The expansion of Contecon Manzanillo , by the Philippine company International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) , comes at a particularly inopportune time. It arrives just as the country’s most important container port is beginning to slow down and the strain on its infrastructure no longer allows for piecemeal solutions. In this context, the terminal decided not to wait for the market: it is getting ahead of it.

What began in 2022 as a phased growth plan is now entering its most aggressive phase: the completion of phase 3B and the immediate start of phase 4 , in a move that combines investment, capacity and operational control in one of the most strained logistics hubs in the country.

“We are finishing phase 3B (…) we will begin phase 4 next week. Fortunately, I went to Manila, where our chairman is , and he gave me 2.4 billion pesos, so we are very happy ,” said José Antonio Contreras, CEO of Contecon Manzanillo, at a meeting with clients, outlining an investment that, in total, approaches 10 billion pesos. This is no small matter: it is, in the words of the executive himself, “the largest investment we are making worldwide,” within a group that operates approximately 35 terminals. And Contecon Manzanillo is among the top two terminals for the Philippine group.

Phase 3, nearing completion, will extend the terminal’s dock to 1,307 meters, enabling the simultaneous operation of three vessels up to 400 meters in length, in addition to adding 12 hectares of yards and new rail space. But it is Phase 4 that reveals the true scale of the project: an additional seven hectares, two gantry cranes, six new RTG cranes , more than 1,700 refrigerated connections, and, above all, the promise of doubling the cargo handling capacity.

The objective is explicit: to exceed the 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of installed capacity . The underlying issue, however, is more complex. The expansion is occurring at a time when the port is no longer growing as it once did. “Manzanillo, in general, is not growing at the rates we had been experiencing in recent years. We are declining by around 5% (…) the market is contracting slightly,” Contreras acknowledged.

This slowdown is already beginning to be reflected in the numbers. From January to February of this year, the port of Manzanillo received 272,277 TEUs of imports, 3.1% less than in the same period of 2015. However, Contecon has not only withstood the decline but has gained ground: it handled 129,050 TEUs, a 4.7% year-on-year increase , according to figures from the port authority. The message is clear: in a shrinking market, competition is redefined, and efficiency begins to translate into market share.

Infrastructure, then, ceases to be just expansion and becomes strategy .

In that area, Contecon is betting on a front that has been underutilized in the port for years: the railway .

The physical expansion of the terminal is closely linked to this change. “We are doubling our capacity (…) we are moving to 5 kilometers of track, which will allow us to handle trains of up to 110 cars ,” explained Contreras, anticipating an operational shift that not only seeks to move more cargo, but to do so differently.

Today, Contecon already dominates this segment. It handles around 63-64% of Manzanillo’s rail freight , a position that is not accidental, but the result of a sustained strategy. But the data reveals something deeper: the railway is not only growing, it is also becoming more concentrated.

According to a slide presented during the event, Contecon has increased its share of rail freight for imported containers from 64% in 2024 to 65% in 2025, before adjusting slightly to 61% in 2026. Meanwhile, SSA Marine Mexico’s share rose from 22% to 25% and then to 33%, solidifying its position as the second largest player in this sector. TIMSA , in contrast, saw its share decrease from 12% to 9% and then to 6%, while Ocupa remains marginal.

The trend is clear: the railroad in Manzanillo is not only growing, it’s becoming concentrated in fewer hands . And that has structural implications. It’s not just about market share, but about who defines the port’s operational logic in a context where trucking continues to face saturation.

That’s where the second part of the announcement made during the Contecon Manzanillo event comes in: the new rail freight management model .

Lorena Rocha, Inland Services Manager at Contecon Manzanillo, hit the nail on the head: “ Today we noticed a black hole in this specific area (…) it’s not very clear and we believe it’s important to make it transparent.” This “black hole” is none other than one of the most opaque and critical aspects of the operation: the time that elapses from when a container is available in the yard until it actually leaves by train.

Currently, this process suffers from inefficiencies that the terminal itself acknowledges. “As of today, on average, from the time a container is available on the floor until it is documented, an average of 7.3 days pass (…) subsequently, from the time they are documented for the train until the terminal loads the train, today an average of 3.2 days pass,” Rocha explained. More than 10 days in a link that, in theory, should have high turnover.

The new model aims to break this inertia with three fundamental changes: digitization of information from before the ship’s arrival, appointment scheduling for rail loading, and complete container traceability. The goal is ambitious: to reduce documentation times to a window of three to five days and improve the overall efficiency of the process by up to 50%.

But the most significant change isn’t just in the system, but in the operation. With the rail expansion, Contecon will be able to assemble trains within the terminal , eliminating the need to wait for cargo consolidation from other terminals, a practice that currently reduces time and efficiency. “This can be a single-unit train with a single destination (…) that doesn’t require assembly outside the terminal,” Rocha explained.

The impact of this adjustment is profound: it involves moving from a model dependent on the port’s aggregate volume to a more autonomous one, where the terminal can control its outbound flow . In a port historically burdened by bottlenecks, that difference is critical.

Even so, the venture is not without risks. The terminal itself acknowledges that external factors can disrupt operations. “We are never immune to unforeseen circumstances… 2025 brought us a couple of events ,” admitted Rocha, referring to disruptions that affected the flow of the entire port system in Manzanillo, such as the demonstration and blockade of the facility by the customs officers themselves, which resulted in numerous operational disruptions.

Therefore, the expansion aims not only to grow, but also to withstand the test of time . “The goal (…) is that at an operational level we can recover more quickly from these events (…) and that they don’t affect us so significantly,” he added.

But the bottom line is not resilience, it’s repositioning .

Contecon isn’t just expanding yards or buying cranes. It’s trying to gain greater control over logistics flows in a port where congestion is no longer temporary, but structural. In that sense, rail is ceasing to be an alternative and becoming a tool of operational power.

The challenge is to ensure that this advantage doesn’t evaporate in a market that’s losing momentum. Because if growth ceases to be the driving force, competition becomes tougher, more selective, and less forgiving. And then, the difference will no longer be determined by who has the most installed capacity, but by who can move the cargo with greater certainty, less friction, and, above all, less time .

In Manzanillo, that battle has already begun . And this time, not everyone will win.

Comment and follow us on LinkedIn:  @Enrique Duarte Rionda  /  @GrupoT21

El cargo Expansion and train: Contecon’s move to dominate Manzanillo apareció primero en T21.