In the face of challenges posed by the global economic crisis, container terminal expansion is moving forward at the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, on Mexico's south-central Pacific Coast, as port officials seek to capitalize upon opportunities to attract a growing share of Asian commerce destined for U.S. markets.
Officials of the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas believe that they cannot put on hold plans to fully benefit from what they see as several core advantages, including:
- Strategic geographic location;
- More than 3,700 acres of land reserved for development over the next 25 years, representing the most extensive such reserve among Mexican Pacific ports;
- Sufficient depth to receive super-sized containerships, thanks to a 59-foot-deep shipping channel and 54-foot depths in inner channels and on the waterfront;
- A focus on a diversified cargo base, with specialized infrastructure being developed for various sectors in addition to containers;
- Cross-border rail connections, via a Kansas Southern unit;
- A stakeholder-based collaborative logistics system that, among other attributes, ensures clearance within 36 hours of inbound refrigerated cargo via a quality standard that is a first among Mexican ports;
- Customer service coordination with stakeholders;
- Global-standard security; and
- Competitive rates, including promotional rates for attraction of new business, regulated through a governmental port rate system.
Over the course of five years, the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas has seen an investment of nearly $50 million and has achieved the largest cargo volume among Mexico's national commercial ports, with 15.5 percent of the country's maritime trade.
"Maersk Line's commitment of large, post-Panamax vessels clearly reflects Mexico's status as a major player in the trans-Pacific trade and Lázaro Cárdenas' mushrooming container business," said Rubén Medina González, port director of the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas.
"Our new container terminal, which is operated by Hutchison Port Holdings under a 30-year concession granted in April 2003 by the port authority, experienced a 71.6 percent jump in container traffic during the first nine months of 2008, up from 191,776 TEUs [20-foot equivalent container units] during the comparable period in 2007," he continued. "That makes Lázaro Cárdenas the fastest-growing container port on the North American west coast."
All these pluses are reflected in the infrastructure program promoted by Mexico's federal government, according to port officials. Along with the new Punta Colonet port to be built on the Pacific and expansion of the existing Mexican Pacific containerport at Manzanillo, container terminal expansion at Lázaro Cárdenas is being looked to to increase the coast's annual throughput capacity to more than 7 million containers from the current 4 million containers.
