As part of our commitment to provide you with the most up-to-date and relevant information on the logistics industry, we share our Market Update on the Latin American market.
You will find information and interesting data on the update of the state of the ports, the most important transport routes and relevant news.
We hope you’ll find the following information helpful, as well as inspiring to boost your business and keep your cargo moving.
Topic of the Month: Unlocking Simplicity: How to Streamline Logistics in a Complex Region
Latin America stands at a pivotal moment in the evolution of global trade. As traditional trade frameworks face increasing pressure from geopolitical shifts and national security-driven policies, countries across the region are navigating a more fragmented and fast-changing landscape. For Latin American businesses, this means confronting long-standing logistical challenges, such as infrastructure gaps, regulatory diversity, and environmental disruptions, while also adapting to new demands for speed, transparency, and resilience. In this dynamic environment, simplifying logistics is no longer a luxury but a strategic imperative. Companies that embrace agility, digital integration, and regional collaboration will be best positioned to thrive amid uncertainty and unlock the full potential of Latin America’s trade corridors.
The Forces Reshaping Global Trade
Latin America is at the crossroads of major global shifts that are redefining how supply chains operate and how logistics must evolve to keep pace. Three key forces are driving this transformation:
1. Geopolitical Shifts: Nearshoring, Friendshoring, and Derisking
The reconfiguration of global supply chains is accelerating as companies seek to reduce strategic dependence and increase resilience. Latin America is emerging as a key beneficiary of nearshoring and friendshoring strategies, with countries like Colombia and Costa Rica already attracting significant investment due to their proximity, political alignment, and growing industrial capabilities. This trend is opening doors for the entire region to modernize its production base, attract higher-value industries, and create more resilient trade corridors.
2. Technological Disruption: AI, Blockchain, and IoT
Digital transformation is reshaping logistics across Latin America. AI-powered analytics are helping companies predict disruptions and optimize routes, while blockchain is improving transparency and reducing fraud in supply chain transactions. Cloud-based platforms and IoT-enabled tracking are enhancing real-time visibility, allowing businesses to respond faster and more accurately to changing conditions. For example, Forbes explains how Latin American tech teams have helped global firms reduce delivery errors by up to 40% and improve inventory forecasting by 30%.
3. Rising Consumer Expectations
Consumer demand for speed, convenience, and transparency is pushing logistics providers to innovate. Companies in Colombia, Brazil, and Chile are balancing premium express services with cost-effective deferred options to meet diverse customer needs. E-commerce growth is a major driver, with Latin America projected to surpass $200 billion in retail sales by 2025. To stay competitive, logistics firms are investing in smart hubs, route optimization, and last-mile technologies like electric trucks and smart lockers.
Complexity in Regional Logistics
Latin America’s logistics landscape is defined by its geographic diversity and uneven infrastructure development, which together create significant operational challenges. From the Andes Mountains to the Amazon basin, the region’s terrain complicates connectivity and increases transportation complexity. Latin America remains a “complex logistical maze,” where inadequate infrastructure, port congestion, and limited multimodal options are common across many countries. These limitations not only slow down cargo movement but also raise the cost of doing business, especially for companies that rely on time-sensitive or high-value shipments. Despite growing interest in nearshoring and regional production, the lack of consistent investment in transport infrastructure continues to hinder the region’s ability to fully capitalize on its strategic location.
Regulatory fragmentation adds another layer of complexity. Each country in Latin America maintains its own customs procedures, documentation standards, and tariff regimes, resulting in a highly decentralized trade environment. This lack of harmonization significantly limits intra-regional trade, which accounts for only 14% of total goods trade—far below the levels seen in more integrated regions like the European Union. Navigating regulatory diversity requires deep local expertise and agile compliance strategies, especially as governments continue to adjust trade policies in response to global pressures. Companies that succeed in Latin America often do so by investing in digital documentation tools and building strong relationships with local authorities to streamline customs clearance and reduce delays.
Operational inefficiencies in Latin America are further compounded by a persistent shortage of skilled labor and the structural complexity of logistics networks. Many logistics integrators report that many logistics hubs across the region face challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel, which affects everything from cargo handling and warehouse operations to last-mile delivery. This talent gap slows down operational execution and increases the risk of service disruptions, especially in high-volume corridors. Additionally, the region’s logistics systems are often fragmented, with limited integration between transport modes and inconsistent digital adoption. These structural issues make it challenging to achieve the level of agility and responsiveness required in today’s fast-moving trade environment. As Maersk notes, long-term success in Latin America depends not only on infrastructure investment but also on workforce development and the adoption of integrated logistics solutions that can adapt to local complexities.
Finally, the pace of regulatory change is accelerating. Trade policies, customs regulations, and labor conditions are shifting faster than ever, and staying informed is no longer optional, it’s essential to maintaining service continuity and customer trust. Maersk emphasizes that companies must adopt proactive strategies to manage these changes, including supplier diversification, contingency planning, and enhanced visibility across the supply chain. Businesses that embrace flexibility and invest in adaptive logistics models are better positioned to navigate the region’s complexity and unlock growth opportunities in Latin America’s evolving trade landscape.
Unlocking Simplicity: Strategies to Streamline Logistics
In Latin America’s complex logistics environment, simplicity is not about reducing ambition, it’s about enabling agility. Digital integration is at the heart of this transformation. By connecting physical and digital logistics systems, companies can gain end-to-end visibility, optimize cargo movement, and respond faster to disruptions. Latin American businesses stand to benefit significantly from unified platforms and real-time tracking, which allow for better planning, fewer delays, and improved customer satisfaction. These tools are especially valuable in regions where infrastructure gaps and fragmented networks make traditional logistics models less reliable.
Process optimization is another key strategy. Technologies like AI, automation, and predictive analytics are helping companies streamline operations and make smarter decisions.
In Latin America, logistics integrators are increasingly using real-time dashboards and proactive alerts to shift from passive tracking to active decision-making. Predictive analytics, for example, enables businesses to anticipate demand fluctuations, reroute shipments, and allocate resources more efficiently. Companies that aggressively digitize their supply chains can boost EBIT by up to 3.2% annually, the highest gain among all business functions analyzed.
Partnerships with Logistics Providers are also proving essential for scalability and flexibility. Logistics Providers offer specialized expertise, infrastructure, and technology that allow businesses to expand without the burden of managing logistics internally. In Latin America, where market conditions can shift rapidly, Logistics Providers help companies adapt by offering tailored solutions, multimodal transport options, and advanced inventory management systems. These partnerships are especially valuable for businesses entering new markets or navigating seasonal demand, as they provide the agility needed to scale operations up or down quickly.
Finally, talent and training are critical to managing complexity. Workforce development in logistics is no longer optional—it’s a strategic necessity. Investing in upskilling programs and digital literacy is essential to align workforce capabilities with the demands of automation and AI. Despite being a well-established trend, workforce development is experiencing renewed momentum in Latin America, driven by the need to enhance operational resilience and technological adaptability. Companies that prioritize training and talent retention are better equipped to navigate disruptions and maintain service continuity in a volatile market.
Staying Ahead – What Leading Companies Are Doing
In a region as dynamic and complex as Latin America, leading companies are rethinking traditional supply chain models to stay ahead of disruption. One of the most transformative shifts is the adoption of agile procurement, which replaces rigid, process-heavy sourcing with faster, more collaborative approaches. This model engages suppliers and internal stakeholders early in the planning cycle, allowing businesses to co-develop solutions, respond to market shifts in real time, and deliver value more efficiently. According to McKinsey, agile supply chains are inherently more resilient, enabling companies to adapt quickly to changing consumer demands, geopolitical shifts, and operational bottlenecks.
Agile procurement also empowers organizations to move beyond cost optimization and toward strategic flexibility. Instead of relying on fixed contracts and long lead times, companies are building modular sourcing strategies that allow them to pivot between suppliers, regions, and transport modes as needed. This flexibility is especially critical in Latin America, where infrastructure variability and regulatory fragmentation can disrupt even the most well-planned operations.
Technology plays a central role in enabling agile procurement. Digital platforms, predictive analytics, and AI-powered planning tools allow companies to simulate scenarios, forecast demand, and optimize supplier performance. McKinsey’s research shows that companies investing in agile and digital capabilities are seeing performance improvements of up to 40% within two to four years. These gains are not just operational, they translate into stronger customer relationships, faster time-to-market, and improved financial outcomes.
Ultimately, agile procurement is more than a tactical shift, it’s a strategic mindset. It requires cross-functional collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and a willingness to embrace change. Leading companies in Latin America are already proving that agility is not just a response to volatility, it’s a pathway to growth. By embedding flexibility into their sourcing strategies and building resilient supplier ecosystems, they are positioning themselves to thrive in an increasingly fragmented and fast-moving global trade environment.
Latin America’s logistics sector is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by global shifts and regional complexities that demand smarter, more agile strategies. The region’s challenges, ranging from fragmented infrastructure and regulatory diversity to rising consumer expectations, are not insurmountable. In fact, they present a unique opportunity for businesses to innovate and lead.
By embracing digital integration, process optimization, and strategic partnerships, companies can simplify operations and build supply chains that are not only more efficient but also more resilient to disruption.
What sets leading companies apart is their proactive mindset. They are investing in talent, adopting agile procurement models, and leveraging technology to stay ahead of change. These organizations understand that success in Latin America requires more than operational efficiency, it requires adaptability, collaboration, and a deep understanding of local dynamics. As the region continues to evolve, those who prioritize simplicity and flexibility will be best positioned to unlock growth, strengthen customer relationships, and shape the future of trade across Latin America.
Ocean updates
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Our Atacama service is ending the seasonal Valparaiso NB call in wk 40 aligned with the citrus season demand, it has been a success to support the market and customers in their needs, we will keep focusing on the upcoming reefer seasons. We are glad to share that we are back on weekly coverage into Acajutla and Nicaragua with our WCCA1 service, we offer a differentiated product and transit times very reliable.
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Service Update: Effective October 3rd, Maersk will discontinue its participation in the New Brasex service. Export cargo to El Salvador will be routed via the BRAZIL service. Manaus Operations: We continue to monitor river levels in Manaus. Although levels are declining, the floating pier remains unnecessary at this time. However, operational restrictions and allocation reductions may still apply. New Opportunities: We are currently accepting new business on the UCLA and TANGO services.
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Maersk to terminate Brazex participation. The last northbound voyage will be the M/V CMA BERLIOZ 544N (or substitute), sailing from Paranagua on November 1, 2025. We remain attending the Caribbean, US Gulf, and Mexico via UCLA and Gulfex service. Tango extended Norfolk suspension (being attended via transshipment in Cartagena) and Rio de Janeiro biweekly call until further notice. ECSA Shuttle new rotation to be Paranagua – Santos (DP World) – Manzanillo (Panama) to attend Caribbean, US, and South America West Coast connections in a bi-weekly basis.
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Main port status
CAC: Actions are being taken to mitigate yard levels and their impacts on cargo flow. Panama Terminals and Cartagena, COL for Maersk flows in good conditions, vessels out of window may face 1 o 2 days of wt.
ECSA: Santos Brasil remains critical with no room for contingencies or extramoves. Itapoá is under severe pressure 95% yard utilization and 4–6d WT for vessels out of window, Rio grande also under high pressure due to line up impacted and vessels late, vessel on window with 24 hr of waiting time, Paranaguá is improving (75% yard, 12–24h WT for vessels on time), while other ports are mostly stable but monitorng for yard pressure and the bad weather on the coast.
WCSA: Some terminals are experiencing difficulties due to heavy rains. This weather is typical for the season. Operations continue as conditions allow.
World: Due to the removal of the old cranes at NIT, a second service has been moved to VIG.
Port status
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Santos DPW, Santos BTP, Paranagua, Itapoá, Rio de Janeiro,Rio Grande Bahia Blanca, Acajutla, San Lorenzo, Caucedo, Puerto Barrios, Sto Tomas de Castilla, Puerto Cortes, , San Antonio STI, Norfolk NIT
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Landside updates
Central America, Andina and the Caribbean Sea Area
Honduras has experienced historic growth in vehicle imports. This has intensified pressure on post-port logistics: yard congestion, inspection delays, a shortage of specialized transport, and unpredictable pickup times. This environment demands agile and coordinated solutions that respond to the new market pace. To address this, Maersk is launching First Mile Auto, a service designed to facilitate the safe and efficient transfer of vehicles from port to final destination, with full traceability, regulatory compliance, and cost control. Now is the ideal time to review your logistics flows and anticipate the operational challenges that come with this boom.
Highlights
Resilience: The way forward for Latin American supply chains
Know what makes your supply chain anti-fragile for the unconventional world of tomorrow.
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