Nogales, AZ freight lanes
Nogales is Arizona's commercial gateway to Sonora and a major port of entry for winter produce from northwestern Mexico. The Nogales port carried 4.0 percent of U.S.-Mexico truck trade by value in 2025 (BTS). Pick a lane in the directory to open its guide, and read how the produce season and the Hermosillo handoff shape capacity. Cargado is a marketplace where brokers post Mexico and Canada truck freight and vetted carriers bid on it.
Mariposa
65.6%
5
Reefer
Corridors out of Nogales
Across the U.S.
To Canada
Corridors into Nogales
Northbound from Mexico
From the U.S.
What moves through the Nogales market
Nogales, Arizona, sits across from Nogales, Sonora, and the Nogales port carried $25.4 billion of truck freight in 2025, 4.0 percent of U.S.-Mexico truck trade by value; 65.6 percent of it was import, which BTS ties to just-in-time fresh produce supply chains (BTS Transborder Freight Data Annual Report: 2025). CALÓ News reported that the Nogales ports processed 404,588 commercial trucks in 2024. Winter vegetables from Sinaloa and Sonora move north through Nogales warehouses in the cooler months, and Hermosillo's automotive and aerospace plants add year-round manufacturing freight. Southbound, expect components, packaging and consumer goods for Sonora plants, plus empty reefers repositioning for the season.
What ships from the Nogales area
Much of the freight that moves through Nogales is grown or made in Mexico and crosses at the Mariposa port. The facilities that ship from the area itself are produce warehouses on the Arizona side and factories in Nogales, Sonora, tied below to named companies and clusters.
- Fresh produce. Nogales is the main port of entry for winter produce from Mexico, and produce importers there warehouse and reload it for U.S. buyers.
- Medical devices. BD runs a medical device plant in Nogales, Sonora, across the line.
- Electronics and electrical products. Nogales, Sonora maquilas such as Amphenol make connectors, cable assemblies and harnesses.
- Copper and metal ores. Mines in northern Sonora rank high for metal ores and concentrates in establishment data.
On the road, dry van carries medical devices and electronics and electrical products; reefer carries fresh produce; hopper and bulk trailers carry copper and metal ores. Post the commodity, weight and trailer type with each load so carriers can price it.
The corridor groups Nogales anchors
The Mexico guide on this hub runs from Hermosillo, the Sonora capital about three hours south, into Nogales. U.S. guides run from Nogales to Fort Worth and Elizabeth, New Jersey, and from Laredo into Nogales. One Canada guide runs to Toronto; for it, confirm the Canadian customs broker, the ACI filing, the PARS release and the carrier's authority. A warehouse pickup in Arizona and a pickup at a Mexican shipper need different carrier arrangements, so state where your leg begins, whether customs has released the goods, and who handles any border transfer.
Covering Nogales freight: what a broker needs to know
Plan around the produce season
In the cooler months, reefer demand at Nogales rises with the Sinaloa and Sonora harvest. Plan reefer coverage around the commodity's harvest and shipping schedule, book earlier in that window, and state the temperature range and any pre-cooling or inspection requirements.
Confirm the Nogales warehouse handoff
Produce commonly crosses on a Mexican trailer, clears at Mariposa and is unloaded at a Nogales warehouse where a U.S. carrier picks it up, while manufacturing freight from Hermosillo more often keeps the trailer with a transfer carrier. Confirm which arrangement applies, obtain the warehouse release and loading appointment before dispatching the onward carrier, and check what each bid includes: the transfer, any transload, trailer use and detention.
Customs and inspection
Northbound, a U.S. customs broker usually files the U.S. entry; for produce, confirm admissibility, FDA prior notice and any agricultural inspection or treatment with the broker, and assign who responds to a hold while the cold chain waits. Southbound, a licensed Mexican customs broker files the Mexican entry. Confirm the commercial invoice, packing list and, for the Mexico leg, who issues the CFDI with Carta Porte details when required. Agree on free time and detention up front.
Related lane hubs
Nogales's lane guides continue on the Hermosillo, Laredo, TX and Toronto, ON hubs, which list more lanes at the other end of these corridors.
Nearby markets with their own lane directories: El Paso, TX, Ciudad Juárez and Mexicali.
For the border step, the Nogales Mariposa crossing guide covers the crossing named on Nogales's Mexico lanes.
Every lane guide on Cargado is listed on the lanes index.
Common questions about Nogales freight
Which crossing does Nogales freight use?
Commercial trucks cross at the Mariposa port of entry on the west side of Nogales. Douglas, Arizona, to the east, is a smaller alternate for Agua Prieta freight. Each Mexico lane guide names the crossing it uses.
What should I confirm for Nogales produce freight?
Confirm the commodity, growing region, shipping window, warehouse appointment and required temperature range. Ask whether the cargo has cleared customs and who handles any inspection hold, and check carrier availability for the actual pickup date, because northbound reefer demand rises with the winter harvest.
How do I find carriers for a Nogales lane on Cargado?
Post the pickup and delivery, the date, the equipment and the leg you need covered. For a Mexico move, include the crossing and the handoff plan; for a Canada lane, the customs broker and the release arrangement. 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.
What equipment runs Nogales corridors?
Reefer demand is strong in the produce season, and dry van carries Sonora manufacturing freight year-round. Post the trailer type with the weight, dimensions, loading requirements and, for refrigerated freight, the temperature range so carriers can price the load.
What freight ships out of Nogales?
Facilities within about 100 miles of Nogales mainly ship fresh produce, medical devices, electronics and electrical products and copper and metal ores. On the road, dry van carries medical devices and electronics and electrical products; reefer carries fresh produce; hopper and bulk trailers carry copper and metal ores.
Moving freight through this market?
Post it to 2,350+ vetted Mexico and Canada carriers, or check market rates built from real carrier bids before you quote.