Shipping from the UK to Mexico: Air and Sea Freight Guide
Mexico is one of the largest economies in Latin America and one of the most important trade partners in the Americas for UK exporters. Whether you’re shipping industrial machinery, spare parts, consumer goods, or commercial cargo, the UK–Mexico route is well-served by both air and sea freight. Mexico City is the commercial heart of the country — home to the majority of Mexican businesses, manufacturers, and buyers — but it sits 2,240 metres above sea level and 430 kilometres from the nearest major port. Understanding how freight actually reaches Mexico City matters. This guide covers both modes, what the Mexican customs process involves, and what you need to have ready.
Air Freight from the UK to Mexico City
Air freight is the right choice for time-sensitive, high-value, or low-volume cargo that cannot wait three to four weeks on a container ship.
The main cargo airport serving Mexico City is Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez (AICM), with cargo handled at the dedicated terminal on the airport’s south side. A second major airport — Felipe Ángeles International (AIFA), opened in 2022, located about 50 km north of the city — is being progressively developed for cargo operations, though AICM remains the primary commercial hub for the majority of air freight volumes.
Transit time air freight UK to Mexico City: typically three to five working days from London Heathrow to AICM, depending on routing and carrier. Most services route via a hub — Miami, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Madrid — before the transatlantic leg. Direct freighter services are limited; most cargo travels in the belly of passenger aircraft or on mixed freighters with intermediate stops.
Air freight rates are calculated on chargeable weight — the higher of actual weight or volumetric weight (length × width × height in cm ÷ 6,000). For compact, heavy cargo, actual weight governs. For light, bulky cargo, volumetric weight typically governs. Rates vary significantly with market conditions and are quoted per kg for the chargeable weight.
Air freight to Mexico City makes sense for: urgent spare parts for machinery or production downtime; high-value goods where insurance or security costs on sea freight are prohibitive; small, low-volume shipments where the per-kg cost differential versus sea is manageable; and time-critical commercial shipments with a hard delivery deadline.
We arrange air freight services from the UK to Mexico City with cargo handling coordinated at AICM and Mexican customs clearance managed through our licensed partner network in Mexico.
Sea Freight from the UK to Mexico
Sea freight is the cost-effective mode for larger or heavier commercial cargo — full containers (FCL), groupage/LCL, or any shipment where transit time of three to four weeks is acceptable.
Mexico has ports on both coasts. The choice between them matters for Mexico City deliveries:
Veracruz — the Atlantic route
Port of Veracruz (Estado de Veracruz, Gulf of Mexico) is Mexico’s oldest and busiest commercial port for general cargo and containers, and is geographically the most practical port for cargo destined for Mexico City. The overland distance from Veracruz to Mexico City is approximately 430 km via the autopista 150D — around four to five hours by truck through the mountains. This is the natural sea freight route for UK exporters shipping to Mexico City and the central Mexican plateau.
Transit time UK to Veracruz: approximately 18–24 days port-to-port from UK container ports (Felixstowe, Southampton), typically routing via Antwerp or Le Havre and across the Atlantic, calling at Caribbean transshipment ports before reaching Veracruz.
Manzanillo — the Pacific route
Port of Manzanillo (Estado de Colima, Pacific coast) is Mexico’s busiest container port by volume — primarily serving Asia–Mexico trade. For UK cargo, it requires routing around Central America or through the Panama Canal, adding distance and transit time. Manzanillo is further from Mexico City (approximately 620 km) but is sometimes used for specific cargo types or when service frequency to Veracruz is unfavourable.
Port of Altamira (Estado de Tamaulipas, Gulf of Mexico) is a secondary option for cargo destined for northern Mexico, particularly Monterrey, and is sometimes used for Mexico City cargo via the northern highway network.
For most UK exporters shipping to Mexico City, Veracruz is the preferred arrival port.
Container options:
- FCL (Full Container Load): 20ft (approximately 25–28 CBM, up to 28,000 kg) or 40ft/40HC (approximately 60–76 CBM). Best when cargo fills or nearly fills a container.
- LCL (Less than Container Load): Your cargo shares container space with other shipments. More economical for smaller volumes — typically up to 12–15 CBM — but with slightly longer overall transit due to consolidation and deconsolidation at both ends.
We arrange sea freight services from UK ports to Veracruz and other Mexican ports, with full documentation and customs coordination.
Mexican Customs: How It Works
Mexico’s customs system is more complex than EU customs, and understanding it before you ship will save significant time and cost.
Customs in Mexico is administered by SAT (Servicio de Administración Tributaria) — the Tax and Revenue Administration — through its customs (Aduanas) division. Unlike most countries, Mexican import customs declarations must be filed by a licensed Mexican customs agent (agente aduanal), who acts as a legally authorised intermediary between the importer and Aduanas. Your freight forwarder will work with a licensed agente aduanal in Mexico as part of the import clearance process.
The Pedimento
The core document for any Mexican import is the Pedimento — the official Mexican customs declaration form filed electronically with Aduanas. It includes the goods description, HS code under Mexico’s tariff schedule, declared customs value, applicable duties, and IVA. The Pedimento is prepared and filed by the agente aduanal based on the documentation you provide. Errors in the Pedimento — incorrect HS codes, undervalued goods, inconsistent descriptions — attract penalties and delays.
The USD 1,000 threshold
For shipments valued at USD 1,000 or more, using a licensed agente aduanal is mandatory under Mexican law. Below this threshold, simplified clearance procedures may apply. In practice, virtually all commercial B2B shipments between UK and Mexico businesses will exceed this threshold and will require a licensed customs agent.
The Carta Porte
Since 2022, Carta Porte is a mandatory supplementary digital consignment note attached to the electronic invoice (CFDI) for any movement of goods within Mexico — by road, air, or sea. It records origin, destination, and cargo details for any inland transport within Mexican territory. Your Mexican customer or logistics partner must ensure Carta Porte compliance for the inland leg from the port or airport to the delivery address. Make sure your Mexican counterpart is aware of this requirement — it is their domestic responsibility but a common source of delays when overlooked.
Mexican Import Taxes: What Your Customer Will Pay
IVA (Impuesto al Valor Agregado)
Mexican IVA (VAT) is 16% on most imported goods, calculated on the CIF customs value — the cost of goods plus freight and insurance to the Mexican border. For B2B transactions where your Mexican buyer is IVA-registered, this is recoverable against their IVA liability. It is a cash flow consideration, not a permanent cost for registered businesses.
Import duty
Mexico’s import duty rates vary by HS code under the TIGIE (Tarifa de la Ley de los Impuestos Generales de Importación y de Exportación). Rates range from 0% for many industrial inputs, machinery, and components to 20%+ for some consumer goods and agricultural products. There is no comprehensive UK–Mexico free trade agreement in force — Mexico has FTAs with the EU (via CETA update) and with many other countries, but UK goods since Brexit are assessed under Mexico’s general (MFN) tariff rates. This means UK-origin goods are assessed at the general duty rate for each HS code, which for industrial machinery and spare parts is often 0% or low, but worth confirming.
DTA (Derecho de Trámite Aduanero)
Mexico charges a 0.8% customs processing fee (DTA) on the CIF value of all imports. This is on top of import duty and IVA. Small in absolute terms but worth including in landed cost calculations.
Documents Required for UK–Mexico Shipments
Commercial invoice. Must include: your full business name and address, your UK EORI number, the Mexican importer’s full details and Mexican RFC tax number (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes), a specific goods description at commodity level, HS code under Mexico’s tariff schedule (8 digits), quantity, unit value and total value in USD (Mexico’s customs value is assessed in USD regardless of invoiced currency), country of origin, and Incoterm. Mexican customs scrutinises declared values — they must reflect actual transaction values and be consistent across all documents.
Packing list. Itemised contents, dimensions, gross and net weights per package and total.
Bill of lading (sea) or airway bill (air). The transport document issued by the carrier.
Certificate of origin (if applicable). While there is no UK–Mexico FTA enabling preferential duty rates, a certificate of origin may be required for specific goods categories or to confirm origin for duty assessment purposes.
Technical documentation for regulated goods. Machinery, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food products all have specific Mexican import requirements. Some goods require NOM (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas) compliance certification — Mexico’s equivalent of CE marking for certain product categories. This needs to be established before shipping — NOM requirements for some categories are extensive and cannot be addressed at the port.
Mexico City: Getting Cargo from Port to Door
Mexico City is inland at altitude, connected to Veracruz by the 150D autopista. The journey from Veracruz port to Mexico City takes approximately four to five hours by truck and passes through challenging terrain. Most freight forwarders working the UK–Mexico route will have established trucking partners in Mexico for the port-to-door leg.
A few practical points for deliveries in Mexico City specifically:
Customs-cleared cargo moves from port to Mexico City by road. Once the Pedimento is filed and the goods are released by Aduanas at Veracruz, the truck can proceed. Clearance times for clean, well-documented shipments at Veracruz are typically one to three working days, though this can vary with inspection risk and port volumes.
Mexico City traffic and access. Mexico City is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Delivery scheduling, vehicle size restrictions in certain zones, and access at industrial sites are factors worth confirming with the Mexican consignee before arrival. This is managed at the Mexican end but worth raising early.
Altitude and temperature. At 2,240 metres, Mexico City has a different climate profile to coastal Mexico. For temperature-sensitive cargo, this matters when planning packaging and routing through Veracruz, which is tropical and humid before the mountain ascent.
Why Use ALINNZA for UK–Mexico Freight
Mexico is one of ALINNZA’s core markets. We have handled air and sea freight between the UK and Mexico for years — industrial machinery, spare parts, manufactured goods, and commercial cargo. We know the documentation requirements, the port-to-door logistics, the agente aduanal network, and the practical realities of shipping to a landlocked capital city at altitude.
We quote door-to-door where possible — not just port-to-port rates that fall apart in footnotes once you add destination charges, customs agent fees, DTA, and trucking. If you want to understand the full landed cost before you commit to a shipment, that is what we give you.
