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The era of globalization could be slowing as companies continue to battle supply chain challenges and nearshoring or reshoring continue to be trends discussed in all sorts of industries. This article shares some recent examples of manufacturers making these changes.  

• In a move toward nearshoring, California-based toymaker Mattel announced in March it was consolidating all North American manufacturing to its plant in Monterrey, Mexico. It is investing $47 million to expand the Monterrey plant, where it employs nearly 3,500 workers, becoming the company’s largest manufacturing site. 
• California-based semiconductor manufacturer Intel Corp.’s announcement in January that it was investing $20 billion to build two chip factories near Columbus, Ohio. Construction of the plants is expected to begin later this year, with production coming online at the end of 2025. 

Global management consulting firm, Kearney, recently published a report saying that “there are strong indications that attitudes and strategies are changing, thanks to the pandemic, trade wars and tariffs, and ongoing resulting supply chain disruptions.  

“American companies are getting more serious about adopting expanded versions of reshoring. Large portions of offshored manufacturing may soon be returning thanks to companies combining their nearshoring production to Mexico, Central America and even Canada, with manufacturing and assembly in the U.S.,” Kearney said.  

Manufacturers are facing an onslaught of difficult challenges today — but many are finding nearshoring has become the golden solution.

Barbi Reuter, CEO and principal at Cushman & Wakefield affiliate PICOR, serving as 2022 CREW Network global board president, says that bringing jobs back to North America (Mexico), increases predictability and reliability of the supply chain while retaining favorable labor access and costs compared to the US.

Though the market is beginning to soften from 2021, volumes are still competitive with 2018 – 2020. And, despite the fact that many retailers are sitting on inventory, the second half of the year holiday and promotion seasons are upon us.  

In an environment where nothing is certain, one thing is – there will always be some level of a Peak Season to meet the holiday and promotion demands of the second half of the year. 

Here’s your Peak Season Checklist for 2022, to help you expect the unexpected:

• Plan ahead

  Provide your carriers your forecast as soon as possible, so they can understand the surge you are expecting, and help you to develop the best plan for your freight needs. If your business experiences any sort of surge in freight volumes, your carriers need to prepare behind the scenes to meet your needs. 

• Leverage strategies like Schneider Capacity Stacking^SM

  By planning ahead with your carriers, those that provide multiple services, like Schneider, can help you to develop the best mode diversification plan to move your freight efficiently and cost-effectively, whether via Van Truckload, Intermodal, Port Services, Brokerage, Dedicated, Bulk or more. 

• Set up digital connections with carriers

  By connecting digitally via API or TMS with your carriers, you will get quick and easy quotes on your freight, saving you time and resources, when you need to move quickly. In addition, we offer Schneider FreightPower® for quick and easy quoting, booking and tracking of your Schneider freight.

The Mexican Tax Authority (SAT) has recently extended the grace period to meet the Carta Porte requirements from March 31, 2022 to September 30, 2022. 

The Carta Porte requirements will apply to all cross-border freight.  

The Carta Porte requirements require preparation and testing. We have been working with our shippers to proactively determine any additional data needs prior to implementation and are testing the new process. We have seen varying degrees of preparedness from our customers and if you have not started working on meeting these requirements with your Schneider representative, please reach out to them as soon as possible. 

Our Mexico team and customers recently celebrated Schneider Mexico's 30th Anniversary together at Parque SMP, where they cooked with Grill Masters, enjoyed dinner and live music. Thank you to our customers for your continued business -- we look forward to many more years of working together!

Schneider offers Mexico cross-border shippers expertise in a difficult market.