Mexico’s Q3 container imports rise amid drop in exports

Total Mexican maritime container imports increased 14 percent year-over-year for the third quarter of 2017, while the nation’s maritime container exports slipped 3 percent, according to A.P. Moller-Maersk’s Q3 2017 trade report for Mexico.    Total Mexican container imports for the third quarter of 2017 increased 14 percent from a year prior thanks to a boost in electronics, auto parts and white products from Asia and Europe, according to A.P. Moller-Maersk’s Q3 2017 trade report for Mexico.
   However, Mexico’s maritime container exports slipped 3 percent year-over-year during the quarter, due to tighter environmental regulations in China, along with a one-off Q3 2016 gain in aluminum exports that did not repeat this year.
   Looking ahead, the report said that diversification is going to become increasingly important for exports amid Asian softness and uncertainty with the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
   “We are cautiously optimistic going forward until the first quarter. Mexican trade on the imports side has surprised us positively as consumer confidence improves, but exports need to keep growing as diversification through opening new markets or trade accords has never been more important than before to help support key industries such as auto,” said Mario Veraldo, Maersk’s managing director for Mexico and Middle America cluster. “Clearly, a possible new and successful TPP trade deal for Mexico would go a long way toward boosting trade diversification across more than 10 Pacific nations now that talks have been revived.”