Container Shipments From China To Mexico Skyrocket in January

There's a boom in Chinese goods heading to Mexico. Shipments skyrocketed in January, with a near 60% increase compared to the same month last year. This makes it potentially the fastest growing trade lane in the world right now.

Analysts believe China might be using Mexico as a backdoor to get around tariffs on goods entering the United States. Since Mexico and the U.S. share a land border, some of these Chinese products could be shipped to Mexico and then trucked across the border.

Image: China to Mexico (west coast) growth rate since 2022 through Jan 2024, Xeneta.

Growing Trade Relationship

This surge aligns with data from Mexico's Pacific Coast ports, which saw a significant increase in freight traffic in January. Trade between China and Mexico has been on the rise in general, with annual growth jumping from 3.5% in 2022 to nearly 35% in 2023.

Mexico's strong trade relationship with the U.S. also played a role. In 2023, Mexico became the U.S.'s number one import partner, surpassing China. While trade between China and the U.S. West Coast is still much larger, the gap is narrowing.

This trend suggests that Mexico might be playing an increasingly important role in the flow of goods between China and the United States.

Image: Container shipping spot rates, China to Mexico 2023-2024, Xeneta.

China to Mexico Spot Rates

Since April 2023, shipping costs from China to Mexico have been a strange case. Xeneta's data shows that spot rates, which are more flexible and reflect current market conditions, have consistently been higher than long-term contract rates. This is in contrast to the route to the US West Coast, where spot and contract rates have been seesawing, each taking turns being more expensive.

However, this trend changed dramatically at the beginning of 2024. Following the Red Sea crisis, spot rates for China-Mexico skyrocketed by 175% in just two months.