Shipment attention! Latin American giants' transportation volume soars

According to foreign media reports, Mexico's logistics infrastructure is facing huge challenges from increased international freight volume.

With the growth in transportation volume, Mexico's port capacity is saturated, importers' waiting time is extended, and customs clearance is one of the
main bottlenecks.

According to official port statistics, Mexico's port throughput increased by 14.8% in the first eight months of this year, while Lazaro Cardenas' container
throughput surged by 28.7% from January to September.

The increase in transportation volume has brought the average stay time of imported containers to 11 days, far exceeding the 7-day free storage period,
 after which demurrage will be incurred.

In September, container pick-up time at Mexico's four major ports improved to an average of 4 hours and 44 minutes. Among them, customs took the longest
time, an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes, loading and unloading took 1 hour and 3 minutes, and truck drivers waited an average of 1 hour and 22 minutes.

At the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, truckers spent an average of six hours picking up containers last month, with nearly half of that time (2.9 hours) taken up by
customs procedures.

At the recent Intermodal Congress held by the Mexican Intermodal Association, Francisco Orozco, commercial director of Hutchison Ports Mexico,
called on logistics industry associations and customs authorities to work together to find solutions, including evaluating the possibility of extending customs
operations to 24 hours a day. He also pointed out the need to digitize processes.

However, it is unlikely that customs will work around the clock. Customs agencies attribute the inability to speed up customs clearance to a lack of staff,
 making it difficult to achieve 24-hour operations.

On the positive side, container handling times at the Port of Lazaro Cardenas have improved due to the upgrade of local customs resources. Still,
further improvements are needed.

John Willy, president of the Latin American Federation of Customs Brokers, said that authorities should work to improve measures to facilitate the flow of
 goods, rather than focusing only on national security. He added that the industry should unite to develop solutions that will attract the attention of authorities.

At present, Mexico has become a hot spot for Chinese companies to go overseas, and the import demand in Mexico has also grown explosively.
Although the Mexican market has great potential, its complicated import customs clearance process has always been a barrier to shipments for many traders and cross-border sellers, which also makes Mexican customs clearance known as "devil customs clearance".

Hereby reminds shippers and freight forwarders who have business related to Mexico that due to the complex and inefficient customs clearance process in
Mexico, they need to prepare complete, accurate and compliant customs clearance documents when shipping, and communicate in a timely manner.
And pay attention to the cargo node information in real time, arrange for delivery in time after customs clearance, and avoid unnecessary costs.