THE LOGISTICAL SYSTEM


 PORTS AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION

OVERVIEW

 Mexico has 73 ports, terminals, and marinas along its Pacific, Gulf, and Caribbean

coasts. However, only a handful of these ports handle large volumes of traffic. Eighty percent

of Mexico's foreign trade moves through 18 ports, (Puertos Mexicana, 1993b). Some of these

ports, such as Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta are primarily designed for cruise ships, rather than

freight. In addition, some ports, such as Coatzacoalcos, primarily handle fluids. Reflecting the

concentration of freight into a few ports, Veracruz and Altamira/Tampico account for over 60

percent of the country's container traffic and six ports account for over 90 percent (Figure 4).

 Excluding petroleum and salt, since 1982 the total volume of cargo passing through the

ports has increased by over 50 percent. Approximately 70 percent of this volume is accounted

for by exports and imports, with the remainder being coastal traffic. In recent years, coastal

traffic has grown faster than imports and exports. However, this is most likely a transitory

phenomena. The volume of container traffic still is fairly small. In 1992, 445,257 TEU's

passed through Mexican ports, the equivalent of about two weeks of traffic through U.S. ports.

However, growth has been rapid, 27.9 percent more containers in 1992 than in 1991 (Puertos

Mexicana).

 Most perishables move either in containers or as general cargo. The volumes of these

types of movements for the 18 largest ports are summarized in Table 2. The ports currently

moving appreciable volumes of containers and general freight are the most likely conduits for