Mexico has a population of 128 million, of which 96.87 million are active Internet users, accounting for 68% of the total population, and the penetration rate of smartphones has reached 40.1%. As a relatively mature market in Latin America, it has naturally become one of the preferred markets for cross-border e-commerce sellers. However, Mexico, a treasure trove of gold nuggets, is by no means an easy fortress to conquer. You will know that Mexico is called "Devil's Customs Clearance" by sellers.
Why is Mexican customs so difficult? Let’s briefly analyze it with you.
1. Customs agencies are bloated and there are many inspection departments.
Mexico’s social environment is complicated due to the intersecting interests of multiple forces; at the same time, Mexico’s taxation is complicated and changing, and its customs is bloated. In 2023, more than 20,000 universally elected positions at the federal and local levels will be renewed across Mexico, and all senior officials of the Customs and Excise Department will be replaced.
Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon recently mentioned in an interview with "Process" that organized crime may have an impact on the 2024 elections.
2. Frequent strikes among workers
Port workers frequently go on strike due to contract issues with the port, treatment issues, and salary issues... There is also a situation where it is difficult to find a trailer at the Mexican port. It is understood that there is currently a shortage of at least 50,000 tow truck drivers in Mexico, and the list of tow trucks has been scheduled for five days.
3. Customs reform, high inspection rate
Starting in July this year, Mexico announced customs reforms and the establishment of a new National Customs Administration. Since the reform, many sellers around me have said that the withholding rate has been increasing. It is understood that Mexico’s customs inspection rate has increased to 80%. Currently, more than 1,000 containers are waiting for inspection at the Manzanillo port, and hundreds of bills of lading are also waiting for inspection at the Mexican airport.
What’s happening at Mexico’s airports?
After the official opening of Mexico's new airport NLU Airport (AIFA), all cargo airlines flying to Mexico City Airport (AICM) have been transferred to the new international NLU Airport. In addition, the Mexican president plans to hand over several airports to the military before the end of his term in 2024. Mexico City's two civilian airports will be run by the military, while the new airport will be built and operated by the army and the old airport will be fully controlled by the navy. The opening of a new airport in Mexico and the transfer of airport management rights may have an impact on the transportation and customs clearance of goods.
All this makes the back-end customs and distribution problems in cross-border transportation from China to Mexico become a problem in the entire chain. So how do logistics providers deal with customs and distribution problems at the end of logistics? How can sellers minimize losses when choosing logistics?
Impact and suggestions on cross-border e-commerce sellers
Problems such as port congestion, strikes, and untimely supply of trailers at the back end of Mexico affect the timeliness of customs clearance, causing delays in warehouse delivery and causing trouble in cargo turnover.
Diversify channels and reduce risks: Currently, there are multiple forms of cross-border logistics from China to Mexico, including air freight, sea freight, Qatar Airways, express delivery, etc. Sellers can use multiple delivery forms, or choose several logistics providers for distributed distribution. goods and reduce risks.
Be prepared to stock up in advance: The tense situation of customs inspections and changes at the Mexican airport indicate that cross-border sellers need to arrange stocking up in time to cope with possible delays and uncertainties. Only by making adequate stocking arrangements can the ideal inventory status be maintained.
Make psychological preparations: fully understand and study the overall market environment, customs affairs and other conditions in Mexico in advance, and be prepared for psychological expectations.
Impact and suggestions on cross-border logistics providers
The backlog of warehouse containers caused by customs affairs, customs clearance delays and distribution problems at the end of Mexico's logistics will generate a large amount of warehouse rental fees.
Understand the actual situation at the destination port
Understand Mexico’s back-end customs policies, port congestion, strikes, trailer supply, etc. in real time, provide timely feedback and make corresponding adjustment strategies.
Keep an eye on customs affairs and handle incoming containers through multiple channels
Logistics providers should keep abreast of customs developments. According to the container dynamics on the official website of the shipping company, container information can be queried and updated in real time to reserve as many trailer resources as possible; at the same time, multiple customs clearance channels are used to process incoming containers to share risks.
Overseas warehouse backend optimization
Optimize the backend and reduce the loss rate of goods by optimizing and upgrading the backend of overseas warehouses, further improving warehouse management and improving service experience.
Xingsu Latin America focuses on deeply exploring the Latin American market, which is why Xingsu Latin America is willing to invest heavily in building its own overseas warehouse in Mexico. Relying on the construction and improvement of overseas warehouses in Mexico, Xingsu Latin America can realize full-chain logistics services from first-way transportation - customs clearance at the destination port - warehousing services - local distribution.
In response to the customs policies, port blockades, strikes and other situations mentioned in the article, Star Speed Latin America has been paying attention to back-end developments. At the same time, a number of emergency preparation plans have been formulated to effectively avoid inspection risks and proceed steadily to ensure that the goods can successfully complete customs clearance and be delivered to the warehouse. Please be patient in cases involving port congestion, customs procedures, and delays. During this period, we optimized and upgraded the backend of our overseas warehouses, improved warehouse management and improved subsequent service experience. We would like to thank our customers for their long-term support and cooperation, and look forward to mutual growth and progress in future cooperation.
In addition, based on the current situation, there will still be instability and uncontrollable factors in the Mexican market forecast for Q4. Just like Mexico, a market full of potential and challenges for cross-border sellers and logistics providers, our advice is: maintain a stable and progressive mentality when doing business in the Mexican market, and don’t be blindly optimistic and take chances! Rapid change and uncertainty are its current characteristics. Obtaining first-hand reliable information is the key to stable control of the rhythm.
