The Border Whisperer: Meet Horacio De La Garza

If you’ve ever wondered what actually happens when a truckload of freight reaches the US-Mexico border — not the sanitized version, but the real, analog-vs.-digital, three-trucks-and-a-prayer version — Horacio De La Garza is the person you want to call.

As McClay’s Senior National Operations Manager specializing in cross-border freight, Horacio is the go-to expert when a customer’s shipment needs to make it into or out of Mexico, and the stakes are too high to wing it. He’s spent his career building deep fluency in the processes, regulations, and practical realities that trip up even experienced shippers.

We asked Horacio to break down US-Mexico cross-border logistics challenges, share a few stories from the trenches, and explain why what you don’t know about the border crossing process is probably the most expensive thing you don’t know.

Let’s get into it.

Q: What challenges do shippers face when moving freight across the US-Mexico border?

Horacio: The number one issue is a lack of knowledge about what actually happens at the border. And I say that with respect — it’s not a criticism. It’s just that this is a completely different world, and Mexican freight logistics is, as I describe it, an analog business versus the digital business of US transportation. The systems, the processes, the pace — they’re genuinely different.

Most shippers arrive at the border not knowing what to expect. Sometimes they think it’s like Canada, where the paperwork is relatively simple and freight just… crosses. But with Mexico, you have customs clearance happening on both sides — US Customs and Mexican Customs — and a customs broker has to physically audit the freight, count it, verify what it is, and match it against the documentation before anything moves.

The process can take from one to three days.

When it takes longer, it’s usually because the customer won’t import due to a lack of space at the destination, they’re waiting for more freight to come in, or there’s a discrepancy in the paperwork or commercial invoice.

The small details are where things break down: serial numbers that don’t match invoices, materials that aren’t what the receiver was expecting. Any discrepancy can hold everything up. I’ve seen shippers send freight and basically just pray it gets through.

Q: What new cross-border challenges do you see looming on the horizon?

Horacio: Two things are on my radar right now.

The first is fuel.

Diesel prices are hitting contracted lanes hard, and that’s affecting everyone. We’ve seen this kind of external market pressure before — most sharply during the pandemic.

My approach is what it was then: stay close to your customers, help them understand what’s happening in the market, and communicate clearly about how it’s affecting rates and timelines. These things tend to cycle back, but you have to be nimble while they’re happening.

The second is more specific to Mexico and more complex.

The Mexican government is rolling out a new regulation that requires carriers to declare and invoice the value of their service before the freight crosses — not after completion, which is how it’s always worked.

For context, there’s already a system called the carta porte — a mandatory digital document that functions like a tax receipt, issued by Mexico’s equivalent of the IRS (called the SAT), confirming that goods crossing into the country are legitimate. It’s already a significant compliance requirement that a lot of US-side shippers aren’t familiar with.

This new rule goes a step further.

The problem it creates is a billing headache. If a load generates a layover fee after it clears customs, you can’t add it to an invoice that’s already been submitted. But if you invoice it separately later, customs may flag the discrepancy — why did the cost of this shipment change?

Some carriers are already running test shipments to try to figure out the workflow. The next few months are going to be, as I like to say, very fun.

(Editor’s note: He said this very calmly, which is how you know he means the opposite.)

Q: What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about how freight actually crosses the US-Mexico border?

Horacio: The truck that brings your freight to the border is not the truck that crosses it. This surprises almost everyone.
When a load arrives at the US-Mexico crossing, you need a transfer truck — a specialized truck whose entire job, all day every day, is crossing that bridge from the US side to the Mexican side and back. They don’t go anywhere else. And they cannot wait for you. Their window at the crossing is about 30 minutes. That’s it.

So the sequence is: paperwork has to be ready first — then I can schedule the transfer truck — then the crossing happens. And once it’s crossed, you need a third truck for the Mexican domestic portion of the delivery.

I get asked constantly, “When is this crossing?” My answer is always the same: I need the paperwork ready before I can even book the transfer. Step two cannot happen without step one. People assume there’s some kind of check-in where everything gets waved through. There isn’t.

(Editor’s note: Three trucks, one shipment—which is either a game of telephone, the world’s least fun relay race, or, if you add “and a pizza place,” a one-season sitcom on your least favorite streamer.)

Q: How are those challenges compounded when something comes up after hours?

Horacio: The border bridges close at 11 pm. That’s your hard deadline.

My rule of thumb: if I have confirmed paperwork by 11 am Central time, I’ll do my best to get the crossing done that same day. Customs brokers typically close at 5 pm, so if paperwork arrives after that, we’re usually looking at first thing the next morning.

When it’s truly urgent — paperwork confirmed at 3 or 4 pm and the customer needs it to cross today — they can pay overtime to keep the broker’s facility open. In those cases, we’re tracking that load deep into the evening, sometimes until 10 or 11 pm, waiting for everything to clear. After crossing, you still have to coordinate with the Mexican carrier to dispatch the truck for the domestic leg. I’ve had nights where we’re still working at 2 am.

It’s not every day, but it’s not rare either. Customers who understand the timing windows ahead of time are the ones who avoid those nights — or at least choose them on purpose, with their eyes open.

Q: What role do you play in shipping freight between the United States and Mexico?

Horacio: I work alongside the whole McClay’s team — whenever they have an opportunity with a customer who needs capacity in Mexico, that’s when I jump in.

I’ll get into a meeting with the customer and walk them through the process: the documentation, the waiting times, what a transload is and how it works, what the downsides are. And then I try to offer whatever is the best fit for their needs. If they want a direct option — the same trailer crossing from the US straight to Mexico — we can do that. If a transload makes more sense, we work through that.

Beyond the customer side, my role is also to build out the right network of providers: warehouses, customs brokers, carriers. You need the best partners in place to deliver a good experience.

That’s the job.

Q: What advice would you share with shippers to avoid US-Mexico cross-border logistics hiccups?

Horacio: Understand the process before your freight arrives at the border. Don’t wait until the truck is in line to start asking what happens next.

Know that you need a customs broker on the Mexican side. Know that a transfer truck has to be scheduled — and that it can only be scheduled once the paperwork is ready. Know that “on time” means before 11 am Central if you want a shot at same-day crossing.

Work with a logistics partner who will actually walk you through each step rather than just handle it invisibly. The shippers who run into the least trouble are the ones who ask a lot of questions upfront and want to understand the whole chain. The ones who struggle most are the ones who assume cross-border works like domestic shipping. It doesn’t.

And when something unexpected happens — because eventually something will — stay calm and work the process. This is a complex, regulated environment. Patience and the right partner go a long way.

Q: What situations are surprising people at the US-Mexico border?

Horacio: Freight arriving at customs declared as one thing, but the physical inspection reveals something else. Someone declares they’re importing wheels; the inspector finds car doors. That’s not a paperwork error — that’s illegal importation — and it results in fines for the carrier, the customs broker, and the customer. It’s painful for everyone.

It almost always comes down to a breakdown in the documentation process, and once you’re at the border, there’s no easy way out.

Q: You spend a lot of time working across the United States and Mexico. Is there one thing you wish people on either side just understood — without you having to explain it every single time?

Horacio: Two things, actually.

The first is the carta porte.

There’s no direct English translation, and that’s part of why it causes so much confusion. It’s a mandatory digital document in Mexico — think of it as a government-issued digital stamp that proves your freight is legitimate and that taxes have been paid. If you’re shipping into Mexico from the USA, and you don’t know what a carta porte is, you need to find out before your first shipment.

The second is the transfer truck.

The truck that brings your freight to the border does not cross. A separate, specialized truck crosses the bridge. Then a third truck handles the Mexican side. Three trucks, one load, all of them needing to be coordinated and ready at the right moment.

If more shippers walked in already knowing those two things — the carta porte and the transfer truck — I think the whole cross-border experience would go a lot more smoothly for everyone.

Horacio De La Garza is McClay’s Senior National Operations Manager, specializing in US-Mexico cross-border freight operations.

Ready to move freight across the border without the surprises? Reach out to our team.