US-Mexico Trade Hits $87B, United Cargo Revenue Surges 23%, & Saronic's $3B Texas Shipyard | The Morning Minute

In this episode, we kick things off by examining a massive milestone for North American cross-border commerce as Mexico remained the United States' largest overall trading partner in May, recording $87.23 billion in two-way trade. Trade between the U.S. and Mexico surged 17.06% year-over-year, fueled by $33.05 billion in U.S. exports and $54.18 billion in imports, with the port of entry in Laredo, Texas, remaining the nation's busiest international trade gateway. Next, we shift over to the air cargo sector where United Airlines is riding a massive wave of disruption-driven pricing power straight to the bank. The carrier's cargo revenue surged 22.6% to $527 million in the second quarter as it benefited from a sharp rise in air cargo rates related to disruptions from the Iran war and the strongest volumes since the Covid-fueled boom in 2020. Higher yields were the main contributor, with global shipping space on aircraft falling more than 12% in the Middle East due to ongoing war risks. Finally, we explore a major bet on American shipbuilding coming to the Texas coast as autonomous maritime technology company Saronic selected the Port of Brownsville for Port Alpha, a planned $3 billion-plus next-generation shipyard that will dramatically expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity while creating up to 10,000 jobs in South Texas. The software-defined facility will focus on building autonomous maritime vessels for commercial and defense applications, initially occupying 835 acres with room to expand to nearly 4,400 acres. Follow the FreightWaves Today Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices