Entering a port in Mexico and retrieving a container last April required an average of five hours and 21 minutes for transportation. In economic terms, this translates into a direct cost of between six and eight thousand pesos before the transportation service begins its route to the final destination.
The result comes from a sample conducted by T21 on a universe of 6,694 transportation units over the working days of the past month at the four main ports of the country (Altamira, Lázaro Cárdenas, Manzanillo, and Veracruz), with the collaboration of transportation companies and GPS companies that provided access to their information.
Here’s the translation into English:
**Divided into three sections comprising the circuit, the one with the longest waiting time is related to the customs crossing, which consumed 54.82%, or two hours and 56 minutes, to complete the customs inspection. Yes, that requirement, which, with an average duration of 3.5 to four minutes per shipment in front of the tax authority, demands an investment of two hours and 52 minutes waiting in line inside the port, excluding inspection time.**
Next, in descending order, is the time spent waiting to enter the port, which represented 23%, or measured by a stopwatch, one hour and 14 minutes; and finally, the time spent maneuvering inside the terminal, which consumed the remaining 21.8% with one hour and 10 minutes.
In the measurement by port, Altamira is the maritime terminal that recorded the shortest time with a total of four hours and 47 minutes for the entire circuit, although it is also worth noting that the sample size at the Tamaulipas port was smaller, with just 196 transportation units during the study period.
Veracruz followed with a time of four hours and 55 minutes, based on a sample of 1,087 transportation units.
Next, in descending order, was Manzanillo with an average time of five hours, based on a sample of 2,151 units; and in fourth place was Lázaro Cárdenas with an average circuit time of five hours and 45 minutes, based on a measurement universe of 3,260 units.
At the extremes of the measurement, there were cases with times close to four hours and exceeding 11 hours in intra-port logistics.
By arrival time at the port, it was observed that the highest density of transportation units occurs between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., while the most important departure window extends from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.**
On routes like Altamira-Monterrey, the cost of intra-port transportation for a double trailer truck represents 19.44% of the total average rate, while for the routes Manzanillo-Mexico City and Manzanillo-Monterrey, the cost is around 12% and 14% respectively.
Prolonged waits for trucks at ports generate collateral costs related to reduced effective driving hours for operators, at a time when the industry is facing its worst shortage of operators. Business representatives warn that long waits also discourage the profession, as the main income for operators is associated with their driving kilometers.
Additionally, ports like Lázaro Cárdenas suffer from a lack of sufficient transportation services, and spending time idling at the port does not help reduce turnaround cycles to replenish capacity more quickly and mitigate the service shortage.
Comment and follow us on X: @GrupoT21
