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Contecon Manzanillo posted a 68% year-on-year increase in January rail cargo to 20,400 twenty-foot equivalent units
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The volume is so far the highest rail throughput at the Port of Manzanillo in Mexico
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This year, CMSA will expand its 2.2-kilometer rail tracks and acquire new loading and unloading equipment to increase its rail capacity by more than 100%
Contecon Manzanillo (CMSA) posted a 68% year-on-year increase in January rail cargo to 20,400 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), so far the highest rail throughput at the Port of Manzanillo in Mexico.
“The increased use of rail to receive and dispatch cargo is key for us. We started a growth plan together with customers and FERROMEX in 2021, which allowed us to gradually increase service volumes and reliability. Last January, we were able to move 23 percent of import cargo by rail and set a record for CMSA and the Port of Manzanillo,” CMSA chief executive officer José Antonio Contreras said in a statement.
CMSA is International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI) business unit operating the Specialized Container Terminal 2 (TEC-II) at the Port of Manzanillo.
Last year, CMSA and French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM launched the first block train service from TEC-II to Valle de Mexico. The service subsequently included Monterrey, linking the terminal to the two main consumption and production hubs in the country.
This year, CMSA will begin expansion of its 2.2-kilometer rail tracks and acquire new loading and unloading equipment to increase its rail capacity by more than 100%.
“In addition to the investment we are currently making in our container yards and docks, we are going to start the expansion of our railways in the coming months,” Contreras said, adding that the goal is to double the rail volume by 2025.
By promoting container movement via rail, CMSA aims to provide customers and port users a logistical, efficient and competitive alternative for the long distances between the Pacific Coast and the major consumption and production hubs like the State of Mexico, Nuevo León, San Luis de Potosí, and Querétaro, which receive a significant portion of imports from Asia that enter Mexico through Manzanillo.
ICTSI said the increase in rail freight helps to reduce the daily flow of trucks in the municipality of Manzanillo, reducing road congestion, improving sustainability, and supporting the future growth of the terminal.
ICTSI in June 2010 signed a 34-year concession to develop and operate TEC-II.
