In a decade, Mexico’s maritime landscape shifted dramatically. Trade with Asia gained momentum, Pacific ports absorbed larger container volumes, and supply chains began demanding more than just shipboard space. Against this backdrop, Cosco Shipping Lines Mexico quadrupled to quintupled its operations and is now preparing for a new phase, aiming to expand its presence from maritime transport into land-based transportation and other logistics solutions.

This evolution coincides with a structural growth in trade between Mexico and China, which, according to Mateo Cepeda, Senior Sales & Export Manager of Cosco Shipping Lines Mexico, allowed the company to move from a secondary position to becoming one of the main participants in container shipping in the country, particularly on the Pacific.

The starting point was 2016, although a broader transformation lay behind it. The global integration of Cosco Shipping and China Shipping occurred after one of the most turbulent periods for the maritime industry, characterized by overcapacity, falling rates, and a wave of mergers and consolidations among shipping lines. The integrated operation in Mexico began on July 15 of that year, after combining systems, vessels, container inventories, and portfolios that had previously operated separately.

But the company’s transformation cannot be explained solely by that merger. At the same time, Mexico increased its dependence on Asian supply chains , and the containerization of the transpacific route gained momentum.

This move transformed the country into a central part of Cosco’s regional network. Cepeda stated in an interview with T21 that more than half of the cargo originating in the Far East within the market the company serves on the west coast of Latin America is destined for Mexico , while all of its transpacific services in this region make stops at Mexican ports.

Manzanillo occupies a particularly relevant position : 100% of Cosco’s services on this network touch that port, while other routes incorporate Ensenada and Lázaro Cárdenas before continuing towards Colombia, Peru and Chile, with Chancay, operated by Cosco Shipping Lines, being incorporated as a new node for the connection with Asia.

“Mexico is the main driver in terms of cargo volume,” Cepeda said, explaining the importance the country has acquired within the shipping company’s regional structure.

The expansion, however, is no longer focused exclusively on the Pacific. A decade ago, Cosco’s Mexican operation was almost entirely concentrated in Manzanillo, with only occasional services in Lázaro Cárdenas. Since then, it has added Ensenada and extended its service to Altamira and Veracruz , from where it operates routes to Europe, the Caribbean, and the east coast of South America. It has even begun deploying its own vessels on some of these routes, after previously operating through partnerships with other carriers.

This growth is also reflected inland. From approximately 30 or 40 employees in 2016, Cosco Shipping Lines Mexico now has over 140. This growth has been further enhanced by the addition of its own offices in Manzanillo and Ensenada, a commercial presence in Monterrey, Querétaro, and Guadalajara, and operations through agents in Lázaro Cárdenas, Altamira, and Veracruz.

Behind this geographical distribution also lies the way Mexican foreign trade has been structured . While around 85% of the country’s exports go to the United States and Canada, a significant portion of maritime imports come from the Far East. For shipping companies, this structure creates an imbalance that Cepeda estimates at between four and five import containers for every one maritime export container.

The response has been to seek Mexican cargo that allows them to utilize equipment that must be returned to other markets. Electronics, appliances, auto parts, vehicles, cotton, minerals, beer, and refrigerated products are among the segments where the company has sought to develop exports, although Cepeda currently identifies an additional obstacle: the strength of the peso, which can reduce the competitiveness of some Mexican products in international markets.

It is precisely on land where Cosco sees one of its greatest areas for future growth . The location of major industrial and consumer centers far from the coast necessitates complementing maritime transport with road and rail connections. The strategy involves increasing the proportion of shipments in which the shipping company itself incorporates land transport into the bill of lading and determines, together with the customer, which combination of port, rail, or trucking is most suitable.

“We increasingly want to be a player in the supply chain and be able to provide comprehensive solutions to customers, not just in the maritime sector,” Cepeda explained.

The expectation is that, within the next few years, a considerable proportion of its containers will incorporate value-added services beyond the maritime leg. “We don’t just see ourselves as a company whose core is the sea, but also land, ground transportation, trucks, and trains,” he added.

This gamble comes as cargo growth begins to encounter the limitations of Mexico’s infrastructure . Cepeda notes that the Pacific remains the primary driver of the country’s maritime trade, but also identifies bottlenecks that could limit the capacity to absorb new volumes.

According to the executive, this tension is also a consequence of the speed at which the market has grown. “Part of the challenge has been seeing how we can, within that growth, keep up or keep pace with the growth in terms of infrastructure ,” he noted.

Cosco’s outlook is that demand will continue. Nearshoring , it argued, does not necessarily diminish trade with Asia: new plants established in Mexico require machinery, components, and raw materials from the Far East , which can ultimately generate greater transpacific shipping needs. Even in light of the North American trade negotiations, the shipping company anticipates that Mexican demand will maintain a growth trajectory in the medium and long term.

The immediate outlook, however, remains volatile. Cepeda identified pressures on tariffs stemming from fuel costs, tensions in the Middle East, disruptions related to the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, and blank sailings that temporarily reduce the effective availability of space.

This reveals a paradox of current maritime transport : while shipping companies continue to add capacity, some of it cannot be deployed normally due to geopolitical conflicts, energy costs, and route changes. At the same time, Mexican demand remains strong. According to data cited by Cepeda during the interview, Pacific cargo was growing by nearly 6%, compared to a contraction of approximately 7% in the Gulf and an overall increase of around 2%.

The company has also undergone another, less visible transformation: the digital one . Processes that a decade ago relied on emails, documents, and manual procedures migrated first to e-commerce platforms and later to more sophisticated technological tools. Among these is GSBN , a blockchain- based platform used to accelerate cargo release processes, which is already operating in Mexico.

Digitalization and integrated logistics will be accompanied by a third pillar: decarbonization. Cosco has begun incorporating methanol-powered vessels, and Cepeda anticipates that this fleet transformation will have an increasingly significant presence in operations linked to Mexico. At the same time, artificial intelligence and new digital platforms should facilitate customer reservations and management without eliminating human contact, he asserted.

The scale of this change can also be seen in the ships. When integrated operations began in Mexico, Cosco relied on shared services with other shipping lines; in 2018, it launched its first service operated entirely with its own vessels, and in 2024, it added a second. This is further complemented by its participation in Ocean Alliance , which emerged in 2017.

Thus, the first 10 years were marked by the consolidation of services, routes, offices, and volume ; the following years point toward a different transformation. The strategy is no longer solely about increasing capacity between Asia and Mexican ports, but about capturing a larger share of the supply chain that begins or ends behind them.

“Growth, continued confidence in Mexico, continued investment,” Cepeda summarized regarding the company’s outlook, but now with three components that will define that expansion: door-to-door services, digitalization, and decarbonization .

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El cargo Cosco looks beyond the sea: its logistics strategy for the next decade apareció primero en T21.

Cosco Shipping Lines ‘ commitment to Mexico isn’t temporary, it’s strategic. This was stated by Mateo Cepeda, Senior Sales and Export Manager at Cosco Shipping Lines Mexico, when he described in an interview with T21 the deployment of maritime services the Chinese shipping company has implemented to consolidate its position in the Mexican Pacific.

“We want to express our confidence in the Mexican market , and we also want to express our strong confidence in the ports of Ensenada, Manzanillo, and Lázaro Cárdenas,” he stated.

Its reading is not minor: in a complex global environment and with practically zero growth in maritime trade in Mexico during 2025, Cosco Shipping has decided to strengthen its presence with a strategy that combines port expansion, logistics integration and digitalization .

One of the pillars of this strategy is the recent launch of the WSA8 service , which made its first call in Ensenada on September 19, after departing from Shanghai earlier that month. This new route directly connects Ensenada and Manzanillo with Qingdao, Shanghai, and Yokohama, opening a double logistics window to Asia.

“With this service, Cosco Shipping Lines would now have two dedicated services calling at the port of Ensenada , which for us has always been a very important and strategic port. We see that demand continues to be quite strong and sometimes there isn’t enough service coverage overall,” Cepeda explained. Contrary to other shipping lines that have reduced calls at this port, Cosco is doubling down on its commitment with two monthly departures on the WSA8, adjusting the frequency according to market reaction.

This expansion occurs at a time of marginal growth in port traffic in Mexico. Between January and August of this year, ports handled a total of 6,227,565 20-foot containers (TEU) in deep-sea services (imports and exports) , reflecting an annual growth rate of just 1.1%, according to statistics from the General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine (CGPMM) .

Specifically, in the reference period, the Pacific ports totaled four million 602 thousand 837 TEUs (+1.8%), while in the Caribbean Gulf they accumulated one million 624 thousand 728 TEUs (-0.8%).

Even so, the company maintains a long-term strategy supported by two key services: the new WSA8 and the reconfiguration of WSA5 . The latter, originally launched in 2024, expanded its rotation in 2025 to include the ports of Chancay (Peru), Guayaquil (Ecuador), and Buenaventura (Colombia), in addition to Ensenada, Manzanillo, and Lázaro Cárdenas.

“Over the last two years, we’ve strengthened our offering with two new services, the WSA5 and WSA8, increasing capacity at the three main ports on the Mexican Pacific coast,” Cepeda emphasized.

The strengthening of maritime services is accompanied by a comprehensive logistics vision. Cepeda emphasized that Cosco Shipping’s future in Mexico is not limited to ports, but is moving toward an end -to-end offering. “It is not possible to consolidate a strong product in the Mexican market if you don’t offer land service,” he stated. The company has begun developing door-to-door deliveries throughout the country, supported by land operations. This integration responds to a clear objective: to articulate more resilient supply chains that connect Mexico with any part of the world , while strengthening its role as a regional platform for cargo redistribution to Central America and the Caribbean.

In parallel, Cosco Shipping has opted to digitize key processes to gain efficiency. The company implemented the GSBN (Global Shipment Business Network) system globally , including at the ports of Ensenada, Manzanillo, and Lázaro Cárdenas. This blockchain – based platform allows all stakeholders involved in document validation to have immediate visibility, eliminating downtime and blind spots. “Previously, if the customs broker sent a document to the shipping company, the terminal wouldn’t see it. With GSBN, we achieved immediate visibility for all parties and have reduced processing times,” Cepeda explained.

This digitalization coexists with a personalized service approach: “We have global clients who demand that service be personalized rather than artificial intelligence. We have local teams in Ensenada serving clients in the Northwest in real time,” he emphasized.

Cosco Shipping’s strategy also responds to Mexico’s geography and economic structure. The country combines manufacturing, raw materials, and perishable goods, in addition to a prime location as a transshipment point. A large portion of the flow of goods destined for Central America passes through Mexican ports, in a market that, according to Cepeda, has more potential than is currently being exploited . This regional vision is complemented by its commitment to the port of Chancay, Peru, which Cosco operates directly and envisions as a hub for connecting with Chile and Ecuador, creating a Pacific corridor linking Asia with Latin America through Mexico and South America.

In terms of trade, China remains Mexico’s main maritime source , and Cosco doesn’t foresee radical changes in flows despite possible geopolitical adjustments. “The vast majority of raw materials for Mexican manufacturing come from the Far East: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam,” he indicated.

The key, he stated, will be to maintain the transit times required for just-in-time production in an environment where congestion remains a challenge. To achieve this, he highlights recent port investments: “We see new cranes in different ports. All the terminals are expanding their equipment, and this will allow for continued growth in operational capacity and efficiency in the Mexican Pacific.”

Nearly a decade after opening its own agency in Mexico, Cosco Shipping Lines has climbed its position to become one of the top five shipping lines in the main Pacific ports. Its strategy —anchored in exclusive services, logistics integration, technological innovation, and regional vision— seeks to take advantage of the structural potential of the Mexican market beyond economic cycles. “Our plan for the next five years is to continue this growth. Despite the economic uncertainty that may arise, the Mexican market has potential that must continue to be exploited,” Cepeda concluded.

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