RXO Opens New Cross-Border Facility in Texas
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RXO celebrated the grand opening of its newest cross-border facility in Laredo, Texas, the company announced March 29.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based asset-light transportation provider opened the warehousing and distribution services facility to provide customers with end-to-end cross-border service that will help streamline their supply chains, it said.
The facility, located a half mile from the Mexico border, is 127,000 square feet and has 43 dock doors and parking for approximately 160 trailers.
“We’re proud to officially unveil our new cross-border warehousing and services center in Laredo,” RXO CEO Drew Wilkerson said. “With the sharp uptick in demand for nearshoring, this state-of-the art facility — situated in a prime location near the border — delivers additional value to RXO customers across many industries.”
We just celebrated the grand opening of our new cross-border facility in Laredo, TX! With 127,000 sq ft of space near the US-Mexico border to support our customer's nearshoring needs, we offer streamlined supply chains with top-tier security. Check it out: https://t.co/ByE1jsFztc — RXO (@rxoinc) March 29, 2023
The facility is near the World Trade International Bridge. It has security and customs clearance capabilities to support cross-border operations. It also has direct highway access to Interstate 35.
“We listened to our customers and their needs and they were asking for additional cross-border solutions,” said Demetri Venetis, division president of freight forwarding at RXO. “It’s already a core competency of ours with managed transportation and brokerage on the transportation side. But this allows us to handle cross-dock, warehousing and distribution and customs clearance as well. So, it’s just building these end-to-end comprehensive solutions for our customer.”
RXO opened the facility in response to the growing nearshoring trend. The practice involves companies partnering with suppliers and manufacturers within a supply chain that is located in nearby countries. It drew renewed consideration following global supply chain disruptions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s been in the news a lot, the nearshoring trend,” Venetis said. “We don’t see that going away. And so Laredo, of course, being the country’s largest inland port of entry, seemed like an ideal location and so here we are.”
The facility is 127,000 square feet and has 43 dock doors and parking for approximately 160 trailers. (RXO via YouTube)
RXO has made technological development a cornerstone of its service offerings. The company started as a tech-enabled brokered transportation platform operated by XPO before launching as a stand-alone company Nov. 1.
The new facility features a host of technologies that support integrated transportation, warehousing and yard management systems as well as cross-dock, security and customs clearance capabilities. All services offered at the site are integrated with the RXO Connect platform.
“We have a best-in-class warehouse management system, also a best-in-class yard management system,” Venetis said. “And really the key is tying them all in and integrating with our TMS, our transportation management systems, that we deploy across each line of business, across RXO. We’re looking at some video scraping technology too that’ll allow us to pick trailer numbers off from our cameras and then populate systems to improve productivity and efficiency.”
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The site is certified Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. The certification will allow customers to utilize dedicated lines to cross the border, as well as allow reduced inspections and reduced fees to facilitate faster and more secure trade lanes between Mexico and the United States.
“We’ve made a $30-plus million investment over the next 10 years,” Venetis said. “We currently have 30-plus employees at the facility and we anticipate that growing.”
XPO ranks No. 3 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 6 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies.
