The cross-border trade will dramatically increase as more manufacturers use nearshoring in a post-pandemic world. Trading more items with Canada and Mexico offers many new opportunities and creates a fresh set of challenges for shippers. Understanding how to prepare for these changes is critical to success in the shipping industry.
Why is Nearshoring Becoming More Popular?
The number of regional imports in the United States will only continue to spike as more businesses realize that "just-in-time inventory fulfillment" is a much more difficult task to achieve while trying to ship items across the world amid a pandemic.
The shift towards nearshoring allows America to receive and ship more products to Canada in the north while working with Mexico in the south. There is also expected to be significant growth with cargo traffic between the United States and Mexico due to the trade conflict with China.
Challenges of Nearshoring
While nearshoring can expedite the supply chain and lower costs, it can also create new challenges. For example, finding a way to track data in real-time is essential in meeting tight delivery windows. Transporting cargo to and from Mexico is also tricky, as most truck drivers in the United States can't operate in Mexico, which results in needing two trucks instead of one.
Drivers in Mexico also face a similar problem, but there is a growing trend of allowing drivers from Mexico to enter the United States if they have a B1 visa. The lingering pandemic also creates additional challenges, as transactions that used to take only 60-90 minutes at the border now can last up to three or four hours.
Despite these challenges, nearshoring will only continue to grow more popular as businesses attempt to keep up with changing consumer trends while still managing the impact of the pandemic. Staying aware of these cross-border trade trends and challenges is essential for shippers to maintain success.
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