Transportation cross-country undoubtedly is a challenging task, but cross-border transportation is even more so. Transporting products cross-border in the USA involves lots of gears to move and ropes to pull. It also requires swift and staged coordination between different carriers, shippers, entities, and parties involving several modes of transportation. When you transport a shipment from the US to Mexico or vice-versa, it goes through several touchpoints involving several parties. And it can be challenging and complicated if you lack proper knowledge of security challenges and expertise in the customs brokerage and regulatory compliances.

1. Implement a mode diversification strategy

When you rely on only one mode of transportation for your cross-border shipment, you risk several elements that can go wrong. So, it’s a good practice to rely on more than one transportation mode. According to statistics, road freight transportation and truckload are responsible for over 70 percent of cargo movement throughout the USA. However, the type of shipping and the choice of transportation depends on the type of market transporting the shipment.

2. Discover and use new borders and crossing points

Go through any crossing between the US and Mexico, and you will find it packed with people and vehicles trying to get to the other side. For a shipment and transportation company, this can get you delayed from your specified delivery time. So, it’s always better to find a better alternative to get to the other side by a less crowded route. So, instead of choosing Laredo as your primary route, you can go with alternative ports and routes like the Calexico, El Paso, Eagle Pass, or McAllen and Brownsville. You can choose these options to carry your load from the West Coast and Southeast U.S.

3. Use technology to your maximum advantage

When transporting shipments and loads to and from the United States and Mexico, you must utilize technology to its maximum potential. This technology can include several things and items, from data analytics to easy-to-use dashboards to business intelligence to real-time visibility. When you use technology to its maximum potential, you open many paths before you. Your use of tools and technologies can help you improve your load control and help you in the cross-border supply chain. Transportation Management Systems (TMS) is one such technology platform that connects all the parties involved with the transport and allows better shipment movement through the border.

These are just some of the practices you can follow that would aid you in overcoming the cross-border transportation challenges. Following these practices helps you develop a solid transportation strategy, business continuity plan and streamline your overall process. These strategies will help you to address the challenges of cross-border logistics.