Logistics provider PSA BDP on Tuesday said it would take a majority stake in a Mexico-based forwarder, strengthening its US cross-border capabilities leveraged with parent PSA International’s global marine terminal network.

Terms of the sale of the majority stake in Mexico City-based forwarder ED International were not disclosed. Through its 2022 acquisition of BDP International, PSA has positioned the non-vessel-operating common carrier to provide logistics solutions connecting PSA International’s network of 73 marine terminals.

“With many shippers continuing the trend of nearshoring from Asia to Mexico, there is a growing need for expanded distribution networks that can provide comprehensive solutions,” PSA BDP said in a statement.

Despite US tariffs on Mexican imports of up to 25%, including on finished vehicles, cross-border trade is expected to expand in the long term.

Most of that trade is conducted by truck, and in January, the number of northbound trucks headed from Mexico to the US increased 2.8% year over year, with gains in El Paso, Otay Mesa, Nogales, Hildalgo and Eagle Pass, according to the latest US Bureau of Transportation Statistics border-crossing data.

Truck traffic into Laredo, Texas, the largest US border crossing, dropped 2% year over year in January, possibly reflecting increased congestion ahead of tariffs that were scheduled to take effect in February. Those tariffs eventually took effect in March but were limited to goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. That means many goods are still moving from Mexico to the US duty-free.

Stronger US tariff pressure on China encourages continued manufacturing investment in Mexico to serve North and South America. Direct foreign investment rose 1.1% to US$36.9 billion in 2024, according to preliminary data released earlier this year by Mexico’s Secretaría de Economía (SE). About half of that direct foreign investment came from US companies.

In recent years, marine terminals operators, including DP World, have sought to take greater control of landside logistics outside the gates of their facilities. That has manifested through acquisitions of forwarders and even ocean feeder services as in the case of DP World.