Cabotage crackdown threatens Mexico cross-border trucking capacity

Knight-Swift CEO Adam Miller says the U.S. has ramped up enforcement of cabotage rules so aggressively that Mexican drivers are losing visas — sometimes for alleged violations committed while working for other carriers — and cross-border trucking capacity will tighten as a result.

"We're seeing the enforcement really ramp up on cabotage," Miller told FreightWaves on Tuesday, speaking at the second annual WEX OTR Summit in Jacksonville, Florida.

Cabotage, in plain terms, is domestic transport between two points inside one country by a foreign carrier. U.S. law restricts it. What's new is the intensity of scrutiny: authorities are reviewing Mexican drivers operating across the border, including digging into potential cabotage violations tied to their previous employers.

Miller has seen the fallout firsthand. "I've seen them take visas away from drivers from really a previous carrier, not even cabotage with our trucks, with our company," he said.

What does this change for shippers?

The arithmetic is straightforward. Knight-Swift (NYSE: KNX), one of the largest full truckload carriers in the U.S., runs more than 26,000 tractors, 96,000 trailers and 28,000 employees. Its Mexican operation, Nogales-based TransMex, operates over 1,100 tractor-trailers and more than 3,000 trailers. If enforcement spooks Mexican drivers from entering the U.S. at all, the pool of licensed cross-border capacity shrinks — on top of existing visa restrictions already squeezing the lane.

"I do feel like that type of capacity is going to get a little bit tighter as enforcement ramps up," Miller said.

His company maintains strict compliance policies for its cross-border operations, he stressed. The problem sits elsewhere: drivers punished for conduct under prior carriers, and Mexican trucking companies worried they'll lose drivers authorized to haul international freight.

Nearshoring upside, tariff downside

Strip out the enforcement noise and Miller remains bullish on the corridor. "I think long term Mexico is going to play a bigger role," he said. "I think you'll see more opportunities because of the nearshoring."

But he flagged one wildcard repeatedly: trade policy. "Tariffs are a big unknown," Miller said. Knight-Swift moves significant automotive freight across the border, and customers are already rewriting their plans. "Our customer strategies are changing as the tariff situation develops," he said.

For forwarders and shippers on the lane, that means two forces pulling in opposite directions — enforcement tightening driver supply while tariff uncertainty distorts freight volumes and investment decisions.

Nuevo León cuts Colombia Bridge tolls 50%

One Mexican state is moving the other way on costs. Nuevo León announced a 50% reduction in its state-imposed toll for commercial trucks heading to the Colombia-Solidarity International Bridge, aiming to lower transport costs and lift exports to the U.S.

The cut applies to the additional state toll introduced April 14, 2025 under Gov. Samuel García's administration, collected roughly 500 meters before the existing bridge tollbooth on the Mexican side. Tolls collected by the city of Laredo, Texas, are unaffected.

The state wants the Colombia crossing — which connects Nuevo León to the Laredo area and serves as an alternative route for cross-border truck shipments — to win more freight from competing ports of entry.

"By working together to reduce tolls and fees, we can help lower transportation costs, support businesses, and strengthen the movement of goods through our region," Treviño said, according to the Laredo Morning Times.

The play is simple economics: cheaper tolls, more routed trucks, more competitive crossing.

Walmart's $400 million Texas bet

Walmart (Nasdaq: WMT), meanwhile, is doubling down on Texas distribution infrastructure. The retailer plans a $400 million distribution center in Cibolo, northeast of San Antonio, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

The project, code-named "Project Theo," covers a 712,500-square-foot warehouse plus a connected 31,933-square-foot office building on roughly 126 acres at 3641 S. Santa Clara Road, per a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing. Construction starts February 2027, with completion expected August 2029.

The facility should create at least 425 full-time jobs paying above the San Antonio metro median salary. Cibolo officials have already approved an incentive package worth about $32.5 million, including a 75% property tax abatement for 10 years.

City officials describe it as a next-generation distribution center using robotics and automated warehouse systems alongside employees. It would extend Walmart's distribution footprint along the Interstate 35 and Interstate 10 corridors — the freight arteries linking San Antonio, Austin and the wider Texas market.

The week's through-line: enforcement pressure on drivers, cheaper tolls at Colombia, and a $400 million warehouse build all point the same direction — the U.S.-Mexico freight corridor keeps growing, but who drives the trucks and at what cost is now the open question.