Laredo carries the largest share of U.S.-Mexico truck trade by value, close to half of it. Choose an origin or destination in the directory to open its lane guide, northbound or southbound, and read how the border handoff works. Cargado is a marketplace where brokers post Mexico and Canada truck freight and vetted carriers bid on it.
World Trade Bridge
46.1%
80
Dry van
Laredo is the largest truck port on the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2025, $296.2 billion of truck freight crossed there, 46.1 percent of U.S.-Mexico truck trade by value (BTS Transborder Freight Data Annual Report: 2025). Two commercial bridges carry it, the World Trade Bridge and the Colombia-Solidarity Bridge about 20 miles upriver. Much of it is manufacturing freight: automotive parts, appliances, machinery and metals northbound from Monterrey, Saltillo and the Bajío; components, raw materials and consumer goods southbound.
Mexico guides connect Laredo with Monterrey, Saltillo, the Bajío and central Mexico; the guides differ by direction, and northbound adds Torreón and Altamira. U.S. guides connect Laredo with Texas and markets in the Midwest, Southeast, West and Northeast. Canada guides reach Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver. For each lane, confirm whether you need one leg or the full move, and who covers any border transfer. For Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Hermosillo, Mexicali and Tijuana, compare gateways using both endpoints and confirm whether a Laredo handoff is required.
The crossing sets the yard, the transfer carrier, the customs broker and the wait. World Trade Bridge, into Nuevo Laredo, is the default. Specify Colombia-Solidarity, into Colombia, Nuevo León, for oversize or overweight freight after confirming the permits, or when World Trade Bridge queues build and your carrier and customs broker confirm hours, customs arrangements and a receiving yard at Colombia.
At the border, a transload moves the cargo to another trailer at a Laredo or Nuevo Laredo dock; a through-trailer move keeps one trailer from pickup to delivery while tractors, drivers and carriers change, usually with a transfer carrier running the short crossing between yards. Decide before you post, because it changes who bids: you post the leg you need covered, a U.S. leg, a Mexico leg or the door-to-door move. Before comparing bids, check what each covers: the border transfer, any transload, trailer use and detention.
Confirm who handles the export requirements on one side and the import clearance on the other. Southbound, a licensed Mexican customs broker, or the importer's authorized representative, files the Mexican entry. Northbound, a U.S. customs broker usually handles the U.S. entry; U.S. law does not require one. Confirm the commercial invoice, packing list and any shipment-specific documents before dispatch. For the Mexico leg, confirm who issues the CFDI, Mexico's electronic tax document, with its Carta Porte transport details when required. Missing paperwork parks the truck, so agree on free time, detention and storage up front, including who pays when clearance runs late.
Most Laredo truck freight crosses at the World Trade Bridge, which is commercial-only. The Colombia-Solidarity Bridge, about 20 miles upriver, is the alternate for oversize or overweight loads, after you confirm the permits, and for days when World Trade Bridge queues build, once your carrier confirms operating hours and a receiving yard at Colombia. Each Mexico corridor page on this hub names the crossing it uses.
The Mexico leg needs a carrier with Mexican operating authority. Most U.S. legs run on U.S. carriers, though some Mexico-based carriers hold U.S. authority to run beyond the border zone. What matters is that each carrier has the authority for the piece it runs. The load may change trailers through a transload or keep one trailer while carriers change. State the leg you need covered when you post on Cargado so the carriers authorized for it can bid.
Post the pickup and delivery, the date, the equipment and the leg you need covered. For a border move, include the crossing and the handoff plan. Vetted carriers that run the corridor bid, and you compare what each bid covers before you book. Where a corridor has enough bid history, Cargado Market Rates gives you a reference built from carrier bids before you quote.
Laredo freight is dry van-led, with reefer demand for produce, food and beverage and open deck demand for steel, coils and machinery. Post the trailer type you need with the cargo weight, dimensions and loading requirements, and the temperature range for refrigerated freight, so carriers can price the load.
Post it to 2,300+ vetted Mexico and Canada carriers, or check market rates built from real carrier bids before you quote.