Hub Group: Easo Deal Forms Largest US-Mexico Intermodal Firm
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Hub Group will team up with Mexico City-based Easo in a cross-border and intermodal joint venture, the companies said Oct. 8.
Oak Brook, Ill.-based Hub Group said the combined entity would become the largest cross-border and intra-Mexico intermodal company as the partners target opportunities offered by increased freight flows between the U.S. and Mexico and nearshoring.
Hub Group ranks No. 14 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America, No. 2 among intermodal/drayage players and No. 18 on the TT Top 100 logistics list.
Founded in 1972, Easo specializes in intermodal, dedicated trucking, truckload and freight brokerage services.
“The joint venture aligns with our long-term investment strategy and further enables our vision to deliver the premier supply chain solution,” Hub Group CEO Phil Yeager said.
Yeager
Hub Group’s intermodal operations comprise about 50,000 containers, including 900 refrigerated containers, and about 900 tractors.
Mexico ranked as the top U.S. trading partner for the first time in 2023, surpassing China.
The latest U.S. Census Bureau data, released Oct. 8, showed imports from Mexico increased 4.9% year over year to $43.75 billion from $41.70 billion in August. Through the first eight months of 2024, the value of imports rose 5.8% to $334.73 billion from $316.35 billion.
Many of Hub Group’s peers are also seeking a larger slice of the cross-border freight pie.
UPS, the No. 1-ranked for-hire carrier in North America and No. 4 on the TT Top 100 logistics companies list, in July acquired Mexican express delivery company Estafeta, citing the increase in nearshoring.
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A few days before that, XPO expanded its cross-border services. XPO ranks No. 5 on the for-hire TT 100.
In April, Ryder System announced plans to open an El Paso, Texas, logistics facility near the largest commercial port in the area, the Ysleta Port of Entry. Ryder, which ranks No. 6 on the for-hire TT 100 and No. 8 on the logistics TT 100, said the facility would support growth in nearshoring.
“U.S. trade with Mexico is at nearly $800 billion annually, and the Ysleta port processes about 9-10% of that,” said Frank Bateman, vice president of supply chain operations for Ryder. “It’s second only to the Port of Laredo, Texas, which processes nearly 40% of goods crossing the border, and where we recently opened another new logistics center.”
A new interstate highway, Interstate 27, will be built to help deal with the increase in traffic through Laredo. The highway is set to run all the way to the Canadian border.
