Our global freight forwarding network keeps our customers freight moving across the world.

Shippers eye transloading to ease truck constraints at US-Mexico border

Pressures at the US's southern border, from rising volumes and diminished trucking capacity, are causing shippers to evaluate transloading. According to Uber Freight, this is turning from an emergency solution into a structural network element. Uncertainty about the future of Mexico's free-trade agreement with the US has not made a dent in the rise of truck border crossings. Trade between the neighbours rose to $94.8bn in July, up 27.5% from a year earlier, and more than 70% of this crosses the border on trucks. While volume kept growing, capacity has been hit by US enforcement of trucking regulations, notably English language proficiency rules and cabotage restrictions. The pool of B1 drivers, who pick up freight in Mexico and deliver it to the US, has been reduced by 25,000 between April of last year and this month. The strain has been building: Uber Freight has counted three occasions this year so far when shippers, reliant on B1 drivers, "got stuck with backlogs of 30, 40, sometimes 50 loads, when that capacity wasn't there". All of these blockages occurred at the Laredo crossing, which handles about 40% of US-Mexico commercial traffic. Official numbers of daily crossings at the bottleneck vary between 17,000 and 21,000 trucks a day. CANACAR, Mexico's national trucking association, has acknowledged the importance of combating illegal cabotage, but warned of operational challenges for Mexican operators, and additional delays at the border due to increased inspections and documentation requirements that complicate driver scheduling, equipment positioning, and delivery times. Washington appears unlikely to ease its enforcement drive on the trucking industry. Logistics providers like CH Robinson have warned customers that cross-border capacity could tighten further this quarter. The driver shortage is not a temporary setback but a structural issue, said Kyle Toombs, SVP of capacity solutions at Uber Freight. "Some of these drivers may requalify over time, but losing a visa is hard to come back from, and in the meantime that capacity isn't paused, it's gone," he commented. On top of the driver shortage, rising operating costs, higher interest rates, and tighter lending conditions are discouraging new trucking companies from entering the market. Now, the disparity between capacity and volume is causing a growing number of cargo owners to look at transloading as a strategic measure to limit the impact of border disruptions and driver shortages, Mr Toombs reported. Historically the concept has been viewed as a stopgap measure used by smaller shippers, but it is now getting attention from larger firms as well, including industries like automotive and electronics that eschewed transloading. Mr Toombs said: "A lot of large, middle-market enterprise-type companies are now looking at it." And the concept itself is being viewed in a new light, he added. "Over the past year, transloading has shifted from an emergency workaround into something shippers deliberately design into their networks from day one. It isn't a reaction to a rough patch. It's a structural response to a labour pool that isn't coming back the way it was," he said. Transloading serves as a pressure valve to deal with disruptions to cross-border flows, tapping into a larger pool of drivers, but it can be elevated to become a plank in a shipper's transport strategy. "If a product can transload, it can also run through trailer. That means transloading isn't a trade-off against existing through-trailer capacity; it's incremental volume added on top of it. The shippers getting this right aren't treating it as either-or. They're building both capabilities, putting the right controls around the warehouses and cross docks they use to protect product integrity, and making the cost-versus-service call lane by lane. Often, they don't have to choose at all," Mr Toombs explained. According to him, capacity for transloading is "fairly sufficient", as it does not require much warehouse capacity and there is an ample labour pool available. The cost differential between transloading and end-do-end trucking fluctuates, but on balance through-trailer cost is "a bit higher", he said, adding that transloading charge at the border is about $150-$200. Companies that want to build up a transloading leg should start out by mapping their network lane by lane, tracking the regulatory signals, and building the necessary relationships and warehouse controls, he advised. "Make sure your customs broker is looped in and that you use C-TPAT-certified carriers," he added. In terms of mixing transloading with through-trailer use, Mr Toombs recommended "at least 10-15% of total volume" to the former. " You can increase this if, and when, you want," he said. While most transloading is happening at Laredo, firms are also using other border points like El Paso, and a growing number are using more than one location for transloading, he noted.

DHL Express puts its faith - and its cash - in Africa's trade potential

DHL Express has committed €300m in investment across Africa through to 2030, as the logistics group urges UK businesses to diversify supply chains and pursue opportunities in an area expected to become a major global growth engine by 2035. Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, said the investment "reflected the company's confidence in the continent's long-term prospects", amid shifting global trade relationships, geopolitical tensions, and changes to supply chains. "We would not commit to €300m if we didn't believe in the future of this continent," he said today. The announcement followed UK-Africa trade reaching approximately £52bn ($69bn) last year, according to figures cited by Mr Heymans. While modest compared with the UK's overall trade, DHL executives argued that the relationship offered scope for expansion as businesses reassess traditional sourcing and export markets. John Cornish, CEO of DHL Express UK, warned that British companies risked missing opportunities if they overlooked African markets while other economies strengthened their commercial relationships across the continent. China's expanding trade presence provided a key point of comparison, while the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) could help facilitate exports from eligible African countries, the executives said. Mr Cornish said businesses should consider Africa both as a customer market and as a source of goods, rather than concentrating on established trading partners in Europe and the US. "To UK companies, ignore this market at at the peril of your business," he urged. South Africa remains the UK's largest trading partner on that continent, and Mr Heymans said UK imports from the country were worth approximately £7.5bn, with metals, agricultural products, and gold-related goods among the main categories. Speakers also highlighted opportunities in energy, critical minerals, electric vehicles, healthcare, and life sciences. Indeed, Mr Heymans reported double-digit growth in DHL's life sciences and healthcare business in the region, while engineering and manufacturing activity had declined. However, infrastructure deficits, customs barriers, regulatory differences, and limited connectivity continued to complicate trade, Mr Heymans warned. He said only 12% of African cities were connected by at least one commercial flight a week, underscoring the challenges facing companies seeking to expand manufacturing and distribution. DHL is looking to address some of these constraints through its existing network, which Mr Heymans said spanned every African country and territory. In sub-Saharan Africa, the company operates 12 dedicated aircraft, alongside road transport, facilities and other air connections. The executives stressed that businesses should not approach Africa as a single market, given the differences in languages, legal systems, currencies, and trade regulations. "Be specific to which countries in Africa you want to offer trade to," Mr Heymans said, and advised companies to identify markets and sectors best suited to their products before expanding. He also pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area as an opportunity to boost intra-Africa commerce, arguing that implementation, infrastructure development, and greater confidence in locally produced goods would be essential to unlocking the continent's potential.

ACIA delivers first ATR 72-600P2F with large cargo door to FedEx

ACIA Aero Leasing has delivered the world's first ATR 72-600 passenger to freighter (P2F) conversion with a Large Cargo Door (LCD) to FedEx. The Ireland-based lessor announced the delivery of the ATR 72-600P2F with LCD, registered MSN 1239, in a LinkedIn post on 15 October. "This aircraft marks an important milestone for the ATR 72-600 platform, and MSN 1239 now sets the blueprint for the conversions that will follow," said ACIA. "We see strong demand for modern turboprop freighters, and we are delighted to have played a part in bringing this capability to market." ACIA began working on the the -600 series conversion programme in 2024, after a delay of more than a year. US-based Empire Aerospace undertook the freighter conversion, including fitting the large cargo door. This measures 2.94 metres by 1.8 metres, which allows for the transportation of larger cargo and palletised freight. In July 2025, ACIA announced it had sold the first ATR 72-600 LCD converted freighter to FedEx. The aircraft was originally due to be delivered to FedEx by December 2025. Ireland-headquartered regional aircraft lessor ACIA has offices in France, the UK and South Africa. The company manages a portfolio of over 50 regional passenger and freighter aircraft on lease to operators in more than 23 countries globally. Through its partnerships, ACIA provides airlines with turnkey leasing solutions from dry leasing through to charter operations.