Weekly pulse · Week of October 26

Weekly Pulse — October 26, 2026

Freight and the dollar rose again, Manzanillo closed for the second time in a week and the customs reform is now in the DOF, five days before the MVE transition ends.

Published October 26, 2026, with data closed that same day

Drewry WCI: $4,585
FIX exchange rate: $18.6670
MVE transition: 5 days

In brief

Freight and the dollar kept rising
The WCI rose 2% to $4,585/FEU and the FIX closed at 18.6670, the peso's seventh losing week.
Manzanillo closed again
Trudy shut it from Oct 16 to 19, and customs ran 24 hours through Oct 23.
The customs reform is now in the DOF
Published on Oct 23, it toughens undervaluation reviews from Jan 1, 2027.
MVE: 5 days left
The Oct 31 extension is still not in the DOF; find your date in the MVE checklist.
No tariff deal
Ebrard and Trump speak of progress, but Section 232 tariffs are unchanged and the fourth USMCA round still has no date.

Rates and FX

Freight hits a 15-week high and the peso adds a seventh losing week.

Freight rose for a second week: Drewry's WCI gained 2% to $4,585/FEU on Oct 22, its highest level in 15 weeks, and Shanghai–Los Angeles reached $8,007. On the Transpacific, Drewry expects stable rates next week. The peso posted its seventh straight weekly loss: Banxico set the FIX at 18.6670 on Oct 23, 0.9% above Oct 16, after touching 18.7005 on Oct 22, the weekly high. Analysts attribute it to the unwinding of carry-trade positions ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting on Oct 28. The September Asia–Mexico EAX is still unpublished.

What to do this week

Lock in rates for your November shipments from Asia before the increase consolidates. Budget November entries with a margin over the current FIX.

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

Ports and customs

A second Manzanillo closure; the customs reform is now law.

An omission from last week's edition: Manzanillo closed again, this time because of Hurricane Trudy. The Harbor Master suspended navigation for large vessels from 21:00 on Friday, Oct 16, and reopened the port at 6:00 on Monday, Oct 19; it was the second closure in a week. To clear the backlog, ANAM ran customs 24 hours from Oct 19 to 23 and returned to regular hours on Saturday, Oct 24. On the rules side, the DOF published the Customs Law reform on Oct 23: if the declared value is below that of identical or similar goods, authorities will open a review on their own and may seize the goods; with a gap under 20%, the seizure can be replaced by a deposit. It takes effect on Jan 1, 2027. The MVE is unchanged: the extension to Oct 31 still exists only as an SAT advance version, five days remain, and on Nov 1 the requirement starts for processing in bonded facilities.

What to do this week

Check with your broker whether any container ran up storage because of the two closures. If your prices sit below market references, document your transaction value; here is what the reform changes.

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

Trade and border

More optimism in Washington, same tariffs.

There is still no tariff deal with the United States, although the tone improved toward the weekend. On Oct 20, Bloomberg reported a stalemate on steel and aluminum that could delay progress until after the US midterm elections. On Oct 23, Marcelo Ebrard said from Washington that talks are advancing to cut Section 232 tariffs on vehicles, steel and aluminum, and the next day Donald Trump said a deal is close, though he made his signature conditional. The fourth USMCA review round still has no confirmed date.

What to do this week

Keep quoting with current tariffs: nothing announced this week changes what is paid today. If you export steel, aluminum or auto parts, have your regional content analysis ready for when the terms are known.

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 26, 2026. Freight indexes move week to week: use them as a trend reference, not as a quote.