Ruan launches customs brokerage

Customers will be able to obtain customs clearance, compliance, transportation, and distribution and fulfillment solutions through the unit. (Artistic Operations/Getty Images)

Ruan launched a customs brokerage earlier in July, the Des Moines, Iowa-based motor carrier and logistics company said.

The brokerage will expand the truckload-focused carrier’s international trade and logistics capabilities across the United States and Mexico, the firm added.

Customers will be able to obtain customs clearance, compliance, transportation, and distribution and fulfillment solutions through the unit.

The customs brokerage is licensed in the U.S. and Mexico, allowing Ruan to support clearance across major U.S.-Mexico trade corridors, including land ports in Texas, as well as the Manzanillo and Altamira ocean ports, and air cargo hubs in Mexico City and Monterrey. In the U.S., Ruan provides nationwide land, air and ocean brokerage services.

Ruan ranks No. 30 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 10 on the truckload/dedicated carrier freight segment list. It also ranks No. 42 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies.

“Expanding into customs brokerage is a natural evolution of our capabilities and commitment to our customers,” Chief Commercial Officer Marty Wadle said. “With this addition, we are helping customers navigate cross-border requirements more efficiently while reducing delays and improving overall supply chain performance.”

Operations are backed by industry certifications and security processes, including the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism in the U.S. and the similar OEA certification in Mexico.

Mexico is the biggest trade partner of the U.S. at 16.8% of total trade in 2025, according to Census Bureau data, even after the Trump administration’s tariff strategy ramped up global trade uncertainty.

Freight transportation between the U.S. and Mexico was valued at $86 billion in April, up 23.4% compared with April 2025, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data released June 25.

Mexican law requires all the freight on a truck be cleared by the same customs broker, blocking consolidation of less-than-truckload shipments from different suppliers or manufacturers headed to the same end point.

Meanwhile, as part of the customs brokerage launch, Ruan is rebranding its brokerage support services service line as freight brokerage in order to differentiate it from the customs brokerage unit.

Ruan also rebranded its Value-Added Warehousing operations as Contract Distribution and Fulfillment, the company said July 2.

Ruan operates distribution and fulfillment centers in Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.