Prior to possible customs rates, there is no urgency of getting goods from Canada and Mexico

Businesses in the US do not appear to make a unified effort to hurry into shipments from Mexico and Canada ahead of the high tariffs that President Trump has threatened to impose on Saturday.

Mr. Trump said after joining that the United States would spend 25 percent on imports on imports from Canada and Mexico, claiming they let the “mass number of people come in and fentanyl to enter.”

The tariffs raised the cost of imports significantly, especially as tariffs are not used for most goods under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, the trade agreement that Mr. Trump signed in 2020. Canada and Mexico, together account for 30 percent of us trade. Many industries could be saddled with extra costs, including the huge car operations that exceed the US borders with Mexico and Canada.

Mr. Trump could withdraw his threat or reduce the tariff if he decides that Canada and Mexico are doing more to tackle his complaints, Howard Lutnick, the president’s nominees to lead Commerce Department, Suggested Wednesday.

With the duty deadline near, some data shows higher shipping volumes on the way and rail, but the climbs are not very large, and transport experts say that rail and trucking companies have the capacity to handle. The situation, they said, is very different from 2021 and 2022, when a flood of import overwhelmed supply chains causes shipping costs to skyrocket and help burn a rapid acceleration of inflation.

“The industry has probably never been to a better place to deal with significant changes in the market,” said Scott Shannon, Vice President of North America cross -border in Ch Robinson, a freight forwarder.

Larry Gross, President of Gross Transportation Consulting, said the transport of shipping containers by rail rose 10 percent in the first four weeks of the year throughout North America compared to the same period in 2024. But while the efforts to bring goods before tariffs a lot Probably contributed to the climb, he said, other factors also played a role. A great one was a desire to get shipments before a possible strike in East and Gulf Coast ports that could have started in mid-January but was averted.

“Each system has its limitations,” Mr. Gross, “But the network is far better located today than it was at the beginning of the post-pandemic wave.” He said that regulatory data showing how many trains did not run because they lack crews or locomotives did not show any warning signs.

And Jason Miller, professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University, noted that storage of stock has significant costs – financing and payment for storage – that can discourage companies from speeding up their imports.

The United States also imports huge amounts of goods from China. Mr. Trump said he would impose 10 percent tariffs on Chinese items on Saturday.

Import from China arrives primarily through the ports. And while the amount of containers coming through US ports has been strong in recent months, the ports – and trucks and railways that move cargo inland – have not had trouble dealing with recent quantities.

Some companies are concerned that the use of tariffs on goods currently missing them may slow down customs treatment at the Mexican and Canadian borders and cause delays. But Adam Lewis, a co -founder and president of Clearit, an online customs broker, said he did not expect to use new tariffs to be difficult for the brokers.

While updating the brokers’ software can take a short while, he said, any new tasks relating to tariffs could be performed manually without much problems. “It’s basically business as usual,” Mr. Lewis.

But there may be delays if US customs and border protection increase its control to ensure that companies comply. The agency did not comment.