Viva México!
Rising throughput in Mexican ports to continue?
2021 will go down as a golden year in the annals of Mexican ports. ICTSI has seized the opportunity to push ahead with an expansion project in Manzanillo.
According to statistics released by the Mexican maritime ministry (Secretaría de Marina, Semar), the country’s ports handled a historic throughput high in 2021, with total volumes coming to 7.85 million teu. Imports increased by 23.4% year-on-year to about 3.98 million teu, whilst exports rose by 19.8% to 3.87 million teu.
The port of Manzanillo on the Pacific Ocean took the cake, handling approximately 3.37 million teu, for a 15.9% year-on-year increase. It was followed by the Lazaro Cardenas hub, also on the Pacific, with 1.69 million teu and Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico, with 1.17 million teu.
ICTSI investing in its Mexican box terminal in Manzanillo
ICTSI’s Contecon Manzanillo (CMSA), the largest terminal in the gateway, also contributed to the success of Mexico’s largest port, with a market share of about 33%. The Filipino terminal operator has now decided to invest around USD 230 million in the box terminal.
“The investment will increase the terminal’s capacity from about 1.4 to 1.7 million teu a year,” CMSA CEO José Antonio Contreras said. ICTSI will expand berths and yards, and buy quay and gantry cranes as well as reachstackers and other equipment. In 2021 the government passed a project to upgrade and expand access to the terminal, due to start in H2 / 2022.