Shipping to and from Mexico

Mexico is an import/export country. And the team in Mexico has several transport options for you. You can start or finish your logistics journey in ports, rail terminals or store door. The available ports in Mexico are Altamira, Veracruz, Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas. All ports have access to the rail and truck network.

In Mexico, you can also pick rail terminals as the origin or destination for your cargo. Rail terminals are also known as "Dry Ports". Rail terminals can be found in Mexico's strategic states and locations that connect and simplify land transportation. It allows you to save time and money – as it is a cheaper transport option – and gets your container closer to your warehouse or store door. At Twill we offer routes to and from Guadalajara, San Luis Potosi, Monterrey, Escobedo, Veracruz, Altamira, Queretaro, Hidalgo, Cuautitlan and Mexico City. The estimated time of rail transit depends on the route, but the average time is usually around eight days from the rail terminal to the port or vice versa.

Additionally, we offer you different service modes for your convenience.:

• Container Yard Port (CY Port): The container is picked up or delivered at the port. This is the customer's responsibility.

• Container Yard Rail (CY Rail): The container is moved by rail in a part of its journey. It is a widespread modality in Mexico to save time and money. For exports that do not have inland transportation with Twill, the container is the customer's responsibility until it is delivered to the corresponding container yard, where Twill will take responsibility. For imports that do not have inland transportation with Twill, Twill's responsibility is to deliver the container to the final container yard, where the customer will pick it up.

• Store Door All truck (SD): This method is very common in Mexico and is selected when:

  • The warehouse is near to the rail terminal

  • The container weighs 23-26 tons (based on the Verify Gross Mass). This is the preferred option for security reasons for trucks and it is also cheaper.

  In SD RCO the transport is Twill's responsibility.

Transit times can vary depending on the vessel schedule, whether containers need to be connected to other vessels on their journey and how many calling ports are on the route.

As Twill is supercharged by industry leader Maersk, we can support you wherever your cargo moves from or to. That means we try our best that your freight arrives on time.

Our Routes are divided into three principal services.

• Atlantic Service: All routes where the port of origin, destination or transhipment are in Northern Europe, the average time of transit is around 18-25 days.

• Mediterranean Service: All routes where the port of origin, destination or transhipment is in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the average time of transit is around 20-35 days.

• Pacific Service: All routes where the port of origin, destination or transhipment is in Northern or Southern Asia, the average time of transit is around 15-20 days.

At Twill, we specialise in shipping your cargo from door to door, over land and sea. Cargo insurance is not required to ship to or from Mexico, but cargo transportation can entail various risks. So, you should always keep in mind which Incoterms you have agreed on with your supplier.

The most used Incoterm of Shipments from or to Mexico is FOB (Free On Board). In this case, the risk moves to the buyer when it loads on the vessel at its origin.

You should always read the fine print to ensure insurance coverage meets your needs, as policies vary based on commodities, routes and value.

If you're shipping your cargo across the sea, you want to know that you are quickly being compensated if your cargo is damaged or lost. That's why Twill offers Value Protect, giving you peace of mind that your cargo is protected during transportation with us. When you add Value Protect, it is easier and simpler to make claims compared to traditional insurance. It helps you avoid the many difficulties and annoyances that businesses face when shipping cargo while protecting it from risk and damage.

In Mexico, Twill offers two different services - depending on the type of cargo:

• Special cargo: Cargo that needs governmental paperwork, for example, non-frozen food.

• Standard cargo: Cargo that does not need special procedures to release it.

The offered rate counts per container (included five different items).

If the used invoice to release the cargo includes more than five different items, the rate calculation will be different. Please note that our service is not based on the HS code.

The customs clearance process can differ from country-to-country and port-to-port. At Twill, we realise the need to get your goods through customs and understand the challenges it may cause. That's why we can handle Customs Services for you.

Mexico is an important country with a trade balance on imports. Exports are mainly fruit and food. Machines, construction material and other similar products are imported from other countries, principally from Asia. That's why one of the most popular trade lanes is from Asia to Mexico – in particular, routes from China and India. Other popular trades lanes are between Mexico and Europe, especially to and from Spain, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands.

That means for you, as a customer, there are vessels frequently sailing on these routes and many shipping services available which can improve the trade of your products.