains .
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“ Efficiency , meaning expedient processes and systems , is going to be crucial in the development of these supply chains ,” Gabriel Guajardo , director for the southern US border at Echo Global Logistics , told the Journal of Commerce .
“ This is a challenge now , and it will become even more complicated over the next few years .”
“ Either you become more efficient to create capacity , or you just have to get more equipment ,” Guajardo said . “ The ability to use technology to quickly release equipment , avoiding delays , is going to be very important as we continue to grow .”
That means implementing existing technology such as yard management systems and transportation management systems to create metrics and measure efficiency .
“ A streamlined process is going to be very attractive ” to carriers and shippers , Guajardo said .
At some point , streamlining may mean moving freight faster to locations beyond the border . Laredo is the flashpoint for logistics construction , but logistics development activity stretches from border crossings to hubs such as Dallas , Phoenix and beyond .
“ Is there a way to establish an Inland Empire of sorts in Texas ?” said Holly Pearce , director of North American Logistics for Otis Elevator Company
Pearce , who in previous jobs has managed cross-border supply to maquila factories in Mexico , said expediting pre-cleared tractor-trailers from Mexico to foreign trade zones in Texas may be a partial solution to the congestion and capacity problems at the border .
“ As shippers , we need to commit to this ,” she said . “ We need to say , ‘ Yes , we ’ re in . We ’ re going to put our roots down as well .’”
US-Mexico trade “ is only going to get bigger , and unless we have investment in infrastructure , it ’ s just going to be chaos ,” Pearce said .
email : bill . cassidy @ spglobal . com www . joc . com November 18 , 2024 | Journal of Commerce 15