FAK (Freight All Kinds) is a commodity description that groups mixed goods under one generic label for rating simplicity. Cross-border it backfires: Mexican carriers read an undisclosed commodity as theft risk and either decline to bid or price the mystery in.
FAK, Freight All Kinds, is a rating convention: instead of describing each commodity precisely, freight is tendered under a generic mixed-goods label, historically to simplify LTL class ratings and contract pricing. On domestic U.S. freight it is unremarkable. On cross-border freight it collides with two realities that make commodity disclosure genuinely important.
First, security: Mexican carriers price and plan around what the cargo is, since commodity determines theft attractiveness, insurance conditions, escort requirements, and no-go corridors. A posting that hides the commodity reads as a mystery load, and the rational carrier response is to decline or to quote defensively high. Second, compliance: customs classification (fracción arancelaria), hazmat determinations, and insurance coverage all require knowing what is actually in the trailer.
The broker's dilemma is real: after theft incidents, shippers instinctively hide commodities, yet opacity suppresses the very bids they need. The workable middle ground is calibrated disclosure: describe the commodity category and characteristics honestly (packaged consumer goods, palletized auto parts, general industrial equipment) without advertising brand names, values, or serial-level detail in public postings, and share full detail with the vetted carrier that wins the load, under the confidentiality a real vetting relationship supports. A network of verified carriers changes this calculus fundamentally, which is much of its point: disclosure feels safe when you know who is reading.
Cargado connects 250+ brokers with 2,000+ vetted carriers moving Mexico and Canada freight every day.