The story
Put a Mexico or Canada question in front of a room of freight brokers and the same ones come back every time: how to vet a carrier with no MC number, whether a B-1 driver is legal, who hires the customs broker, what a bonded carrier is for. Here are the short answers, in the order brokers usually hit them, with links to the longer versions.
Where do I find carriers for Mexico and Canada freight? My domestic board has none.
Where those carriers already are, which is mostly not on a board built around MC numbers. The carriers that run Monterrey, the Bajío, Guadalajara or Mexico City are Mexican carriers, and the largest group of them holds no U.S. authority at all: they run the Mexican leg and hand the trailer to a transfer carrier at the border. A domestic board never sees them. For Canada the problem is precision: a posting that does not say bonded, heated or Super-B does not reach the carriers who run those.
Cargado is built for this freight. Mexican and Canadian carriers apply directly, our carrier team reviews their documents, and they bid on your posting the same way a U.S. carrier does. Post the lane with the crossing, the equipment and your requirements, and it reaches carriers running that corridor, because Cargado tracks which crossings each carrier runs. Chat translates between English and Spanish, and if you run McLeod, Tai or Turvo, loads sync in and bids sync back. See Mexico coverage, Canada coverage and How to find carriers for Mexico freight.
How do I vet a Mexican carrier when there is no MC or DOT number?
Check the Mexican credentials instead. A carrier domiciled in Mexico that runs the Mexican leg never operates under U.S. authority, so the missing MC or DOT describes its operating model. It is not a warning sign.
Six documents do the work of the MC number:
- The RFC and the constancia de situación fiscal: Mexico's taxpayer registry number and the SAT certificate that proves it. Check for a recent issue date, an active status and a registered activity that includes freight transportation.
- The SICT federal operating permit, the license to haul cargo on Mexico's federal highways. Cross-check it against the RFC, and match its class to your freight: hazardous materials need a specialized-cargo permit, not a general-cargo one.
- The CAAT, the carrier code Mexican customs uses. A carrier that says it crosses and cannot produce a current CAAT cannot legally take part in customs transit.
- The acta constitutiva and the legal representative's ID. Whoever signs your carrier packet must appear in the charter or hold a power of attorney.
- Proof of address, matched against the addresses on the other documents.
- Insurance, read with the liability section below in mind.
Documents prove registration on the day you check, so recheck them. On Cargado, every carrier applies and our carrier team reviews the application before the account is turned on. A Mexican carrier submits its RFC and constancia, SICT permit, proof of address and legal representative's ID, companies add the acta constitutiva, and carriers give three references. That review decides who can be on the marketplace. It does not replace your own onboarding: you still decide who hauls your freight, and you can block a carrier on any posting. Full checklist: How to find and vet Mexican carriers and How Cargado vets carriers.
What is a B-1 driver, and can one legally haul my load?
Yes, when the load is international. A B-1 driver is a Mexican national driving on a business visitor visa. Under CBP rules, a B-1 driver may carry goods that are part of international commerce into the U.S. and deliver them to one or several U.S. locations, and may pick up goods in the U.S. for delivery to Mexico or Canada. What a B-1 driver may not do is haul a load that is both picked up and delivered inside the U.S. That is cabotage, and it is not permitted even when the domestic stop is on the way.
So a B-1 driver employed by a U.S. carrier, taking your trailer from the bridge at Laredo on to Dallas, is a common and lawful arrangement, as long as the freight stays in international commerce from origin to delivery. Confirm the handoff with the carrier rather than assuming it. A B-1 driver on a Dallas to Houston load is not. Most carriers at the southern border run on B-1 drivers, so if your customer requires CDL-only drivers for the crossing, ask early: the answer changes your capacity and your quote. More in How Mexico freight actually moves and the glossary entries for B-1 driver and cabotage.
How does freight actually get across the border?
One of two ways, and the choice shapes cost, transit time and claims. In a through-trailer move, the freight stays in one trailer from origin to destination, with the seal unbroken unless customs opens it: a Mexican carrier brings the loaded trailer to a yard on its side, a transfer driver takes it over the bridge, and a U.S. tractor picks it up on the other side. In a transload, the freight is unloaded at a border warehouse or cross-dock and reloaded into a different trailer for the next leg.
Through-trailer is the default for most freight: fewer touches, an unbroken seal, a cleaner chain of custody. Transload earns its place when the equipment does not match, when one trailer becomes several deliveries or several partials merge, when the freight will be opened for inspection anyway, or when neither carrier will let its trailer cross.
In practice you usually deal with one primary carrier that coordinates the Mexican partner, the transfer and the U.S. delivery. On a Cargado posting you say how the crossing is handled under Border Crossing: a pre-set transfer when you already have one arranged, or transfer by the bidding carrier. A transload needs two postings, one to the border facility and one from it. The full comparison, including what each model means for quoting, is in Transloading vs through-trailer.
Do I need a customs broker, and who hires them?
In practice, yes. Nearly every commercial load crossing either border clears through a customs broker, and it is normally the importer's, not yours. On a northbound Mexico load that means a Mexican customs broker, the agente aduanal, for the export and a U.S. customs broker for the entry; southbound, the Mexican customs broker clears the import. Into Canada, the importer or a customs broker acting for them files the release request with CBSA before the truck arrives. Your customer, or your customer's customer, usually has the broker already. If they do not, help them find one before you book the load, and let the customs broker quote fees to your customer directly rather than folding them into your rate.
Your job is coordination. Do not dispatch a pickup until you have the crossing city, the customs broker's contact at that crossing, and confirmation that the commercial invoice and packing list reached them. The Mexican customs broker effectively dictates which crossing the freight uses, so ask before you quote. Skipping that step is how trailers end up sitting in a yard for days. Checklist: First load checklist for Mexico freight and the glossary entry for agente aduanal.
Who generates the Carta Porte, and why is my trailer stuck over it?
Whoever issues the CFDI for the Mexican leg, which in a brokered move is usually the Mexican carrier, and it needs your carrier's details early. The Complemento Carta Porte is the document SAT requires for goods moving on Mexico's federal highways. It rides with the CFDI, Mexico's electronic invoice, and lists the goods, the route, the vehicle and the driver. It is issued by the party providing the transport, or by the owner of the goods when they move their own freight. It is not issued by you and not by the customs broker, which is why everyone can end up pointing at each other.
What you do: as soon as you book, collect the carrier company name, truck and trailer numbers and driver name, send them to the shipper or their logistics contact, and confirm the Carta Porte exists before the truck arrives at origin. If the truck or driver changes, it has to be regenerated. Without it, a truck on Mexico's federal highways is out of compliance and can be stopped at a checkpoint. Mexico freight paperwork explained walks through the Carta Porte, the DODA, the U.S. entry and the e-manifest, and who owns each.
How do I quote a Mexico or Canada lane?
Get the lane fully defined before you say a number. For Mexico that means seven inputs: origin and destination by city and state, the border crossing, the commodity (never FAK), the trailer type, the weight, the cargo value, and who handles the crossing. If the last one is unclear, stop and ask; you cannot price a multi-party move without knowing who owns each piece.
An all-in Mexico rate breaks into the Mexican linehaul, the transfer fee at the border and the U.S. linehaul, plus fuel. The carrier you pay keeps the U.S. portion and the transfer fee and pays its Mexican partner for the Mexican leg. Direction matters: northbound and southbound on the same lane can price very differently, because northbound carries a Mexican export clearance plus the U.S. entry. When you compare quotes, ask which of those pieces are included; a cheaper number that leaves out the transfer is a more expensive number in disguise. Canada lanes swing with the season and the equipment: from November through March, freight that moves dry van in July may need a reefer running heat or protect-from-freezing service, and a posting that buries that in the notes gets the wrong trucks.
For a market reference, Cargado Market Rates shows a Low, Mid and High (p25, p50, p75) per lane and trailer category, built from carrier bids on the marketplace over the trailing 12 weeks and updated every week, in USD, MXN or CAD. Start near the Mid; quoting below the Low usually means few carriers take it. See How to quote Mexico freight and How to read a market rate.
Who insures the freight in Mexico, and what about theft?
Usually the shipper or the receiver, not the carrier. This is the sharpest difference from U.S. practice. In the U.S. you verify the carrier's cargo certificate before tendering. In Mexico, carrier liability is often minimal and can be set by weight rather than by cargo value, so a thin cargo policy on a Mexican carrier is common. Treat it as a reason to confirm who insures the freight, not as proof the carrier is bad. Before the first load, ask your customer: "Is this freight insured on your end?" and write down the answer. If it is unclear, settle it before pickup.
On theft, the levers are operational. Fewer touches means fewer windows, which is one reason sealed through-trailer moves are preferred for high-value freight. Security escorts can be added on the Mexican leg. Require CTPAT only when the customer truly requires it, because it narrows the carrier pool. And the vetting above, the charter, the address, the permit that matches the RFC, is how shell carriers get caught before they get a load. More in the First load checklist and the glossary entries for seguro de carga and CTPAT.
Do I need a bonded carrier for Canada, and what are PARS, PAPS and CARM?
You need a bonded carrier when the freight clears somewhere other than the border, or moves through Canada in bond without being released there. Under CBSA rules, a non-bonded carrier's shipments are released at the first port of arrival in Canada. A bonded carrier has posted financial security with CBSA and may carry goods in bond beyond that point to an inland CBSA office or a sufferance warehouse. A non-bonded carrier that needs it once can apply for a single-trip authorization. If your customer's broker clears at the crossing, any carrier with a CBSA carrier code can run the load.
Every highway carrier entering Canada must send cargo and conveyance data electronically to CBSA before arrival (ACI eManifest), received and validated at least one hour before the truck reaches the border. PARS is the release request the importer or their customs broker files with CBSA before arrival, tied to the carrier's cargo control number, so the release decision is waiting when the truck shows up. PAPS is the U.S.-bound counterpart: the carrier's ACE e-manifest identifies the shipment as PAPS and CBP matches it to the entry the U.S. customs broker filed. CARM is CBSA's system for assessing duties and taxes. It has been the official system of record since October 21, 2024, and since the transition period ended on May 20, 2025 an importer who wants goods released before paying duties must post its own financial security in the CARM Client Portal instead of relying on a broker's. An importer who has not done that can have freight held, so ask your customer whether they are set up.
For carriers, Cargado's Canada network includes FAST-approved, PIP-certified (Partners in Protection) and bonded carriers, and Canadian carriers submit their CVOR, NIR or NSC, a safety fitness certificate, a certificate of incorporation and a certificate of insurance before the account is turned on. See Canada coverage and the glossary entry for in-bond.
Can I move LTL or hazmat across the border?
Yes to both, as specialty moves. Cross-border LTL is normally consolidated at a border cross-dock and reloaded, so the freight is handled at least twice, and the customs work does not shrink with the shipment: you still need a customs broker, a commercial invoice and packing list, and the filings on both sides, and a consolidated shipment can carry extra manifest requirements. Ask the provider whether the quote includes the transfer and the customs handling. On Cargado there is no separate LTL mode: post it as a partial truckload with the weight, packaging and dimensions so carriers can see whether it fits the space on their truck.
Hazmat into or out of Mexico needs a carrier whose SICT permit covers specialized cargo, since hazardous materials are a separate authorization from general cargo, and a customs broker used to the commodity. Put hazmat in its own field on the posting rather than in the notes: matching reads the fields, and only carriers whose profile clears the requirement are notified. Tanker is not supported on Cargado. See Post LTL or partial freight, Special moves and the glossary entry for cross-border hazmat.
I have never moved a Mexico or Canada load. Where do I start?
With the freight you already have. Ask each of your shippers where their plants, suppliers and customers sit; Mexico and Canada freight is usually hiding in an existing account, not in a cold call. Then run one load with a checklist: confirm the crossing and who controls it, confirm the customs broker before the truck loads, send carrier details to the shipper early, confirm the filings as the truck approaches the border, and write down what broke. The second load is easier than the first. The Mexico 101 Guide covers the whole arc, from finding Mexico freight in your book to the discovery-call questions.
Have a question that is not here? Email success@cargado.com and a person on our team will answer.
