Mexico’s nearshoring gives shippers more reasons to go cross-border

The global shake-up of the supply chain has dispelled the notion that the greatest opportunities are an ocean away.

Who said a global supply chain had to be global?

That’s the question manufacturers have been posing in recent years as they face continual setbacks in places like China. Fed up with production delays and shortages, companies are taking their business elsewhere.

Many U.S.-based companies have found just what they’re looking for in their neighbors to the south.

Amid China’s ongoing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mexicos-nearshoring-gives-shippers-more-reasons-to-go-cross-border

E-commerce platform BoxC hires military mail operations and DHL veteran

Global logistics platform BoxC has appointed former industry and military veteran Mark Waverek as director of business development to steer the growth of its e-commerce solution.

“We’re very excited to have someone with Mark’s pedigree and experience driving growth in international e-commerce markets,” said CEO Michael Pakula. “His unique global skill set helping customers to grow their business beyond borders will serve to enhance our growing team of talented executives.”

Waverek’s past roles in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/e-commerce-platform-boxc-hires-military-mail-operations-and-dhl-veteran

Going the extra mile to safely ship seafood across the border

Running a cross-border business is hard enough, but even more so when seafood is in the mix. Now you’ve got to worry about spoilage in addition to cargo theft and other risks.

Phillipe Katkhouda knew that he couldn’t run a successful cross-border shipping business without strict adherence to risk mitigation, so when he entered the industry in 2017, he made sure the cross-border aspect of shipping was his forte. 

Katkhouda founded Paragon LLC, a cross-border seafood distributor based in Pasadena,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/going-the-extra-mile-to-safely-ship-seafood-across-the-border

All-risk coverage, visibility tech turning heads in Mexico

The Mexican freight landscape of today is changing rapidly. The country’s reputation for logistics lawlessness is quickly being tamed by visionary industry leaders willing to invest in visibility technologies and comprehensive cross-border insurance solutions to spur Mexican freight opportunities.  

Mark Vickers, Reliance Partners’ executive vice president of international logistics, recently connected with Antonio Luna, managing partner at Vitti Logistics, to highlight Mexico’s burgeoning...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/all-risk-coverage-visibility-tech-turning-heads-in-mexico

Check Call: The biggest international stage

people gathered around a desk of computers. Check Call news and analysis for 3pls and brokers

Hot Take

Image: Pinterest/Skiing memes

Every four years athletes from all over the world come together to compete at the Winter Olympics. This year they were held in Beijing. I don’t know if everyone watches the Olympics like I do, but I’ve always wondered how the heck do all of these people get there, the equipment, the housing, etc? What all goes into the logistics of the Winter Olympics? 

Turns out each city handles it a little differently. The official carrier of the Olympics is UPS — what I...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/check-call-the-biggest-international-stage

Why aren’t North American freight rail crews staging cross-border protests?

The truckers’ protests at the U.S.-Canadian border began over COVID-19 vaccine mandates: Canadian workers needed to be vaccinated crossing into the United States and vice versa. 

North American freight rail operations also cross the border, but there hasn’t been the same level of dissent among rail workers. The rail unions and some of the Class I railroads did go to court over rail companies’ implementation of the vaccine mandate for federal contractors — a mandate that has since been stalled by...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/why-arent-north-american-freight-rail-crews-staging-cross-border-protests

Ambassador Bridge protest drags on, trucks back up at alternate border crossing

Trucks backed up at the Blue Water Bridge US-Canada border crossing.

The protest blocking traffic at the busiest commercial crossing between the U.S. and Canada, the Ambassador Bridge, entered its third day on Wednesday as trucks waited for hours to get across an alternate border, while others detoured hundreds of miles.

The bridge, which links Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, remained closed as several dozen vehicles, including some trucks, continued to block an access road from the Canadian side. At the nearby Blue Water Bridge, trucks faced delays of over four...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ambassador-bridge-protest-drags-on-trucks-back-up-at-alternate-crossing

GoFundMe slams brakes on Freedom Convoy fundraiser

After days of monitoring protests in Ottawa, Ontario over vaccine mandates at the U.S. border, GoFundMe on Friday shut down the Freedom Convoy 2022 fund that had been set up to support truck drivers participating in the demonstration.

“We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity,” the fundraising platform stated in an alert posted on its website.

“Following a review of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/gofundme-slams-brakes-on-freedom-convoy-fundraiser

Mexico free trade zones worth exploring for stateside international shippers

It’s no surprise that the U.S. West Coast ports have seen such horrendous congestion — everything seems to funnel through Southern California. 

The Port of Long Beach reported last month that it moved more cargo in 2021 than any year on record, handling 9,384,368 twenty-foot equivalent units. This represents a 15.7% year-over-year (yoy) increase in containers overall, including a 14.6% yoy increase in imports (4,581,846 TEUs), smashing the previous container record set just a year prior.

As the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mexico-free-trade-zones-worth-exploring-for-stateside-international-shippers

Analysis: Vaccine mandate or not, US-Canada cross-border freight rates poised to rise

Trucks moving freight across the Canada-US border. With the Sir Adam Beck Power Generating Station in the foreground, and, Lake Ontario on the horizon.

Since Saturday, U.S. truckers who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated against COVID-19 have been barred from crossing into Canada. A similar mandate is expected to hit Canadian drivers at the U.S. border next Saturday. Already, the mandates are being blamed for a jump in rates.

But cross-border freight pricing was already poised to increase significantly by necessity. Increasing demand for consumer goods and tight capacity have collided with higher costs and a scarce supply of drivers and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/analysis-vaccine-mandate-or-not-us-canada-cross-border-freight-rates-poised-to-rise