C.H. Robinson Starts Mexico Freight Consolidation Service
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C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. will offer a consolidation option for customers importing freight from Mexico, targeting the less-than-truckload and automotive component freight segments in particular.
Launched Sept. 11, C.H. Robinson says the artificial intelligence-enabled service could save cross-border shippers as much as 40% on their costs and provide earlier insights on delivery times.
Utilizing bonded warehouses on the southern side of the border will allow shippers to sidestep Mexican customs regulations and engage fewer trucks, the Eden Prairie, Minn.-headquartered logistics giant said.
“Here’s a scenario we see all the time,” said Jay Cornmesser, vice president for Mexico cross-border services. “Say you’re a company that assembles vehicle seats in the United States, and you’re importing foam, fabric, a wiring harness, a motor and switches from five different suppliers in Mexico. Those are coming to the border on five different trucks, five different transfer carriers are taking the loads across, and only then your freight might be consolidated for delivery to your warehouses or plants. You’re unnecessarily paying for too many trucks and unnecessarily paying for unused space on each truck.”
With our new cross-border freight consolidation service, shippers can save up to 40% and gain visibility 48 hours earlier. Explore what's possible with the global leader in AI-driven supply chains — C.H. Robinson (@CHRobinson)
Mexican law requires all the freight on a truck to be cleared by the same customs broker, C.H. Robinson noted, blocking consolidation of LTL shipments from different suppliers or manufacturers headed to the same end point.
Instead, C.H. Robinson can consolidate the shipments at one location and then its proprietary Optimizer technology will figure out the optimal options for combining and routing the freight.
“A company’s freight from central Mexico’s industrial hubs takes a day or two to get to the border and another eight to 24 hours to cross, due to long waiting lines and frequent disruptions. When their various suppliers ship to them using different carriers, customs brokers and tech, they rarely have upstream visibility,” said Cornmesser.
“Our new service brings freight to our new consolidation center in Mexico same day for same-day visibility. This helps ensure the smooth flow of materials to a just-in-time manufacturer and is especially beneficial when they need freight expedited,” he said.
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“With up to 48 hours extra visibility, we can pull freight from different locations closer to the receiver, expedite freight that’s further along in transit or at the very least obtain a more competitive rate for an expedite from our consolidation center,” he added.
The service also can help with the tariffs introduced earlier in 2025 that are on every fleet and shippers’ mind, according to the company.
“At a time when supply chains are strained by new and higher tariffs, our new cross-border consolidation service can provide some relief,” said Ben Bidwell, senior director for customs.
“We can move freight in bond, meaning it can enter the United States through a bonded warehouse to defer U.S. tariffs for better cash flow or even eliminate tariffs if the freight is passing through to Canada,” said Bidwell. “Because auto parts and components are one of the top items flowing across the Mexico border, this is particularly attractive for automotive supply chains subject to the 50% tariffs on items containing aluminum or steel.”
The Trump administration slapped tariffs of 30% on imports from Mexico beginning Aug. 1. One day before the tariff was to take effect, the U.S. and Mexico reached a deal to suspend the introduction of the tariffs for 90 days.
President Donald Trump in February unveiled 25% tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum and in June doubled those levies as part of an unprecedented exploration of the willingness of allies and perceived foes to ink deals and open up markets to American goods.
Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are leading to layoffs across the automotive industry, including at truck makers.
Meantime, CH Robinson, which ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America and No. 20 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies, is using AI as a strategic tool, including to beat the elongated downturn in the freight market.
In July, the company rolled out a generative AI agent to automate freight classification as the National Motor Freight Traffic Association rolled out updates to the National Motor Freight Classification system that some say are the biggest change in the LTL market since deregulation.
A year or so earlier, C.H. Robinson launched an AI-enabled load-matching platform.
The company said the strategy and other lean initiatives are helping improve profit at a time when revenue is down.
CEO Dave Bozeman said after the release of C.H. Robinson’s second-quarter 2025 earnings that the company is not waiting for a market recovery to improve its financial results.
“We are accelerating our progress by harnessing and scaling the evolving power of AI to drive automation across the full life cycle of a load,” he noted. “Our industry-leading innovations, not only enhance the service and value we deliver to our customers, but also improve our operational performance by automating tasks that free up our talented people to focus on more strategic high-value work.”
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