• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
The Association of Manzanillo Terminals and Operators (ASTOM) begins a new stage with the appointment of Manuel Fernández Pérez as president of the organization, at a time when the port of Manzanillo faces operational pressures derived from the dynamism of foreign trade and expansion projects that seek to sustain its leadership in the Mexican port system.
The arrival of Fernández Pérez, who also serves as CEO of SSA Marine Mexico, occurs after a period of institutional consolidation for the association, which in recent years has sought to position itself as an articulating voice for the main terminal operators and operators of the country's most important port in terms of container movement.
Within the port sector, the expectation revolves around ASTOM's ability to maintain an agenda focused on logistical competitiveness, operational coordination, and addressing the challenges faced by Manzanillo, particularly regarding saturation, terrestrial mobility, infrastructure, and efficiency in the supply chain.
The association is also undergoing a handover marked by the management of José Antonio Contreras Ruiz, CEO of Contecon Manzanillo, who led the organization for the past three years and participated in the process of forming and strengthening ASTOM as a representation of the terminal sector in Manzanillo.
During that period, the association gained visibility in discussions related to port capacity, coordination between authorities and operators, as well as the need to promote investments that allow responding to the sustained growth of cargo in the port of Colima.
The change in ASTOM's presidency also coincides with a key stage for Manzanillo, where port expansion projects, operational modernization, and greater efficiency demands from shipping lines, terminals, and logistics users converge.
In this context, the leadership of the organization becomes relevant not only for the operators established in the port, but also for the articulation of strategies that allow sustaining the competitiveness of one of the most important logistics hubs for Mexican foreign trade.
For the period January-April of this year, the port of Manzanillo has handled 1,352,970 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in import, export, and transshipment services, just 4.7% more than in the same period last year, according to official port authority statistics.
In terms of volume, the port has handled a total of 10,446,513 tons of goods in the accumulated first four months of the year - including petroleum products - reflecting an annual increase of 0.3 percent.
Source: t21
