Werner doubles down on Mexico with asset-based intermodal expansion

The cross-border freight market between the United States and Mexico is entering a new chapter, and Werner is positioning itself at the center of it.

The Omaha-based carrier is scaling an asset-based intermodal service into Mexico, deploying Werner-owned containers and leveraging nearly three decades of cross-border operational expertise to meet what its leadership sees as a structural shift in North American supply chains.

In a recent interview, FreightWaves’ Thomas Wasson sat down with Werner’s Nate Browne, SVP of Intermodal, and Lance Dixon, SVP of Mexico, Canada and Temperature Controlled Operations.

They outlined the carrier’s strategy for expanding intermodal service into Mexico, the role nearshoring is playing in reshaping cross-border demand, and why the timing is right for shippers to rethink how freight moves between the two countries. Werner’s Cross-Border Expertise in Mexico Werner’s cross-border operations aren’t new.

The company launched its Mexico service in 1999, and Dixon, who has been with Werner for 34 years, was one of the people who built it from the ground up. “We’re no longer testing things or trying things,” Dixon said. “We know what we’re doing. The team is very tenured.”

That institutional knowledge spans 12 border crossing ports, more than 100 associates in Mexico, and a customer base that reads like a who’s who of global manufacturing and consumer brands. Werner’s Mexico operations support dry van, temperature-controlled, logistics and intermodal services.

The intermodal piece, Dixon explained, is a natural extension that rounds out Werner’s portfolio of services for customers in Mexico. A Closer Look at Cross-Border Intermodal The mechanics of cross-border intermodal aren’t dramatically different from domestic operations, but border crossings add layers of complexity that require deep expertise.

Browne explained that Werner’s intermodal service can function like a traditional over-the-road crossing, e. g, running a train from Chicago to Laredo and then clearing customs at the border. But the real advantage, he said, comes from a different approach.

“Where we’ve seen advantages for intermodal versus over the road is the Mexico Direct solution,” Browne said. “That means clearing customs at origin, whether you’re going north or south, and bypassing some of the border congestion that can delay processes at the border.”

Werner’s C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) protocols underpin the entire operation. With teams on both sides of the border working in close coordination, the carrier has built a system designed to catch problems before they become disruptions.

“As long as those [procedures] get followed, rarely do we ever see an issue that we can’t solve before it becomes a problem,” Dixon said. Protecting Your Cargo Security is a persistent concern in cross-border freight, and Werner is investing in both technology and people to address it.

Browne described a multilayered approach that goes beyond basic GPS tracking on assets. “We use cargo cameras as well,” Browne said. “It’s an extra layer of theft deterrent and gives us a good line of sight into when equipment is being loaded or unloaded.” Technology alone isn’t the differentiator, according to Browne.

Having Werner associates physically present at border crossings and inside Mexico grants the kind of institutional knowledge and responsiveness that remote operations can’t replicate. Scaling Capacity to Meet Demand The scale of Werner’s intermodal investment is tangible.

Dixon said the company currently operates around 400 Werner-owned containers, with plans to double that fleet to approximately 800 by the end of the year. “This becomes just another way for our customers to rely on Werner to serve them in a slightly different way,” Dixon said.

Shippers Shift to Mode-Agnostic Thinking There’s a meaningful shift in how Mexican shippers view intermodal. A decade ago, according to Dixon, the conversations simply weren’t happening, but in the last few years, that’s completely changed. Large multinational shippers are becoming increasingly mode-agnostic.

They want capacity and on-time delivery, and they’re less concerned about whether the freight moves on a truck or a train. “[Shippers] don’t really care how their product moves, just that it moves safely and it meets on-time delivery at the other end,” Dixon said. “We can do that in just about every single case.”

Breaking Down the Barriers to Entry One of the barriers to intermodal adoption has always been the perceived complexity of switching from over-the-road. “Often, the customers that we look at are shipping that same product over the road,” Browne said. “We bring a consultative approach to make sure our customers are clearing with their customs brokers.

If you’re going to clear at origin, oftentimes you can deal with the same broker,” he said. The goal is to make the transition seamless rather than requiring shippers to overhaul their customs processes before they