In today’s supply chain, international isn’t optional—it’s essential. Whether sourcing from Asia, nearshoring to Mexico, or establishing a China+1 procurement strategy, global supply chains are shifting fast. On this episode of Beyond Point to Point, we go beyond the headlines to unpack what’s really happening in international logistics.
From emerging sourcing regions to the tariff impacts driving change, we explore how shippers are adapting to new trade realities. Hear from Richard Egan (VP of International Solutions, Averitt) on long-term global strategy; Ed Habe (VP of Mexico Sales, Averitt) and Homero Gonzalez (General Director, Central de Fletes) on the evolving U.S.-Mexico freight dynamic; and licensed customs broker Kehlani Lawson (Integrated Operations Manager, Averitt) on why planning and compliance matter more than ever.
Watch the episode below to learn how the right partnerships—and the right questions—can help you future-proof your supply chain.
Key Takeaways:
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Tariff uncertainty is reshaping global sourcing. Companies that proactively diversified their supplier base—especially those shifting from China to Vietnam or Mexico—are better positioned to weather disruptions.
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Mexico is a nearshoring frontrunner. Due to proximity, trade ties, and maturing infrastructure, Mexico continues to be a top alternative for U.S.-bound manufacturing and distribution.
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Cross-border complexity demands alignment. Reducing handoffs and working with trusted, certified partners like Averitt and Centra de Fletes can streamline the U.S.-Mexico shipping experience.
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Customs compliance isn’t optional. From ever-changing tariffs to proper documentation and cargo insurance, having a knowledgeable licensed customs broker is critical to avoiding costly delays.
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Future-proofing starts with planning. Whether it’s increasing inventory, adjusting routing, or building in flexibility, shippers that plan ahead can respond with confidence when global conditions shift.
What’s Next?
Global logistics is evolving fast—from shifting trade policies and tariff enforcement to the rise of nearshoring and the renewed importance of customs compliance. This episode made one thing clear: shippers need more than just transportation. They need partners who can help them navigate uncertainty, simplify border crossings, and plan proactively for what’s ahead.
At Averitt, our International Solutions are built to do just that. Whether you’re adjusting sourcing strategies, exploring Southeast Asia or Mexico as alternatives, managing multimodal freight, or looking to avoid customs delays, we offer the clarity, control, and hands-on support it takes to succeed.
From the port to the plant—and every point in between—our team is here to help you build a smarter, more resilient supply chain.
Watch the short video to learn more about our International Solutions and contact our team to streamline your strategy for better efficiency and control of your supply chain.
Episode Transcript:
Narrator: Welcome to Beyond Point to Point, the podcast where we go beyond pickup and delivery and dive deeper into the world of logistics, freight, and supply chain management. From industry trends to expert insights, we're here to help you navigate the complexities of modern shipping. Be sure to subscribe to Beyond Point to Point, wherever you watch or listen to your favorite podcasts. And now here's your host, Joe Greek.
Joe Greek: Welcome to another episode of Beyond Point to Point. I'm your host, Joe Greek, and today we're expanding our view far beyond borders. We're diving into the world of international logistics, a segment of the supply chain where strategy, timing, and compliance matter more than ever. With trade policy shifting, tariff uncertainty rising, and global sourcing strategies in flux, international freight is once again at the center of disruption and opportunity. Whether it's moving product across oceans or across borders, shippers today need more than capacity. They need clarity, control, and the right partnerships to keep their supply chains moving.
In this episode, we're taking a three part look at global logistics, from international strategy to cross-border execution to the critical role of customs compliance. You'll hear from voices who work in it every day and understand what it takes to succeed when the world gets unpredictable.
For the first point in today's route, I'm joined by Richard Egan, Vice President of International Solutions at Averitt. Richard leads our global logistics team, helping shippers navigate ocean and air freight, trade policy shifts, and international supply chain strategy. He brings a broad lens to the conversation and a deep understanding of what it takes to stay flexible in a volatile world. Let's dig into how global shippers can stay ahead of disruption and prepare for what may come next. Rich, thank you very much for being on the show today. It's great to have you here.
Rich Egan: Very much appreciate it.
Joe Greek: Now you bring several years of experience in the international shipping industry, and so let's get down to it. Right now the big topic, of course, is tariffs. So when you're dealing with our international customers, what are you seeing in terms of their discussions on shifting strategies with their global supply chain strategy?
Rich Egan: Well, the current environment hasn't changed much dynamically from what has happened over the last few years. COVID was the start of companies that were looking at alternatives for their supply chain and from their origin, trying to really separate their self a little bit from China. The tariffs only accelerated that process, and if you go back into the fourth quarter of 2024, you saw companies that were already planning for the potential administration change that was happening in January. So inventory levels were in some cases increased to cover a period of time of risk, and we all saw that once the tariffs were implemented, especially in China.
So there were a couple of different means of combating that from a client standpoint. Some had increased inventories. We have one customer that I met with personally and had accelerated their inventory up to five months to give their self a small period of cushion in order to stop on a trade basis to cover the requirements that they have with their customers.
The other is another customer is diversified away from China, and they started that process a number of years ago. So a good example of that is moving freight from China to Vietnam, which this client did. Others kind of fell into a trap where they didn't get proactive and were reactive, and they're feeling the ramifications. But the trade decline because of the tariffs is as much in the US as 60% right now down. So it's significant to see the volume change that we've experienced over the last month.
Joe Greek: As a result of the ongoing tariffs which are kind of blanketed across the world, who are you seeing as the emerging winners of becoming sourcing alternatives to China?
Rich Egan: That's a great question, Joe. The number one beneficiary is Mexico. We've seen that over the last few years. Nearshoring has been something that's not new to the industry. I've seen nearshoring depending on certain commodities that took place back in the nineties and then through the 2000s, but it really didn't kick off as well because of certain requirements within Mexico that have changed in today's marketplace. So Mexico has been the number one benefactor of the migration away from China.
Other areas that were quite significant were the India subcontinent region. So you've got India, you've got Pakistan, you've got Bangladesh, and then alternatives within that Southeast Asia market are also quickly gaining popularity. Vietnam has been around for a long time, and so we've seen significant volume shift into the Vietnam market as well as Malaysia. But overall, Southeast Asia is also seeing a benefit of migration away from China.
Joe Greek: So as we see these emerging markets becoming great alternatives, how does Averitt and the international team support shippers in making that kind of transition?
Rich Egan: That's really what we do as a company. We offer alternatives both from a pricing and a service level. Mexico is one that really stands out for us because of our cross-border group that we have supporting Mexico to US on a northbound, as well as Mexico to Canada for that matter, for a product that has been shifted into that area. So that's kind of a reflection of our power of one that we talk about so often.
The other is giving our customers, what they're looking for is a landed cost model, and we're able to provide the portion of that. Of course, we can't provide the actual manufacturing costs, but what we can do is give them a cost from the manufacturing location in the alternative country directly to their doors so they can build that model when they're looking at a landed cost in order to migrate from one country to another. And with our strengths that we have in Southeast Asia with our partners that we work with, we've got pricing that's competitive from all of those regions.
Joe Greek: All right, so right now we're seeing a significant decrease in transpacific volumes. Fewer container ships are arriving at the ports. Ultimately, this is going to mean less demand for freight transportation hopefully in the short term. Now, if we think back five years when we were first hit with COVID, we saw a similar pattern, where ships were doing blanket sailings and there was nothing at the ports. Then all of a sudden we start to emerge and we see dozens and hundreds of ships at the ports waiting for dozens of days, months at a time to be unloaded, and it caused significant supply chain disruptions. Do you see something like that occurring this go around?
Rich Egan: It will happen, but it's not going to be anywhere near to the impact that we experienced with COVID. COVID had many tentacles within both the origin marketplace as well as the destination side. Labor was one of the biggest impacts that affected that. So whether it was China, Southeast Asia, but predominantly China, workforces or manufacturing came to a standstill. That created that stall effect that we had within the supply chain. And it was the same thing that happened on the US side. Labor forces were reduced and the industry was seen as a necessity.
So when products started to come back in, it hit at levels that were much greater than what I would anticipate this time. And the reason for that is what we talked about earlier. Companies that have diversified away from China are still receiving product and the supply chain has been reduced but not as negatively impacted as the impact we had during COVID.
The other side of that is the companies that have increased their inventory levels are still producing. You can go back during that period and you would see shelves that were empty. In today's market, we're not experiencing any of that type of behavior, even though the volume is coming down and we will see a slight impact as it returns. So I expect what the carriers have done, which the blank sailings are their way to affect supply and demand, but it's also their way to keep the prices at a level as opposed to falling completely to the bottom, where ocean freight rates would be if in fact they had all of their vessels flowing into the US. So I expect to see a little bit of an impact. How significant it will be is nothing towards the COVID levels.
Joe Greek: Well, that is good news, and hopefully that will be the case. So if you were to give a shipper one bit of advice on how to future-proof their supply chain, what would that be?
Rich Egan: If I had my crystal ball out, I could give a great answer to that. But if I look at history, and that's really what the customer should be looking at, is how were they impacted and where were they impacted? So the advice I would give is to mitigate those risks on a future basis. We have a lot of years of experience. If you look at our team on the warehouse and distribution side, if you look at our cross-border, our LTL network, go across all of our services that we offer to the customer, we've got a lot of people within our business that can work close with those customers and offer suggestions that may be helpful to them.
But I would just give one bit of advice, is to say look at where their pain points were and plan better from a future standpoint. Because the ones who have planned are the ones who are successful. And I think we've referred to one earlier. 80% of their volume used to come out of China and 20% came out of Vietnam. They've effectively canceled bookings out of China right now because of the tariffs and have moved, shifted a hundred percent of their product over to Vietnam, and their future model will be 80% Vietnam and 20% China. So they've taken a proactive approach, and I think my advice to customers would be take similar actions to what that customer did.
Joe Greek: That's great. And you don't have to be proactive last week to start being proactive today.
Rich Egan: That's correct. That's correct. It is never too late to start looking at what's going to give you the value from a future transportation or supply chain solution for your business. It's never too late. You need to start looking at that today.
Joe Greek: Appreciate your time today, Rich.
Rich Egan: No, it's my pleasure, and I appreciate you looking at the international part of our business to offer some solutions for our customers.
Narrator: Averitt has been delivering success for over half a century with passion, pride, and a powerful network. Introducing the power of one, your single source for transportation and logistics. Our comprehensive services include LTL, truckload, dedicated, distribution and fulfillment, and integrated global solutions. But what truly sets us apart is our people, dedicated to serving you. For any need, local or global, trust Averitt, the power of one.
Joe Greek: Now for the next point in our journey, we're heading to the border, literally. I'm joined by two guests who bring both sides of the US-Mexico freight equation into focus. First, Ed Habe, Vice President of Mexico Sales at Averitt, works directly with shippers to help them navigate the fast changing world of cross-border logistics. And joining him is Homero Gonzalez, General Director at Central de Fletes, one of Averitt's trusted partner carriers in Mexico.
Together, they provide a unique perspective on how a strong integrated partnership can remove barriers, reduce delays, and improve reliability on both sides of the border. From rising nearshoring demand to the realities of operating in two countries, Ed and Homero share what's changing in cross-border logistics and how shippers can be prepared for what's ahead. Well, Ed, Homero, thank you very much for being on the show today. It's a pleasure to have you here. Now, before we dive deep into our discussion, Homero, I would really like to hear about the story behind Central de Fletes.
Homero Gonzalez: Oh, thank you very much. I'm Homero Gonzalez. I'm the general director for Central de Fletes. And yes, my family has been in trucking for 85 years, so we've been around all this time. First, my grandpa started the business. It was at the beginning not officially a trucking company because there were no trucks or roads in Mexico. So my grandpa started as a provider of services for a lighting company in Mexico.
Later on till 1950, he was the one that received the seventh permit to work in Mexico. So we're the seventh company to be recognized as a trucking company in Mexico. So all these years, we've been in trucking. We started in domestic services, sea containers, and when NAFTA started, my dad, which took the CEO role many years after my grandpa, we started giving service from Mexico to the US. And now we've been growing. And now for us, maybe 90% of our revenue is to the United States and from the United States. So we've been growing a lot and thanks to international commerce.
Joe Greek: That is a very incredible and rich family history there, and congratulations on keeping the name going after all these years. With the growth in cross-border trade, over the years we've seen significant increases in nearshoring and reshoring to North America and particularly to Mexico. Do you see that trend continuing?
Ed Habe: Yeah, definitely. Geography, simple geography makes it a reality for the future. 60 years plus of nearshoring. So again, it's not something we just started, it's something that's been going on for 60 years, and it just makes sense to source manufacturing plants close to home, if not at home. So I definitely see this trend, in spite of all that we're seeing on the news today, continuing. And we're very optimistic in the next couple of years of seeing it taking off and exploding.
Joe Greek: Well, that's a good point about what we're seeing now, and of course that gets to the touchpoint of tariffs. So currently, how do you see that impacting nearshoring and cross-border transportation in general? And I'll let you speak to that first, Homero.
Homero Gonzalez: Of course, there's been a huge impact. Of course. I think it's changing all the way to the basis, what you were preparing to do and to sell to the United States and from the United States. But I think in the end, as Ed said, it's just logic. It's physically we're just besides the United States. So companies short term, long term, it's a win-win decision to move their factories to Mexico. And I think even though the tariffs might have some impact, in the long term economics, the cultural links between the US and Mexico are going to help to make it easier to make commerce between the two countries.
Joe Greek: What's your perspective on that, Ed?
Ed Habe: Well, I can tell you since they even started talking about tariffs, we've seen an influx of freight, primarily customers in Mexico, trying to get material out before the tariffs so they could avoid it. So we were able to benefit from that. We have a warehouse brand new in San Antonio, 85,000 square feet, that's pretty much full because of two big customers out of Mexico who did that. But that will transition. That's short-lived. As things get worked out with the tariffs, exactly what the tariffs will be or not be, we anticipate more of a shift back to what was going on with distribution at the border or further up the I-35 corridor.
It changed things, definitely. It put a pause to a certain extent, and people are figuring things out. I was recently in Juarez visiting customers, large-sized customers, and I heard things like, "We're shutting down in Mexico and opening up in El Paso." Others talked about shutting down production lines in China and bringing it to Mexico. And then there was one very large company, huge presence, US and Mexico, and it's basically business as usual, and they're continuing with their expansion plans across the board.
Joe Greek: Well, what advice would you give to shippers at this point in time to avoid some of the common mistakes that you see when it comes to cross-border transportation between Mexico and the US?
Ed Habe: Definitely when doing cross-border business or thinking about it, look at ways to cut layers, unnecessary layers, because it's already somewhat complicated, and using more parties than necessary, adding additional steps than necessary, will just make it even more complicated. And there's definitely providers like an Averitt, like a Central de Fletes, that together can offer streamlined solutions to customers already in Mexico and looking to go to Mexico. So I would emphasize that really look at your supply chain, the transportation part, and how can it be as efficient as possible from point A to point B.
Joe Greek: And what's your perspective on that, Homero?
Homero Gonzalez: I totally agree with that. Try to cut as many layers as possible and also, especially in hiring Mexican companies, the legal positioning of each company. So if you can go and hire companies that have certifications like OEA, and work with companies like Averitt, which they have knowledge on the market, you would not have nasty surprises of hiring maybe a cheap provider, but that may have big problems in your operation.
Joe Greek: Great insights. Well, part of the reason why you're here, Homero, is because Central de Fletes was named the 2025 Averitt Integrated Mexico Truckload Carrier of the Year. So that kind of honor doesn't just come from nothing. So Ed, maybe give me your perspective on the relationship that we have with Central and why they receive this recognition?
Ed Habe: Definitely. Well, it's a relationship, I'm proud to say, going on beyond 15 years, closer to 20 years. And at one time when Averitt had their trailers going into Mexico, Central was actually pulling our trailers Mexico side. So that right there shows the confidence that we have with Central de Fletes, with our equipment, because you know how important our equipment is, whether US or Mexico. So that's one thing.
Plus, Homero was kind of alluding to it. They do things to the book, you know what I mean? Whereas what could be somewhat common in Mexico, especially in the trucking business, there's a lot of companies that maybe cut corners here where they shouldn't, especially today with all these new regulations coming down. And that's exactly what Averitt looks for. We see Averitt in Central de Fletes, so a great working relationship over the years. Customers echo that because they love the service that we're able to provide as a team.
Joe Greek: Well, part of a strong relationship I think also comes from the ability to be creative and come up with solutions that are out of the box. So what are some of the unique solutions that we are able to offer shippers as an alliance?
Ed Habe: Well, one thing I always point out, there isn't an Averitt de Mexico, but we're able to offer all five verticals, all five services, through strong partners like a Central de Fletes, who are in Mexico. And some of those services could get over the road and they can get pretty inventive, complicated. We do a lot of tequila loads, high value loads that involve armed escorts, convoys, and we're able to conduct that through Central de Fletes, experts in the tequila industry for many years.
Our rail capabilities are extended into Mexico, and again, partners like Central de Fletes have the ability to go to the major rail yards and even the ocean ports to pick up containers or drop off containers. And then finally, especially now with everything that's going on, expedited options within Mexico are being requested more and more. And we're happy to find out that Central has 60 doubles teams.
Homero Gonzalez: Correct. We have 60 team drivers, and we always look up to Averitt. And we also have the local dredge service for intermodal services. We also service for the main seaports in Mexico, and we try to give solutions to customers.
And as you said, Ed, the safety and security issues in Mexico are big. So we help our customers to do not a fix, but a tailored solution with you guys, which is out of the box. So with them being really a company that follow the rules by the book, but we think outside the box to give really good services, good solutions to customers.
Ed Habe: So basically the flexibility that customers know us for on the US side, we're able to extend that on the Mexican side through solid partners like Central de Fletes.
Joe Greek: That's what we call the power of one.
Ed Habe: That's right.
Joe Greek: Well, cross-border transportation is not as simple as shipping from Nashville to Dallas. So what are some of the challenges that a shipper looking to move freight across the border might encounter? And I think a lot of that could fall into customs brokerage and things of that nature.
Ed Habe: No, definitely. Especially right now, hands down, the biggest confusion at the border or people shipping Mexico, US, vice versa, is what do I have to pay now with the tariffs? Because it's ever-changing. Every day it's different. So it's not so much services. What kind of services ground transportation wise that you can do for me? It's what kind of info can you give me about how the tariffs are going to affect my product cost coming out of Mexico?
There it just highlights the importance of a strong relationship with a good customs broker. A lot of people I don't think take that into consideration. They look at how am I going to move the freight physically, what trucking company I'm going to work with. But the real biggest part that's very complicated, especially today, is the customs brokers part. So I would suggest to customers take the time and invest as much time finding the right fit for that. And for what it's worth, we have licensed customs brokers here at corporate, experts, and we're able to offer that service as a package for any services we do Mexico. So that's a strength I think we bring to the table as well, especially today.
Joe Greek: Really streamlining the whole process. Now what about from your side, Homero?
Homero Gonzalez: The last seminars in Congress have been about trucking and transportation. A lot of American shippers, and even shippers that had experience but bad experience in Mexico, they've been asking me, "What do I have to look for in a trucking company?" And I tell them, "Hey, certifications. You have to do the right vetting of trucking companies, just like Averitt does," in which they check the OEA, and they do a real audit on what you're doing as a trucking company because it's easy to get not the best company.
And especially, as you said, international commerce is not as easy as domestic. So you need to do a lot more checking the information, the right partner. So I think Averitt's doing a great job, and I think if you want to do international commerce to Mexico, vetting your providers is a necessary step.
Joe Greek: Certainly, because I would imagine when you're working with companies that are cutting corners, that can eventually come back to bite you.
Ed Habe: Very much so. And again, Averitt takes the time to look at who we're working with in Mexico, because the last thing we want to do is put at risk a long term relationship with a customer we've been working with in the US because of a bad experience in Mexico. Ever since we allowed our trailers in Mexico, that was a big part of the process, the vetting process. We would actually go meet the carriers, check out their facilities, different certificates, insurance, et cetera. And now that we have the integrated group, and that exposure has expanded even more to hundreds or thousands of potential partners, it's even more important in today's environment to continue that vetting process.
Joe Greek: Certainly.
Homero Gonzalez: And also in the case with Averitt, it's beautiful that my team, my people working in Mexico, they're talking to people here in Cookeville headquarters, and they just don't speak Spanish, they're bicultural. So the relationship with my people working in Mexico, with customers in Mexico, it's great. It's great to have people here at Averitt that are bicultural, that know how to talk to people, to give solutions. That is just awesome. That is perfect. And my people are happy to work with you guys. And I see customers also are happy to work with Averitt, so that's a spot-on solution. Congratulations, my friend.
Ed Habe: Thank you.
Joe Greek: Homero, congratulations for all the hard work that you and your team have done, and we really appreciate both of you being on the show today.
Ed Habe: Thank you.
Homero Gonzalez: Thank you very much. And it's been an honor to receive that award. For us, working with Averitt, it's really amazing. And yesterday I got this tour from Alice, and I was talking to Ed, Steve, that we have so much in common with Averitt that it's like talking back to my dad, to my granddad.
All those values, core values you have, it's amazing to work with such an honorable US company that share the same values in which we are by the book, we take care of our people, we take care of the community, and we see those long term relationships. We try to find those relationships with our friends, associates, customers, not just a spot service, but a long term relationship. And I think Averitt is the way to go.
Narrator 2: Delays at the border slowing your supply chain down? Our Mexico cross-border services offer a fast-track solution. Enjoy seamless logistics, timely deliveries, and hassle-free border crossings. When you choose Averitt for streamlined cross-border solutions, you unlock new opportunities with our expert services, including door-to-door LTL, truckload, and customs clearance. Averitt, that's the power of one.
Joe Greek: And for the final point on today's route, we're talking compliance. I'm joined by Kailoni Lawson, a licensed custom broker here at Averitt. She works behind the scenes to help shippers avoid costly delays, fines, and frustrations at ports and along the borders. From paperwork errors to misclassified goods, she's seen the most common and most preventable mistakes companies make when moving freight internationally. Kailoni helps us understand how better planning and broker relationships can unlock smoother customs clearance and keep shipments moving.
Kailoni, thank you very much for being on the show today. The first question I would like to ask you, could you give us a high level overview of what the customs brokerage process is when it comes to imports and exports?
Kailoni Lawson: So basically we get the documents. We want to make sure that they're compliant, that they have everything that they need. We want to help them basically save some time and money. Our job is going to be to keep them informed, compliant, get it from port to door with no problems. It's kind of what we are there for. So we try to take the headache out of it. That's why most of them don't do it for themselves.
Joe Greek: Well, that's a good point. So can shippers actually do it for themselves or do they have to use a licensed customs broker?
Kailoni Lawson: No, they don't have to. They can do it for themselves, but there are a lot of pain points with it, and we are a team that's already sitting there managing those things. So we're trying to stay compliant. There's a lot of changes that come out, so we're already reading those, trying to stay on top of everything, trying to lead them in the right direction. We don't want anyone to do anything that would cause their company any issues. So we're already doing those things, and that's usually why they come to customs brokers.
Joe Greek: Got you. Well, for a shipper that is going to import from let's say Asia into the US, what kind of advice do you generally give them before the freight gets on the water?
Kailoni Lawson: So generally, they would want to know what the tariffs are going to look like for them. They're changing right now. There's been a lot of changes actually come out with not only the freight, but steel, aluminum, things like that that could affect their freight. So we want them to stay on top of those things, just stay in communication with us, be transparent about what they're shipping. Any details they can give us, the better. And if they can make sure that their bonds and everything like that are up-to-date and cover enough for the tariffs, that's pretty much all they can really do. We try to lead them along the way as things change.
Joe Greek: Well, that's a great point because tariffs are changing a lot recently. So that made me wonder if a cargo is on the ocean and then tariff on that cargo changes while it's on the ocean, does that impact the tariff rate that the shipper is going to pay when it gets into the US?
Kailoni Lawson: That one's kind of a difficult one to answer because we've seen all situations happen. They have imposed tariffs all of a sudden and effective immediately, but they've also imposed them to where it might depend on the date that it is shipped out of the last port. So if it's coming out of let's say China, but it has a transship maybe along the way, then it's actually the date of the transship.
So it's kind of unpredictable. We just have to go with whatever our administration comes up with. So we just, as they come up with those dates, we try to just communicate it to the customer so they know what to expect along the way.
Joe Greek: Got you. And so when it comes to keeping track of the tariffs, how does your team go about doing that?
Kailoni Lawson:
Well, we get automatic updates from customs. They send those out to us. We read through, we make sure that we understand. We talk to each other. We make sure that everybody's on the same page. We'll talk to other brokers that we can ask questions to, if there's anything that's questionable.
There's also customs information for us to go to for any other questions that others are coming up with and asking questions about if something's not very clear. There's just so much information that comes out usually that we have to pretty much put our heads together and make sure that everybody's on the same page and everybody understands, but it's just part of a moving target.
Joe Greek: Well, I think if I were a shipper, I would rather rely on you to do that than myself.
Kailoni Lawson: That's what we're already sitting there doing.
Joe Greek: Well, given the tariffs, it increases the cost of goods moving. And so part of the international shipment process also involves cargo insurance. So are you having to advise customers to increase their coverage as a result of the tariffs?
Kailoni Lawson: Yeah, that's something we're definitely talking to them about. The landed costs will change as tariffs increase, and we don't want something to happen to their freight and them end up being underinsured. That would be a tragedy. So we try to make sure, we used to say 10%, at least 10% over, just to cover tariff costs. But the sooner they can get us the documents and we can calculate what their tariffs are going to look like, the better it is, to be able to communicate that with them. So we just suggest that they give us documents pretty much as soon as it leaves the port.
Joe Greek: Does the customs process work the same with international air and international ocean? Is it essentially the same process?
Kailoni Lawson: It's basically the same process. There's a couple things on our side behind the scenes that's different. But yeah, we still need the same documents. We still need a lead time. The lead time is much smaller with air, but we're still going to be able to calculate their tariffs and such. There's a couple of costs that might not, like the harbor maintenance fee isn't going to come into play if it's not on a vessel. So that's one thing that would change.
Joe Greek: Right now, what kind of advice would you give your customers to help them future-proof their supply chain right now?
Kailoni Lawson: I would think the biggest thing would be making sure their continuous bond is in order and at an amount that's going to cover their freight to allow for the additional tariffs, and just to continue communicating with us and being as transparent as possible, because we're not going to be able to properly help guide them the right direction if we don't have all the information. So the more that they can give us, the better.
Joe Greek: Open communication-
Kailoni Lawson: Absolutely.
Joe Greek: ... is always the first line of building a great partnership.
Kailoni Lawson: Yes.
Joe Greek: Kailoni, thank you very much. I appreciate you.
Kailoni Lawson: Thank you.
Joe Greek: Now let's take a moment to recap. We began with Richard Egan, who gave us a global view of today's international supply chain, from shifting trade policies to the long term impacts of sourcing decisions. He reminded us that flexibility and strategic planning are key when the global landscape is constantly evolving.
Then we shifted to cross-border conversations with Ed Habe and Homero Gonzalez. Together, they shared both the US and Mexico perspectives on what it takes to keep freight moving smoothly across the border. From building strong partnerships to avoiding common pitfalls, they gave us a real-world look at how nearshoring is changing the game and why having aligned teams on both sides matters more than ever.
Finally, Kailoni brought it all home with a practical look at customs compliance. Her behind-the-scenes experience as a licensed custom broker highlighted how small oversights can lead to major delays and how preparation, planning, and the right expertise can keep shipments moving across borders with confidence.
Thanks for listening to Beyond Point to Point. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's next, and we'll see you on the next episode.
