Mexican Port Traffic Strong, Containers and Autos Set Records in 2012

Mexico’s ports performed well in 2012, handling just more than 282 million metric tons of cargo, roughly the same as 2011, according to preliminary data reported by the national port office, Dirección General de Puertos, in Mexico City. Foreign trade grew by 1.4 percent while domestic trade fell by 4.8 percent, giving Mexico its second highest cargo tonnage total since 2006. The Pacific Coast port range accounted for 122.5 million tons (+2.0 percent) and the Mexican Gulf for 150.6 million tons (-1.9 percent) of the cargo handled in 2012.

Tonnage increases from 2011 were posted for all cargo types except petroleum and breakbulk cargo. Containerized shipments jumped 13.2 percent to a record 39.5 million tons. Solid gains were also posted by the agribulks and non-petroleum liquids. Containerized goods are Mexico’s fastest growing cargo market, last year commanding a 14.0 share of total tonnage, up from 9.7 percent in 2008 and just 4.7 percent in 2002.   

Petroleum, though still the nation’s leading cargo by weight, continued its long-time decline, falling 6.1 percent to a four-year low of 128.1 million tons. That equates to 45.4 percent of Mexico’s national cargo mix, down from 51.6 percent in 2008 and 62.3 percent in 2003.  

Mexico’s so-called "commercial ports” accounted for 55 percent of cargo handled nationwide in 2012, with the balance going to ports specializing in bulk cargos such as petroleum and minerals. However, the commercial ports handled all of the containers and automobiles and much of the breakbulk, dry bulk and non-petroleum liquid bulk cargo that moved through the Mexican port system last year.

The country’s box trade enjoyed its third consecutive record year, with a total of 4.8 million TEUs, up 13.9 percent from 2011 and nearly triple the number handled a decade earlier. Manzanillo remained the nation’s leading container handler with 1.93 million TEUs, while Lázaro Cárdenas became its second port to clear the million-TEU hurdle with a year-end total of 1.24 million. Ranked third and fourth nationally were Veracruz (801,275 TEUs) and Altamira (578,685 TEUs). The Pacific ports collectively accounted for 69.9 percent of Mexican container throughput in 2012, up from 51.5 percent in 2005 and 35.9 percent in 2000.  

Top ranked in total cargo tonnage were the petroleum-handling ports and terminals operated by the national petroleum company, PEMEX, in Cayo Arcas (48.8 million tons) and Coatzacoalcos (34.2 million tons).  

Veracruz continued its dominance of Mexico’s auto trade, importing and exporting a record 875,794 vehicles or 71.2 percent of the 2012 national total. Lázaro Cárdenas ranked first on the Pacific coast and second nationally, with 213,464 vehicle exports and imports (up from 167,219 in 2011 and 100,536 in 2010).

Mexico’s cruise ports had another tough year in 2012, with declines of 15.7 percent in passenger throughput to 4.8 million and 22.4 percent in vessel arrivals to 1,772. Cruise ships visiting Mexico in 2012 carried an average of 2,694 passengers per port call, up from 2,479 in 2011 and 2,001 in 2005. The leading ports in 2012 based on passenger volume were Cozumel (2.75 million), Ensenada (429,403), Majahual (426,009) and Cabo San Lucas (392,283).

See the attachment for a detailed statistical profile of Mexican port traffic for the years 2007 to 2012.

American Association of Port Authorities
Asociación Americana de Autoridades Portuarias
1201 Maryland Ave SW, Suite 860, Washington, D.C. 20024
E: info@aapa-ports.org
W: www.aapa-ports.org