Central American Ports 2025: Capacity, Efficiency and Operational Challenges

Los Central American ports 2025 are facing a decisive moment where regional trade growth is met with significant infrastructural challenges. Panama maintains its dominance with 9.4 million Your Us, while Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua seek to optimize their port efficiency to capture the nearshoring opportunities which could generate an additional $78 billion in regional exports.

Panama: The Regional Transshipment Giant

The Panamanian ports of Balboa and Colón dominate the Central American landscape with a combined management of 9.4 million TEUs in 2024, representing a growth of 14.2% compared to the previous year. This figure positions Panama as the undisputed leader in regional port capacity.

The Port of Colon (Panama Caribbean) processes 4,869 million TEUs, maintaining its position as the number 1 port in Latin America. For its part, the Port of Balboa (Panama Pacific) handled 2.6 million TEUs with an impressive growth of 14% in 2024.

Panama's strength lies in its operations of transhipment, which represent approximately 90% of its total activity. This specialization, combined with New Panamax capabilities and direct ship-to-rail connectivity through the Panama Railroad, consolidates its role as a hemispherical logistics hub.

Key Data: Panama 2024

• Colon: 4,869 M TEUs (#1 Latin America)
• Balboa: 2.6 M TEUs (14% growth)
• Transshipment: ~ 90% of operations
• Connectivity: Direct Ship-to-Rail

Puerto Limon/Moín: The World's Largest Reefer Terminal

Costa Rica achieved an important milestone with the Puerto Limon/Moín complex, reaching 1,366 million TEUs and positioning itself as the #10 port in Latin America with a growth of 3.4%. This performance reflects the culmination of the $992 million DBFO project that transformed port facilities.

The investment created the world's largest reefer terminal for pineapples and bananas, with 3,800 reefer connections and 6 Super-Post Panamax cranes. This specialized infrastructure allows Costa Rica to maintain its leadership in the export of perishable products, which represent a key component of the country's $15.32 billion in exports.

Phase 2 of the project will expand capacity from 1.2 million to 2.5 million TEUs, positioning Costa Rica to capture a greater share of regional commercial growth. Specialization in refrigerated cargo creates a competitive advantage that other ports in the region can hardly replicate.

Puerto Cortés: Dramatic Productivity Improvements

Honduras demonstrated that modernization can generate extraordinary results. Puerto Cortés processed 753,000 TEUs with a remarkable historic growth of 16.9% since 2019, supported by $140 million in modernization investments.

La port efficiency improved dramatically, from 19 movements per hour in 2014 to more than 50 movements per hour in 2022. This operational transformation positions Puerto Cortés as one of the ports with the highest productivity per capita in the region.

The expansion of Pier 6 added 350 meters of pier length, while the total capacity will reach 1.9 million TEUs after Phase 2 is completed. The port has been operating under an ICTSI concession for 30 years and can receive mega-ships up to 250-310 meters in length.

Puerto Cortés also participates in the United States Container Security Initiative (CSI), providing improved security protocols for cargo destined for the United States, an important differential for regional exporters.

Puerto Corinto: Modernization in Progress

Nicaragua represents the smallest segment but with the highest percentage growth potential. Puerto Corinto currently handles 43,472 TEUs with a storage capacity of 1,500 TEUs and a transit capacity of 3,000 TEUs.

The $184.6 million modernization funded by BCIE will double operating capacity from 3.5 million tons to 7.5 million tons annually by 2025. This project includes 15,944 square meters of dock area, new container terminals and bulk facilities.

Common Challenges for 2025: Infrastructure and Efficiency

Los Central American ports 2025 face systemic challenges that require coordinated care. Water management represents a critical challenge, especially evident in the Panama Canal restrictions that reduced daily transits from 34-38 vessels to a minimum of 18 during the most challenging periods of 2024.

Port congestion generates times of stay variable, with Costa Rica-Nicaragua border crossings averaging 24 hours of waiting. This situation contrasts with digital advances such as the Guatemala-El Salvador electronic licensing system, which reduced processing from 24 hours to 1.5 minutes.

Terrestrial connectivity continues to be a bottleneck. High fuel costs account for 40-60% of variable costs compared to 20% in the U.S. and Canada.

Conclusions: Opportunities Amidst Challenges

The Central American port landscape for 2025 presents both significant opportunities and substantial operational challenges:

• Consolidated leadership: Panama maintains its dominance with 9.4 million TEUs and 90% of transshipment operations, functioning as the undisputed hemispheric logistics hub.
• Successful specialization: Costa Rica demonstrated that specific investment generates results, creating the largest reefer terminal in the world and capturing 3.4% of annual growth.
• Transformational productivity: Honduras proved that modernization can generate dramatic improvements, increasing port efficiency from 19 to more than 50 movements per hour.
• Growth potential: The $78 billion in additional export opportunities through nearshoring require modern and efficient port infrastructure for their materialization.

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