As a growing nearshoring trend drives increasing freight flows between the U.S. and Mexico, the multimodal transportation provider Schneider says its customers should adapt to those freight flows by choosing from an array of solutions including intermodal, van truckload, dedicated, expedited, bulk, and brokerage.
That advice comes as foreign direct investment related to nearshoring in Mexico increased by 47% in the first half of 2023 alone, Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Schneider said, citing the Mexico Institute for Competitiveness.
The new trend is driven by companies that are switching from distant production hubs to locations closer to the final consumer, allowing them to thrive on proximity and cost optimization. Nearshoring also allows companies to achieve operational efficiency while maintaining control over projects in terms of cost-effectiveness, logistics and risk mitigation.
Schneider, which has been operating in Mexico for the last 32 years, recently relocated to a new office in the Polanco District of Mexico City. This move makes it even easier for the company to meet with customers and prospects from a centralized location, the company said. And last year, Schneider expanded its cross-border capabilities by becoming a strategic intermodal carrier on CPKC’s flagship north-south route. Schneider’s rail partnership with CPKC creates more options for customers and furthers efficiency by increasing reliability, security and capacity.
“It’s much easier and quicker for shippers to move their freight across the border than the ocean, and that’s been a real learning for them over the past few years,” Schneider Chief Commercial Officer, Group Senior Vice President, and General Manager of Logistics Erin Van Zeeland said in a release. “When companies diversify the transportation modes they use to move their freight – such as combining Intermodal, Truckload and Dedicated – they are able to experience better on-time service, seamless transportation and a higher level of security for their freight.”