May marked a turning point for port productivity in Mexico. After four consecutive months of increases in the dwell times of trucking units transporting import containers, the Average Trucking Time Indicator in Ports (ITPAP) , compiled by T21 Business Intelligence , registered its first improvement of 2016, driven by a reduction in customs processing times and an operational recovery particularly visible in Lázaro Cárdenas.
The average port turnaround time for a truck was 11 hours, 45 minutes, and 2 seconds in May , a decrease of 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 44 seconds compared to the 13 hours, 5 minutes, and 46 seconds recorded in April. This broke an upward trend that had persisted since the beginning of the year and had brought turnaround times to their highest level in April.
The improvement becomes even more significant when observing the cumulative behavior of the index during 2016. In January, the average time spent online was 8 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds; by February, it had climbed to 11 hours, 9 minutes, and 20 seconds; in March, it reached 12 hours, 56 minutes, and 32 seconds; and in April, it reached 13 hours, 5 minutes, and 46 seconds. In other words, during the first four months of the year, the average time spent online increased steadily , accumulating an increase of more than four hours compared to the beginning of the year.
For May, ITPAP considered the measurement of 1,629 movements in the four ports it evaluates: Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Altamira and Veracruz, the ones with the highest import movement of containers in the country.
The improvement observed in May is primarily due to the performance of customs operations. The average customs processing time at the four ports decreased from 6 hours, 25 minutes, and 42 seconds in April to 5 hours, 45 minutes, and 1 second in May—a reduction of more than 40 minutes. This component had been the main cause of the decline observed in previous months, increasing from 4 hours, 20 minutes, and 12 seconds in January to more than six hours during March and April.
Waiting times also contributed to the recovery. The average decreased from 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 35 seconds to 3 hours, 24 minutes, and 14 seconds between April and May, while maneuvers improved from 2 hours, 51 minutes, and 29 seconds to 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 47 seconds. The combination of these three factors allowed for a partial reversal of the operational pressure accumulated during the first four months of the year.
This trend is significant because the Michoacán port had been the main driver of the decline recorded during the first months of the year. In fact, between January and April, average dwell times increased from 10 hours, 48 minutes, and 43 seconds to almost 17 hours, making it the port with the most strained performance among the four ports considered by ITPAP.
Manzanillo also registered an improvement , albeit a more moderate one. Its average port time decreased from 10 hours, 32 minutes, and 48 seconds in April to 10 hours, 21 minutes, and 33 seconds in May. Veracruz showed a marginal reduction, while Altamira was the only port that experienced an increase in its average port times during the analyzed period.
The recovery observed by ITPAP occurred in a context where container imports showed varying trends among ports. According to figures from the Ports and Merchant Marine Unit (UPMM) , between January and May 2026, Mexican ports handled 1.50 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of imports , a decrease of 1.9% compared to the same period in 2025.
In the Pacific region, where Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas are located , import container traffic remained virtually stable, with a decrease of just 0.9 percent. However, the results were contrasting at the individual port levels: Manzanillo saw a 3.8% increase, handling 717,929 TEUs, while Lázaro Cárdenas registered a 9.9% drop, with 275,256 TEUs. In the Gulf of Mexico, Altamira reported a 1.2% decrease and Veracruz a 2.9% decrease.
While May does not return the indicator to the levels observed at the beginning of the year, it does represent the first respite for logistics chains linked to container imports.
The reduction of more than one hour in average dwell times suggests an improvement in the operational fluidity of the country’s main ports, although challenges still remain to recover the efficiency they showed at the beginning of 2026.
The question now is whether this trend can be sustained during the second half of the year, when the approach of the peak season typically increases import volumes , boosts demand for land transport, and puts the operational capacity of ports, terminals, and customs to the test. The results of the coming months will determine whether the improvement observed in May was a temporary adjustment or the beginning of a more consistent recovery in trucking service times.
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