Flatbed and Oversized

Flatbed and Oversized

The Tooling Costs More Than the Truck.

Open-deck transport for aerospace tooling, fixtures, and major assemblies.

A damaged assembly jig does not get replaced in a week. It gets remanufactured, requalified, and re-inspected while your line runs short. We move aerospace freight across the border on open deck with the securement plan, the export documentation, and the handling controls agreed before the trailer arrives at your dock.

Aerospace tooling secured in a custom cradle on an open deck trailer
Built for Aerospace Freight

Your risk is not the freight cost. It is the line stoppage.

Aerospace manufacturing in Mexico sits in three clusters: Queretaro, Chihuahua, and the Baja and Sonora corridor. Most of what leaves those plants on an open deck is not a commodity. It is a machining center being relocated, an assembly fixture built to a single program, an autoclave, a wing jig, or a test stand. The freight invoice is a rounding error next to what a damaged unit costs in schedule.

That changes what matters. Transit time is rarely the constraint. What matters is that the cradle matches the part, that the securement plan does not put a strap across a machined surface, that nothing on the trailer can become foreign object debris, and that the export paperwork holds up if the shipment contains controlled items.

PC Global Logistics coordinates the route survey, the permits, the securement plan, and the customs filing in house, and we agree the handling requirements with your quality and compliance teams in writing before dispatch. If your program has packaging specifications, no-touch requirements, or a designated receiving window at the destination plant, those go into the shipment plan, not into a phone call at the border.

3 Mexican aerospace clusters served
CTPAT Certified operation since 2016
24/7 Tracking on every open deck load
1 Team for permits, freight, and customs
How It Works

The handling plan is signed off before the truck is booked.

On aerospace freight the expensive mistakes happen at loading and at customs, not on the highway. Both are planning problems, so that is where the work goes.

1
Part and Program Review

Dimensions, weight, center of gravity, lift points, and any packaging or handling specification your program requires. If the item is export controlled, that is established here, not at the bridge.

2
Securement and FOD Plan

Cradle or fixture confirmed against the part. Strap and chain placement mapped away from machined and sealed surfaces. Edge protection specified. Trailer inspected for loose hardware before loading.

3
Route Survey and Permits

Every segment checked against clearances, weight limits, and curfews on both sides of the border. Permits pulled per state and pilot cars arranged where width or height requires them.

4
Export and Customs Filing

Pedimento and U.S. entry prepared so the commodity description, values, and dimensions agree with the permit and with your export documentation. Filed before the truck reaches the crossing.

5
Delivery to the Receiving Window

Milestone updates through delivery so the destination plant has the crane, the rigging crew, and the inspection team scheduled for the right hour rather than the right day.

"Nobody remembers what the freight cost. Everybody remembers the six weeks the line was down."

PC Global Logistics. Laredo, Texas. Since 2016.
Open Deck Equipment

Deck height decides whether you need a permit.

The same machining center is legal on a step deck and over-height on a standard flatbed, purely because the deck sits twenty inches higher. On aerospace freight that difference is not just permit cost. An over-height move brings escorts, restricted travel windows, and a delivery date you cannot promise to a program manager.

Equipment Deck Height Max Legal Cargo Height Typical Aerospace Freight Weather Protection
Conestoga Preferred 60 in 8 ft 2 in Tooling, fixtures, composite panels, finished assemblies ✓ Enclosed, no dock required
Standard Flatbed 60 in 8 ft 6 in Raw stock, extrusions, weldments, crated components Tarped
Step Deck 40 in 10 ft CNC machining centers, assembly fixtures, test stands Tarped
Double Drop 22 in 11 ft 6 in Autoclaves, presses, tall jigs, environmental chambers Tarped
RGN 18 in 12 ft Ground support equipment, self-propelled units Tarped
Multi-Axle Heavy Haul Configurable Permit dependent Wing jigs, fuselage tooling, superload assemblies Case by case

Figures are standard industry values and vary by trailer and jurisdiction. Send your dimensions and packaging specification and we will confirm equipment and permit requirements.

Why PC Global Logistics

Aerospace freight through the Laredo corridor.

Any broker can source a step deck. Fewer will put the securement plan in writing before the truck is dispatched, and fewer still handle the customs filing themselves so the export paperwork and the permit describe the same thing.

Handling Requirements in Writing

If your program specifies lift points, no-touch surfaces, packaging, or FOD controls, those go into the shipment plan and to the driver before loading. We confirm securement against the part rather than against a generic diagram, and we verify it at the origin yard. On tooling and fixtures that is where claims are prevented, because once a strap is across the wrong surface the damage is already done.

Export Documentation That Matches the Permit

Aerospace shipments frequently involve export controlled items, temporary imports for repair and return, or IMMEX program flows. The commodity description, values, and dimensions have to agree across the pedimento, the U.S. entry, and the over-dimensional permit. We file customs in house, so those documents are prepared by one team rather than reconciled between three. See our Customs Coordination service.

CTPAT and Continuous Visibility

CTPAT certification means our security procedures have been validated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which matters on high-value freight that would otherwise draw secondary inspection. Every load carries live GPS with milestone updates, so your receiving plant can schedule the crane and the inspection crew to the hour. For enclosed and temperature-sensitive alternatives, see our Full Truckload service.

Common Questions

Aerospace Open Deck FAQ.

We move freight that is subject to export controls, and we do it by working to your compliance team's determination rather than making it for you. You provide the classification, the license or exemption that applies, and any handling or screening restrictions attached to the shipment. We build the transport and customs filing around those requirements and keep the commodity description consistent across the pedimento, the U.S. entry, and the over-dimensional permit. To be direct about the boundary: we are a logistics provider, not your export compliance advisor. The classification and licensing decisions stay with you and your legal team, and we execute against them. If a shipment carries restrictions that affect routing, storage, or who may physically handle the freight, tell us at quote stage so the plan accounts for it.
The securement plan is built against the specific part before the truck is booked. That means identifying designated lift and tie-down points, mapping strap and chain placement away from machined, sealed, and coated surfaces, and specifying edge protection and blocking where the geometry requires it. Where your program supplies a cradle or shipping fixture, we transport in the fixture and secure to it rather than to the part. We also inspect the trailer deck for loose hardware and debris before loading, since foreign object debris on the deck is a real risk on open equipment. Securement is verified at the origin yard against the plan, not left to be discovered at a roadside inspection. For high-value tooling we recommend Conestoga equipment, which gives you enclosed protection without needing a dock at either end.
Our primary lanes run through Laredo and Nuevo Laredo, which serves the Queretaro and Bajio cluster well and is the standard crossing for freight moving to Texas and the U.S. interior. From Queretaro to the border is typically one to two days depending on whether the load is permitted, and Texas destinations add another day after crossing. Chihuahua freight often routes through El Paso instead, and Baja and Sonora freight through Tijuana, Mexicali, or Nogales. We coordinate those crossings as well, though our operational depth is deepest on the Laredo corridor. On permitted loads, add lead time for the permits themselves rather than for the driving: routine over-dimensional permits take one to three business days in most U.S. states and two to five in Mexico, and a superload requiring a bridge analysis can take two weeks or more.
Yes, and this is one of the flows where documentation errors cost the most, because a temporary import that is not closed correctly creates a duty liability that surfaces months later during an audit. Aerospace repair and return cycles, IMMEX program movements, and tooling that crosses for a qualification run and comes back all require the outbound and inbound filings to reference each other correctly and to close within the permitted window. We handle customs in house, which means the same team that files the outbound movement tracks the return and closes it. Send us the program details and the expected return timeline at quote stage, and we will structure both legs together rather than treating the return as a separate shipment months later. Request a quote with your part details and we will respond the same business day.
Get Started

Send us the drawing.

Dimensions, weight, lift points, and any packaging or handling specification your program requires. We will confirm equipment, run the route, price permits and escorts, and come back with an all-in rate. Same business day on standard loads. New commercial accounts receive $1,000 off each of their first five loads.

Request a Quote Call (956) 815-8913