North American freight · Field guide
Cross-border carrier checks, one handoff at a time
A cross-border load can involve different carriers before and after the border. Match the entity on each leg, then record what you checked and what still needs confirmation.
By CarrierSentry · Published
2025 annual data · USD · Imports + exports
Put the corridor in context
BTS reports the value of goods moving across these corridors. These figures describe market scale; they do not measure carrier safety, available capacity, shipment counts or CarrierSentry demand.
U.S.–Mexico
$642.2B
Truck freight value · 2025
73.6% of all U.S.–Mexico freight value moved by truck.
BTS Table 1b · $642,241,157,455
U.S.–Canada
$396.8B
Truck freight value · 2025
55.7% of all U.S.–Canada freight value moved by truck.
BTS Table 1b · $396,778,567,880
Laredo, Texas
$296.2B
Truck freight value · 2025
46.1% of U.S.–Mexico truck freight value passed through Laredo.
BTS Table 4b · $296,244,922,829
Laredo is part of the U.S.–Mexico total. Its percentage uses truck freight as the denominator; the two country percentages use all transport modes. Do not add these three cards together. Values are rounded to the nearest $0.1 billion.
Read BTS Tables 1b and 4b →Use once for each carrier leg
One load can require more than one identity check
01
Map the actual carriers
List each pickup, border transfer and delivery leg. Record the legal entity carrying the freight on each leg, separately from the dispatcher or broker arranging it.
Keep: leg, carrier legal name, role and identifier supplied.
Who physically carries this load after the handoff?
02
Match the U.S. carrier record
For a carrier with a U.S. FMCSA record, search its USDOT or MC/MX number in SAFER. Match the returned legal name to the entity assigned to that leg. A trading name alone can leave the match ambiguous.
Keep: queried identifier, returned legal name, source URL and check time.
Does this record belong to the carrier on this leg?
03
Resolve the handoff
Confirm any change of carrier through your established contact and onboarding process before tendering or releasing the load. Record the receiving entity and repeat the identity check when it changes.
Keep: receiving entity, confirmation and unresolved discrepancies.
What remains unverified before the next leg starts?
Illustrative workflow · No real carrier
Mexico → Laredo → Dallas: keep the roles separate
Suppose one carrier delivers to a border transfer point and a different carrier takes the U.S. delivery leg. Keep a separate identity record for each. The FMCSA record you check for the U.S. leg does not establish who handled the earlier leg.
If the carrier named for the Dallas leg changes, reconcile the new legal entity and identifier before proceeding. The Laredo trade figures above cannot settle that mismatch. CarrierSentry’s U.S. lookup does not certify a carrier’s eligibility for every Mexican or Canadian operation, customs clearance or a particular load.
Sources, period and limits
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Transborder Freight Data Annual Report, 2025. Tables 1b and 4b; calendar year 2025; current U.S. dollars and percentage of freight value. Geography: U.S.–Canada, U.S.–Mexico and the Laredo port. Consulted October 30, 2026. Annual context, not a live corridor feed or worldwide coverage.
- FMCSA SAFER Company Snapshot. A free company-by-company search using USDOT, MC/MX number or company name. Consulted October 30, 2026. Check the current official record and use your wider onboarding controls before making a business decision.