Mexican ports reported declines during the second month of 2026, moving 720,421 twenty-foot containers (TEUs) , which meant a decrease of 4.9% compared to February 2025, according to figures from the National Port System of the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) .

An analysis by  T21 Business Intelligence showed that the vast majority of ports lost TEU movements in February, with the exception of Guaymas (Sonora), which grew by double digits by reporting 61.6%, with 1,317 TEUs moved ; and Coatzacoalcos (Veracruz), which reported a growth of 5.6% with 1,136 TEUs.

In contrast,  Manzanillo, in Colima , accounted for a total of  310,950 TEUs, a slight decrease of 0.6%  compared to the same period in 2025; while Lázaro Cárdenas, in Michoacán, totaled 203,300 TEUs handled  during February, 4% less than in the same period of 2025.

Meanwhile, the port of  Veracruz handled 89,692 TEUs in the second month of the year , a 5.5% drop compared to 2025; and Altamira, in Tamaulipas, which has had three months of negative figures , registered a contraction of 15.6% compared to the same period in 2025, reporting 58,395 TEUs handled .

Despite the negative numbers reported in several ports, the accumulated total for the first two months of 2025 showed an increase of 1.8% compared to the January-February period of 2025 , with 1,518,327 TEUs handled . Guaymas, Sonora, saw double-digit growth of 78.4% , registering 2,903 TEUs; and Lázaro Cárdenas, which increased by 8.3% to 438,403 TEUs, registered the most significant growth.

Regarding participation in the second month of 2026,  Manzanillo accounted for 43.2% of the total TEU movement ; Lázaro Cárdenas had 28.2%, Veracruz 12.4% and Altamira 8.1 percent.

In February 2026, the Mexican economy showed a slowdown, with an annual growth of 1.22% in the Timely Indicator of Economic Activity , according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) .

The industrial sector contracted by 1.89% compared to the same month in 2025, while services declined by 1.87%. The combination of the contraction in secondary activities and the slower growth in tertiary activities reflected weaker economic activity during the second month of the year, which was reflected in TEU shipments.

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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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