Mexico City to Los Angeles, CA freight

The Mexico City to Los Angeles corridor runs northbound from Mexico into the U.S. and typically crosses at Laredo (World Trade Bridge).

Direction

Northbound (Mexico to U.S.)

Equipment on this lane

Dry van-led, with reefer and open deck demand

Carrier availability

Vetted carriers cover this corridor

Marketplace activity

Posted by brokers on the Cargado marketplace

<div class="lane-viz"><div class="lane-viz-mapwrap"><img class="lane-viz-map" src="https://cargado-lane-maps.pages.dev/mexico-city-cmx-to-los-angeles-ca.svg" alt="Mexico City, CMX to Los Angeles, CA freight route map on Cargado" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="620"></div><div class="lane-viz-panel"><div class="lane-viz-title">Transit time</div><div class="tr"><div class="trrow"><div class="trl"><div class="trlabel">Mexico leg</div><div class="trroute">Mexico City, CMX <span class="arr">→</span> Nuevo Laredo, TAM</div></div><b>2 days</b></div><div class="trrow"><div class="trl"><div class="trlabel">Border crossing</div><div class="trroute">Nuevo Laredo, TAM <span class="arr">→</span> Laredo, TX</div></div><b>1–3 days</b></div><div class="trrow"><div class="trl"><div class="trlabel">U.S. leg</div><div class="trroute">Laredo, TX <span class="arr">→</span> Los Angeles, CA</div></div><b>3 days</b></div><div class="trrow tot"><span>Total transit</span><b>6–8 days</b></div></div><div class="lane-viz-title">Typical market range</div><div class="lane-rate-band" style="font-size:1.75rem;font-weight:700;color:#16295c;margin:.15rem 0 .6rem">$7K–$8K</div><a class="lane-cta" href="https://cargado.com/brokers/get-a-demo">Request a demo for detailed rates </a><div class="lane-viz-fine">Estimated drive time by road, split at the border. Border dwell varies with documentation and crossing.</div></div></div>

This corridor connects the Mexico City market (Mexico City, Ecatepec De Morelos, Ciudad De México, Tlalnepantla De Baz, Naucalpan De Juárez, Tlalnepantla) with the Los Angeles market (Los Angeles, Commerce, Torrance, Compton, Vernon, Carson), running northbound from Mexico into the U.S. Over the past 12 months brokers posted this corridor to the Cargado marketplace regularly.

Recent carrier bids on this corridor typically land in the $7K–$8K range. Request a demo to see detailed, current rates for this lane.

What ships from Mexico City

Freight out of the Mexico City market leans toward plastics and packaging, paper and packaging and machinery and industrial equipment based on what brokers actually post there. You can read more about moving these goods on the freight types pages.

Equipment on this corridor

Dry van-led, with reefer and open deck demand. Browse equipment definitions in the glossary if a term is unfamiliar.

Border crossing

Most freight on this corridor crosses at Laredo (World Trade Bridge). Loads either run direct with a through-trailer or transload at the border, and the transfer step is priced into carrier bids. See transloading and the Laredo (World Trade Bridge) crossing page.

This corridor is one of many corridors with real bid history on Cargado, the marketplace connecting brokers with verified Mexico and Canada carriers.

More lanes from these markets

Every lane guide for Mexico City is listed on its lane hub, by direction and destination country.

The markets on this lane

Origin market

Mexico City, CMX

Mexico City's freight runs through two airports, a 54-hectare intermodal rail terminal and a 327-hectare wholesale food market. Its warehousing sits in industrial parks to the north in the State of Mexico. Freight reaches the US border by highway and by intermodal rail.

Industries: Wholesale food distribution, air cargo, logistics and e-commerce warehousing, rail intermodal, light manufacturing

Airport: Mexico City International Airport (AICM). 252,558 metric tons of cargo in 2025 (operating). Source
Airport: Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA). 406,193 metric tons of cargo in 2025, down 9.2% from 2024 (operating). Source
Intermodal or rail yard: Intermodal rail terminal serving Mexico City, with automated OCR gates and AI-assisted rail car sorting. 54 hectares, more than 500,000 TEU a year (operating). Source
Wholesale food market: Central de Abasto, described as the largest wholesale distribution market in the world. 327 hectares, more than 30,000 metric tons a day (operating). Source
Industrial park: State of México map of 228 industrial developments, including parks in Tepotzotlán, Huehuetoca, Cuautitlán, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Tecámac and Tultepec north of Mexico City. 228 industrial developments statewide (operating). Source
Distribution cluster: Distribution centers in the Valle de México metropolitan region, as reported by the State of México economy ministry. 360 distribution centers (operating as of August 2025). Source

Distribution: Warehousing in the industrial parks north of the city in the State of Mexico, and bonded air-cargo warehouses at both airports.

Destination market

Los Angeles, CA

The Los Angeles market is built around the San Pedro Bay ports. The two ports together hold 31% of U.S. containerized waterborne trade, and the Port of Los Angeles alone handled 10.2 million TEUs in 2025. Its top imports were furniture, auto parts, plastic products, apparel and electronics. From the ports, freight moves by on-dock rail, the 20-mile Alameda Corridor and near-dock rail yards, or by truck to warehouses around the harbor and inland. Mexico freight leaves the region by highway toward the Otay Mesa border crossing at San Diego.

Industries: Imported consumer goods, auto parts and electronics, recycled paper and agricultural exports, apparel and textiles, air cargo

Seaport: Two adjacent container ports in San Pedro Bay. 10.2 million TEUs at the Port of Los Angeles in 2025; the two ports together hold 31% of U.S. containerized waterborne trade (operating). Source
On-dock rail: One near-dock rail yard and five on-dock rail yards serve the seven container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles. More than 65 miles of on-dock track (operating). Source
Rail expressway: Alameda Corridor, a below-grade freight line from the ports to the downtown rail yards. 20 miles, built for 150 trains a day (operating). Source
Class I intermodal yards: Five off-dock mainline rail yards, three operated by Union Pacific and two by BNSF; the Hobart/Commerce and East Los Angeles yards near downtown Los Angeles handle the majority of intermodal cargo. About 24 miles north of the ports (operating). Source
Rail yard expansion: On-dock rail yard at the Port of Long Beach growing from 82 to 171 acres for 10,000-foot trains, with completion set for 2032. $1.8 billion program (under construction). Source
Foreign-trade zone: Foreign-Trade Zone 202 magnet site in Carson. 353.6 acres, 2.11 acres activated (operating). Source
Airport: Los Angeles International Airport air cargo (operating). Source

Distribution: Warehouses and cross-docks around the harbor, in Carson's foreign-trade zone and in Vernon, an industrial city of 5.2 square miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Market profiles describe industries and facility types from public government, industry, port, railroad and industrial-park sources. They name no shippers, manufacturers, retailers or logistics companies.

Common questions about this lane

How do I find carriers for Mexico City to Los Angeles?

On Cargado, brokers post the corridor and vetted carriers bid on it. Every carrier is verified before it can bid, which replaces cold-calling unknown carriers.

What equipment is available on the Mexico City to Los Angeles corridor?

Postings here are mostly dry van, with some reefer and open-deck. If you need a type you do not see, post the load anyway. Carriers with matching equipment get notified automatically.

Does freight on this corridor transload at the border or run direct?

Both happen. Most freight crosses at Laredo (World Trade Bridge), where carriers either transfer the trailer to a cross-border drayage carrier or run direct with a through-trailer. The bid reflects the carrier's setup.

Moving freight on this lane?

Post it to 2,350+ vetted Mexico and Canada carriers, or check market rates built from real carrier bids before you quote.

Get a demo Request access See shipper rates