According to statistics from the National Port System of the  Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) , in March 2026 the movement of vehicles through Mexican ports fell by 3.5% compared to the same month in 2025 with 184,829 units, thus failing to recover from the decrease recorded last February, when it fell 20.9% year-on-year.

Although some ports reported declines in car traffic in the third month of the year, the port of Veracruz showed a 33.2% increase compared to March 2025, handling 82,185 units. Tuxpan, also in Veracruz, saw a 15.8% increase, with 3,804 units moved during the period, according to an analysis by T21 Business Intelligence .

In contrast, the port of Mazatlán, in Sinaloa, handled 8,778 units in March 2026, 46.6% less than in the third month of 2025 ; Altamira, in Tamaulipas, fell 27.1% with 38,149 vehicles moved; while the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, in Michoacán, declined 8.6% with the movement of 51,913 units in the reference period.

The negative figures recorded by several ports impacted the cumulative total for January-March 2026. The first quarter of the year saw a 4% contraction compared to the same period in 2025, with 441,765 vehicles handled . During the period, the port of Veracruz was the only one with positive numbers, reporting a 22.3% year-on-year increase with 171,598 units handled.

Conversely, Tuxpan saw a 24.7% drop in the cumulative total for the first three months of 2026 compared to the same period last year , with 6,637 vehicles moved. Altamira declined 19.1% with 89,461 units; and Lázaro Cárdenas decreased by 16%, moving 133,427 cars.

Meanwhile, Mazatlán experienced a slight contraction of 0.5% in the accumulated January-March 2026 period compared to the same period in 2025, operating 40,642 units.

Regarding participation in March 2026, Veracruz accounted for  44% of vehicles mobilized ; Lázaro Cárdenas had 28%, Altamira 21%, Mazatlán 5% and Tuxpan 2%.

Despite the drop in vehicle traffic at the country’s ports in March 2026, car production in Mexico showed improvement during the third month of the year.

According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) , 343,520 light vehicles were manufactured in March 2026 , representing a 2.5 percent year-on-year increase. Additionally, 310,205 vehicles were exported, a 4.2 percent increase compared to the same month in 2025.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2026, 969,294 units were manufactured in Mexican plants , a 0.5% increase compared to the same period last year. During the January-March period of this year, 795,631 units were exported, a 2.5% increase over the same period in 2025.

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In March 2026, Mexican ports reported a growth of 3.1% compared to the same month in 2025, moving 816,170 twenty-foot containers (TEUs) , according to data from the National Port System of the  Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) .

An analysis by T21 Business Intelligence  showed that, despite the year-on-year increase, several ports lost TEU traffic in the third month of the year, although others reported increases, such as Lázaro Cárdenas, in Michoacán, which registered a 29.2% increase with 247,009 TEUs handled ; Puerto Morelos, in Quintana Roo, which grew 33.5% year-on-year with 602 TEUs; and Manzanillo, in Colima, which advanced 1.3% compared to March 2025, with the operation of 342,110 TEUs.

Conversely, Coatzacoalcos, in Veracruz, handled 994 TEUs, representing a 43.8% decrease compared to the same period in 2025; while Altamira, in Tamaulipas, recorded 69,919 TEUs handled in March 2026, a 15.4% decrease compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, the port of Veracruz handled 97,129 TEUs, representing a 5.9% year-on-year decrease.

Despite the negative figures recorded by several ports, the accumulated total for the first quarter of 2026 showed an advance of 2.3% compared to the same period in 2025, with two million 334 thousand 497 TEUs recorded.

Along those lines, Guaymas, Sonora, grew 26.3% with 3,967 TEUs moved ; and Lázaro Cárdenas increased 15% with 685,412 TEUs in the aforementioned cycle.

Regarding participation in March 2026, Manzanillo accounted for 42% of the total TEU movement ; Lázaro Cárdenas had 30%, Veracruz 12% and Altamira 9 percent. 

In 2025, global trade reached a record $35 trillion , representing a 7.5% year-on-year growth rate; however, the imposition of tariffs and the conflict in the Middle East could slow this positive trend by the end of 2026, warned the  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) .

Despite this context,  Mexican ports registered a slight rebound in TEU movement in the third month of 2026, after an annual drop of 4.9% last February, resulting from less dynamism in Mexican economic activity.

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Despite the uncertainty that global trade has faced due to more aggressive tariff policies, Mexico’s ports ended 2025 with a record of 9,529,886 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled, representing a 1.6% increase compared to 2024 , when 9,375,546 TEUs were moved, according to figures from the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) .

In December 2025 alone , there was a slight increase of 0.9% compared to the same month in 2024 , with a total of 804,452 TEUs handled.

Manzanillo, in Colima, remained the leading port at the close of 2025, with a total of 346,003 TEUs in December , which meant an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period in 2024.

However, the accumulated total for January-December of last year showed a slight drop, with 3,893,355 TEUs handled, a decrease of 0.8% compared to the accumulated total for 2024 .

Meanwhile, Lázaro Cárdenas, in Michoacán, totaled 229,012 TEUs moved during December 2025, a growth of 9.2% over the last month of 2024; while in the accumulated total it reached two million 616 thousand 770 TEUs, an increase of 8.7 percent.

The port of Veracruz reported the operation of 101,532 TEUs in the last month of 2025, which meant a slight decrease of 0.1% , and in the January-December period it totaled 1,299,337 TEUs, a decrease of 0.2% compared to the same period in 2024.

Altamira, in Tamaulipas, also registered negative figures. In December 2025, it handled 66,838 TEUs, a drop of 20.7% ; while in the year to date, it moved 887,101 TEUs, a decrease of 3.5% compared to 2024.

Regarding the percentage of containers moved during December, Manzanillo accounted for 43%; Lázaro Cárdenas 28.4%, Veracruz 12.6%, and Altamira 8.3% of the total operations.

The performance of Mexico’s main ports during 2025 reflected a landscape of resilience and adaptation in the face of international trade instability . Although some ports, such as Altamira, experienced declines, the sustained growth in Lázaro Cárdenas and the partial recovery of Manzanillo demonstrate that the National Port System maintains its responsiveness and remains a key driver of Mexico’s competitiveness.

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MM Carga incorporated 29 Freightliner Cascadia tractor trucks , delivered by Difrenosa , configured with double-articulatedMarroking brand platforms .

“The goal of increasing the fleet is to meet the demand of our clients, which is why we must have a renewed and modern fleet that can meet the service standards of each of them,” said Mario Marroquín Cavazos, general manager of MM Carga.

With this addition of units, MM Carga reaches more than 200 tractor-trailers and under the platform movement configuration  seeks to serve various industries such as manufacturing, automotive, import/export, both in loose cargo and containerized cargo.

“To serve our markets, we have terminals in the ports of Altamira and Manzanillo, as well as yards in Pesquería, Nuevo León, and in the Bajío region, where the motor fleet and towing infrastructure is designed to strengthen our presence in these regions, always with quality and confidence,” said Marcela Marroquín, administrative director of MM Carga.

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