Weekly pulse · Week of October 19

Weekly Pulse — October 19, 2026

Manzanillo is back in operation after Simón, but importing got more expensive elsewhere. Ocean freight rebounded, the peso posted its sixth straight weekly loss, and the Senate approved the customs reform that toughens seizures for undervaluation.

Published October 19, 2026, with data closed that same day

Drewry WCI: $4,485
FIX exchange rate: $18.4930
MVE transition: 12 days

In brief

Freight and the dollar rose together
The WCI rebounded 3% to $4,485/FEU and the FIX ended the week at 18.4930, the peso's sixth losing week.
Manzanillo regained its flow
It reopened on Oct 12 and restored direct truck entry on Oct 16.
The customs reform cleared the Senate
It still awaits DOF publication and would take effect on Jan 1, 2027.
MVE: 12 days left
The Oct 31 extension is still not in the DOF; find your date in the MVE checklist.
No tariff deal
Ebrard expects a cut for autos and steel within weeks or months; the fourth USMCA round still has no date.

Rates and FX

Freight rebounds and the peso finds no floor.

Contrary to what Drewry expected a week ago, freight did not hold still: the WCI rose 3% to $4,485/FEU on Oct 15, ending three weeks of declines. Shanghai–Los Angeles climbed 3% to $7,884, supported by US import demand. The peso posted its sixth straight weekly loss: Banxico set the FIX at 18.4930 on Oct 16, 0.4% above Oct 9, and during the week the dollar traded as high as 18.60, its highest level since November 2025. A higher FIX raises the peso base for duty, DTA and VAT on every entry. The September Asia–Mexico EAX is still unpublished.

What to do this week

Request quotes for your November shipments from Asia now and compare them with October. Recost the entries you will pay this month at the current FIX.

Recost your landed cost at today's FIX? Let's talk

Ports and customs

Manzanillo normalizes; the customs reform cleared the Senate.

A correction to last week's edition: the Harbor Master reopened Manzanillo to navigation on Monday, Oct 12, at 9:00, the same day we published without an official reopening notice. Terminals resumed appointments, some on shifted schedules, and customs ran 24 hours that day. On Oct 16, the port's land traffic control restored direct entry for trucks that had been diverted to the Centro Regulador Terrestre. In customs, the Senate approved the Customs Law reform on Oct 13, 66 to 37, and sent it to the Executive; as of Oct 19 it is not in the DOF. It removes the 50% undervaluation floor for precautionary seizures and would take effect on Jan 1, 2027. The MVE is unchanged: the extension to Oct 31 still exists only as an SAT advance version, with 12 days left.

What to do this week

Close out with your broker the containers that ran up extra storage because of Simón. If your prices sit below market references, start gathering evidence for your transaction value now; here is what the reform changes.

Want to review your exposure to the customs reform? Let's talk

Trade and border

Ebrard talks of weeks or months; tariffs stay put.

There was no tariff deal with the United States. On Oct 15, press reports attributed the stall to opposition from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick; on Oct 16, Marcelo Ebrard denied it before lawmakers and said he expects a cut for autos and steel "in the coming weeks or months," aiming for no one to pay more than 15%. The fourth USMCA round still has no date. On the Mexican side there was one concrete change: a decree published in the DOF on Oct 13 waives, from Oct 14, the customs guarantee account requirement for international transit between Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz via the Interoceanic Corridor. The SAT rules it depends on have not yet appeared in the DOF.

What to do this week

Keep planning with current tariffs. If you move cargo between the Gulf and the Pacific, ask your broker to evaluate the Corridor now that this transit requires no guarantee.

Is your tariff code exposed to Section 232? Let's talk

Sources

Every figure in this edition comes from public sources, with data as of October 19, 2026. Freight indexes move week to week: use them as a trend reference, not as a quote.