Mexican ports on the rise
Mexico is the world’s twelfth-largest export nation, and is even the global No. 10 in the import segment. The country recently set up the so-called Pacific Alliance with Chile, Colombia and Peru, and is simultaneously aiming to intensify relations with China.
Mexico’s northern neighbour USA remains the Latin American country’s largest trading partner. Now the Mexican government is seeking to further diversify its strong economy; firstly by strengthening its trade bloc with three regional partners, and secondly by working on fortifying its relations with the Far East.
Ports a good indicator
The secretaría de comunicaciones y transportes, Mexico’s transport ministry, explained recently that the nation’s container gateways are a good example for the returns being reaped from this approach. In 2016 throughput in these facilities grew by 3.2%, to come in at 5.68 million teu, compared with a figure of 5.5 million teu in 2015. Ports on the Pacific Ocean handled a total of approximately 3.93 million teu, a rise of 2.6% compared to the 3.83 million teu seen there in 2015.
Manzanillo in the lead
The port of Manzanillo managed 2.58 million teu in the period under review, a 1.6% improvement vis-à-vis the 2.54 million teu handled in the previous year. This statistic kept the hub in first place nationally.
Lázaro Cárdenas was the second-ranked gateway, with an increase of 5.4% to 1.11 million teu (1.05 million teu in 2015). Gateways in the Gulf of Mexico grew by 4.5%, moving from 1.66 million teu in 2015 to 1.74 million teu in the period under review.
