Trucking handling times at Mexico’s main ports showed an improvement during the second month of 2025. The Average Trucking Time Index in Ports (ITPAP) , carried out by T21 Business Intelligence, averaged 7 hours and 45 minutes in February of this year, which represented a 38.5% drop compared to the previous month (12 hours and 40 minutes).

The ITPAP is based on the handling times for trucking in container import cargo services at the ports of Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Altamira, and Veracruz , which together handle more than 60% of the containers received in the country.

The indicator compiles monthly information provided by trucking companies and GPS vehicle tracking companies; it focuses on the average time tractor-trailers remain in operation, broken down into three critical categories during the cargo collection process: maneuvering, waiting, and customs.

The 7 hours and 45 minutes that the ITPAP averaged in February were divided into 28.98% waiting (2 hours, 14 minutes, and 46 seconds), 21.56% maneuvering (one hour, 40 minutes, and 14 seconds), and 49.4% in customs time (3 hours, 49 minutes, and 59 seconds) .

For the February 2025 registry, the ITPAP used data from 2,712 trucking movements at the analyzed ports as a reference.

Lázaro Cárdenas, the leader of the month

Viewed individually, the port of Lázaro Cárdenas showed the longest average time with 9.5 decimal hours (37% more than a month earlier), while the customs section alone took 4.7 decimal hours.

This port ranks second in the Mexican Pacific in terms of container movement. In 2024 alone, it received 797,210 20-foot TEUs of imported containers, 18.2% more than in 2023, according to statistics from the country’s port authority.

During the month in question, improvements were also recorded in the average times of the port of Altamira , with 4.3 decimal hours in February 2025 (44% lower than the time of a month earlier) and that of Manzanillo , with 6.6 decimal hours or a time lower by -71 percent.

For its part, the port of Veracruz showed a 39.7% increase, with 5.8 decimal hours.

Comment and follow us on X:@GrupoT21

El cargo Mexican ports improve service times for trucking apareció primero en T21.

The average times that ports in Mexico handled for auto transport units showed a notable improvement last September , placing it as the fourth month with the best performance in the year, according to the Average Time Index for Auto Transport in Ports (ITPAP) .

According to this indicator, during the ninth month of 2024, the average time that a trucking unit took to pick up imported cargo was 4 hours and 44 minutes for the ports of Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Altamira and Veracruz .

Translated into decimal hours, the time in September was 4.73 hours , reflecting a decrease of 64% compared to the record for August (13.12 hours).

This reduction in handling times at ports occurs in a context in which the country has maintained a constant rate of growth in the reception of imported goods by sea.

In the cumulative period from January to September of this year, Mexican ports had received a total of two million 863 thousand 450 20-foot containers (TEU) , a measure of maritime standardization, which meant an increase of 11.7% compared to the same period last year, according to official data.

However, upon closer inspection, the port authority’s statistics reveal that in TEU imports, September alone totaled 304,484 containers received, which meant a monthly drop of 13.7% , making it, in turn, the third month in the year with the lowest level in this activity, which would explain the drop in times recorded in the ITPAP.

The ITPAP is a measurement carried out by the T21 Business Intelligence unit of the travel and waiting times of trucking units in the four main ports of the country (Altamira, Veracruz, Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas). The information is obtained using the GPS of service provider companies and trucking companies in their port entry processes, loading/unloading maneuvers at the terminal and the waiting time to cross customs.

In this sense, the 4 hours and 44 minutes average in September was divided into 2 hours and 19 minutes in customs; 1 hour and 3 minutes in maneuvering; and 1 hour and 22 minutes in waiting time.

Last September, the sample covered a universe of 1,355 auto transport units , whose measurements were the basis for the realization of the ITPAP.

Regarding the times recorded by each port, ITPAP revealed that in September, Veracruz, Manzanillo and Altamira averaged around 4 hours in service times for motor transport, while Lázaro Cárdenas extended to 6 hours.

In detail, the port of Lázaro Cárdenas showed a higher consumption of time in customs , with 2.9 decimal hours, while waiting time was 1.8 hours and maneuvers 1.3 hours.

Below you can see the details of the other ports and their average handling times for motor transport, according to ITPAP.

Comment and follow us on X: @GrupoT21

El cargo Port times in Mexico down in September apareció primero en T21.