Contecon Manzanillo has taken the lead in handling containers at Mexico’s main port by 2025 .
Official statistics indicate that, during January of this year, the operator of the Specialized Container Terminal (TEC) II handled 136,872 20-foot containers (TEU) , a figure that places it above SSA Marine México for the first time – if compared only with the activity of TEC I – who had historically led this statistic.
The January figure reached by Contecon Manzanillo, belonging to the Philippine International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) , is 10.9% higher than the January 2024 record , according to the monthly report of the National Port System Administration (Asipona) Manzanillo .
TEC II, which began operations in August 2013, saw a significant boost in import activity, with 69,228 TEUs during January 2025, which meant an annual increase of 41.3 percent.
In exports, the total amount was 53,926 TEUs or 5.2% more, according to the comparison periods.
In a recent interview with T21, José Antonio Contreras, general manager of Contecon Manzanillo, indicated that they expect a “significant increase” in container handling this year .
TEC II is currently in its third phase of expansion , which involves the expansion of its container yards, its dock, its railway lines and the incorporation of new equipment (mainly cranes) in response to the strong demand for maritime services for loading and unloading containerized goods.
For its part, SSA Marine México, operator of TEC I at the port of Manzanillo, handled 129,510 TEUs during January 2025 , which was reflected in a 2.5% drop compared to the January 2024 record.
OCUPA , a multi-use terminal acquired in 2022 by SSA Marine México, handled 26,707 TEU (-5.5%); while TIMSA , from the multinational Hutchison Ports , added 35,769 TEU (+45%).
In total, the port of Manzanillo handled 328,859 TEUs during the first month of this year, or 6.3% more than the same month a year earlier.
This last figure is divided into 147,342 TEU of import (13.7% more) and 135,285 TEU of export (9.8% more).
Measured by volume, the port handled 1,828,626 tons of containerized cargo (import and export) in January 2025, just 2.5% less than the same month last year.
The Port of Manzanillo is the country’s main port for handling containerized goods . Last year alone, it handled 39.8% of the national total, with just over 23.5 million tons; but if the calculation is made by number of containers, it handled 41.8% of the national total, with three million 924 thousand 515 TEU.
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