Port productivity in Mexico: what the figures for Veracruz and Progreso measure

The terminal operated by Internacional de Contenedores Asociados de Veracruz (ICAVE) was listed at 85 containers per vessel operating hour in the productivity report published by the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR) for January–March 2026.

Port productivity indicators relate the amount of cargo handled to the time used to calculate the handling rate. The document presented results by facility and cargo type.

Cargo throughput indicates how much cargo was handled over a given period. Handling rates incorporate time: the same amount of cargo produces different hourly values depending on the hours included in the calculation.

For ICAVE, the report also listed 68 containers per vessel hour at berth and 62 per vessel hour in port. All three figures covered the same quarter and the same terminal.

The operating measure considers the loading and unloading period, with the time deductions provided for in the Port of Veracruz Operating Rules. At berth, it covers the period from berthing to unberthing; in port, it considers the vessel’s entire stay.

The 2025 rules also specify which interruptions are deducted from operating hours: those caused by adverse weather or circumstances not attributable to the operator, terminal and vessel. Delays caused by logistics or a lack of coordination remain included in the calculation.

At the Granelera/Berth 8 facility in Progreso, the report included unpackaged agricultural commodities under the category of semi-mechanized agricultural bulk cargo.

It reported 617 tonnes per vessel operating hour, 488 per vessel hour at berth and 263.6 per vessel hour in port, for the same January–March 2026 reporting period.

For bulk cargo and fluids, SEMAR used tonnes per hour. For containers, the unit was the box, equivalent to one physical container; for vehicles, it counted the number of units handled per hour.

In both examples in the SEMAR report, the hourly handling rate was lower when the vessel’s entire stay in port was considered. That period included both cargo operations and time without loading or unloading. The figures apply to the facilities mentioned, rather than to Veracruz or Progreso as a whole.