The Ministry of Transport and Communications (SCT) of Mexico provided the statistics of the Pacific coast ports. These ports generated a total of 4,324,051 TEU which is up by 9.8 from 2016. The leading port was Manzanillo which handled 2,830,370 TEU. This was a 9.8% increase. Lazaro Cárdenas generated 1,149,079 TEU which was an increase of 3% placing in it second. The third ranked port was Ensenada with 230, 185 TEU with a 20% growth. The ports located in Gulf of Mexico amounted to 2,051,87 TEU. This was a 17.6% increase.

Why has there been an increase of TEU in the ports of Mexico? Because Mexico’s foreign trade over the past 20 years continues to offer significant opportunities. Foreign trade is a large percentage of Mexico’s economy than any other large country in the world.

President Pena Nieto in 2013 invested USD $586 billion in the infrastructure of roads, airports, maritime ports and railways. The port system has 24 integrated port authorities covering more than 40 cargo and passenger ports on the country’s Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf Coasts. In 2013, they invested $4 billion USD in the ports which included: new containers, passengers, and specialty terminal construction, ore, grain processing facilities, pier expansion, port modernization, new logistics clusters, and Trans-Isthmus Logistics Corridor.

With Mexico’s investment in the ports, the country’s GDP has increased trade with America. With the NAFTA agreement, Canada and Mexico are the two largest destinations for US exports. A major boost to the Mexican farm exports, auto manufacturing jobs, and productivity and consumer prices. The gross domestic product for Mexico in 2017 was $2.4 trillion. And the country is quickly becoming an emerging market.  Ramon Insurance insures over $10M in freight Mexico bound.

Written by Iris Arden (Ramon Inc.)

Sources: https://www.export.gov/article?id=Mexico-Transportation-Infrastructure-Equipment-and-Services

https://www.worldcargonews.com/news/box-record-for-mexico-49757

https://www.thebalance.com/mexico-s-economy-facts-opportunites-challenges-3306351