Ports · Pacific coast of Guatemala
Puerto Quetzal: 100 km from the capital.
Guatemala’s Pacific port on one page: who operates each terminal, how appointments are requested, how much weight the road allows and when there is a ban on heavy trucks.
Quetzal → Guatemala
Port profile: who operates and what it moves.
Three players work at Puerto Quetzal: the state port company, the container terminal and the cargo operator on the port company’s docks. Before dispatch, it is worth confirming which one receives the container.
| Item | Puerto Quetzal |
|---|---|
| Operator | Empresa Portuaria Quetzal (EPQ, state-owned); container terminal: APM Terminals Quetzal, S.A.; cargo handling at EPQ’s docks: Yilport Quetzal |
| What it handles | Dry bulk, containers, fuels, sugar and by-products; cruise ships. |
| Coast | Pacific coast of Guatemala |
| Official site | puertoquetzal.gob.gt |
| Reference city | Ciudad de Guatemala |
| Distance by road | 100 km |
| Road | CA-9 Sur (Palín–Escuintla and Escuintla–Puerto Quetzal highways) |
| Data quality | The EPQ profile comes from WFP (2022 edition) because EPQ’s portal could not be read; the data on APM Terminals Quetzal and Yilport come from the operators. |
Last reviewed: September 2026. Reference values. They have to be confirmed with the terminal operator before loading. Distances are indicative: those from WFP (PMA/WFP) were measured for a light vehicle and are not navigation data. View the 5 sources (some in Spanish)
APM Terminals Quetzal — operator’s website; APM Terminals Quetzal — citas de camiones; Yilport — ficha de YILPORT Quetzal; PMA/WFP LCA — Guatemala, Puerto Quetzal (ed. 2022); PMA/WFP LCA — Guatemala, road network (2016).
More data: Puerto Quetzal
- APM Terminals Quetzal states an annual capacity of 340,000 TEU.
- Yilport Quetzal handles containers, general cargo and bulk at EPQ’s docks: 810 m quay, 13 m draft and 5 mobile cranes.
How to read this profile.These are reference values compiled from public sources: port operators, authorities and the press. They do not replace confirmation from the terminal operator or the traffic authority. Gate hours, appointments and road restrictions change without notice: they have to be confirmed with the operator before scheduling the load.
Who runs the dock: as of September 30, 2026.
This is news with an as-of date, not a permanent fact: the operation of Puerto Quetzal is in transition. Before scheduling cargo, confirm who operates the terminal that day.
Last reviewed: September 2026. News compiled from the press; it may have changed after the as-of date. View the 3 sources (cataloged in Spanish)
Prensa Libre — transición de la terminal de contenedores (8-abr-2026); Prensa Libre — EPQ inicia proceso para definir operador (22-set-2026); Prensa Libre — EPQ renegocia tarifas y plazos con APM Terminals.
By road: CA-9 Sur.
The reference connection between Puerto Quetzal and Ciudad de Guatemala, in figures; the route is drawn on the map at the top of the page. The distances are for planning; they are not navigation data.
100km
From Puerto Quetzal to Ciudad de Guatemala, according to public sourcesindicative102km
The same stretch, measured on the OpenStreetMap road networkThe planner measures on the OpenStreetMap network, which is why its distance differs slightly from that of the public sources.
Road: CA-9 Sur (Palín–Escuintla and Escuintla–Puerto Quetzal highways).
Reference distance: approx. 100 km; between 98 and 109 km depending on the measuring point (98 km in the WFP profile, Km 102 in EPQ’s address and 109 km Capital–Puerto San José in the WFP matrix, data from 2016 to 2022).
This profile does not publish truck times: they change with the departure time, the line at the gate and the state of the road.
What shapes the trip
Guatemala suspends the movement of heavy trucks on long holidays, with authorized routes to the ports, and restricts rush hours in the capital. A new ministerial agreement (acuerdo ministerial) is published every year: the list shows the last one verified.
Holy Week ban on heavy trucks
Acuerdo Ministerial 239-2026 (CIV): heavy trucks over 3.5 t are barred from the road from Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 12:00 to Sunday, April 5, 2026 at 23:59. Exempt: food, perishables, beverages, fuels, tow trucks and audiovisual equipment for authorized events. Authorized routes to ports: from km 290 of CA-9 Norte toward Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomás de Castilla, and from km 80 of CA-9 Sur “A” toward Puerto Quetzal. Validation by QR code at validacion.dgt.gob.gt.
Validity and source of the data: Holy Week 2026 (agreement published on March 16, 2026). A new agreement is issued every year, a few weeks ahead; in 2025 Acuerdo 538-2025 applied, with the same pattern. Agreement number, dates and exemptions: official source; hours, weight threshold and routes to ports: press reports, consistent with the official 2025 agreements.
Year-end ban on heavy trucks verified
Acuerdo Ministerial 2031-2025: vehicles with a gross weight over 3.5 t are barred from the road from December 24, 2025 at 12:00 to December 25 at 24:00, and from December 31, 2025 at 12:00 to January 1, 2026 at 24:00. Same exemptions and authorized routes to ports as in Holy Week.
Validity and source of the data: Year-end 2025 (agreement published on December 17, 2025). A new agreement is issued every year, a few weeks ahead.
Rush hours in Ciudad de Guatemala
There is a rush-hour restriction on cargo transport in Ciudad de Guatemala and neighboring municipalities. Confirm the current hours before scheduling the load.
Validity and source of the data: Existence confirmed in the SIECA/JICA Master Plan (August 2023); hours not verified.
Last reviewed: September 2026. Reference values. They have to be confirmed with the traffic authority before dispatch. View the 7 sources (cataloged in Spanish)
DGT Guatemala, Acuerdo Ministerial 239-2026 (16-mar-2026); DGT Guatemala, Acuerdo Ministerial 538-2025 (8-abr-2025); DGT Guatemala, Acuerdo Ministerial 2031-2025 (17-dic-2025); SIECA/JICA (2023), Plan Maestro Regional Indicativo de Movilidad y Logística, apéndices (archivo 1); La Red 106.1 (16-mar-2026); Centra News (16-mar-2026); Infobae (17-mar-2026).
Weight you can load: the road decides.
The limit is not set by the container alone: the road sets it. In Guatemala, for international cargo, the gross vehicle weight (tractor, chassis, container and cargo together) has a maximum that depends on the axles of the combination.
37,000kg
Maximum gross weight · 2-axle chassis (T3-S2)41,000kg
Maximum gross weight · 3-axle chassis (T3-S3)16,000kg
Maximum on the tandem axle20,000kg
Maximum on the tridem axleRegulation: Acuerdo Gubernativo 379-2010 (Reglamento para el Control de Pesos y Dimensiones de Vehículos Automotores y sus Combinaciones). Weighing tolerance: overweight is not allowed; only a 5% load imbalance between axles is accepted (according to the Dirección General de Caminos, 2012).
How much cargo the container has left
From the gross weight, subtract the tractor, the chassis and the empty container. What is left is the payload: an indicative calculation with reference tares and the limit of the Central American Agreement, which governs international cargo in Guatemala. Confirm it with the actual tare of the equipment before dispatch.
| Container | 2-axle chassis (T3-S2) | 3-axle chassis (T3-S3) |
|---|---|---|
| 20’ standard | 23,000–23,244 kg | 26,000–26,350 kg |
| 40’ standard | 21,600 kg | 24,600 kg |
| 40’ HC | 21,400 kg | 24,400 kg |
| 40’ HC reefer | 19,919 kg | 22,867 kg |
Last reviewed: September 2026. The country’s legal limit and our own payload estimate with reference tares; they are not data from GoTruck’s equipment. The container’s plate and the limit of each axle group prevail. View the 7 sources (cataloged in Spanish)
Dirección General de Caminos de Guatemala — presentación de oct-2012 (alojada por un tercero; no es el texto legal); SIECA / COMITRAN — Acuerdo Centroamericano sobre Circulación por Carreteras, versión 2014; SIECA — Situación actual de los protocolos (vigencia por país); Maersk — Central America transport weight regulations (4-dic-2025); Crowley — Guatemala export weight restrictions (16-mar-2015); Seaboard Marine — Equipment; ONE — Container Specifications.
Notes on the regulation: axles, overweight and genset
- The weights and axles shown are those for international cargo (37 t = 5 + 16 + 16; 41 t = 5 + 16 + 20): they are firm, they match the Central American Agreement, in force for Guatemala, and Maersk publishes them.
- Domestic dry cargo, according to the Dirección General de Caminos (2012): T3-S2 37,960 kg (5,000 + 16,480 + 16,480) and T3-S3 42,080 kg (5,000 + 16,480 + 20,600). Indicative figures.
- Indicative record: the domestic figures, the length, the tolerance and the procedures come from a 2012 DGC presentation; the text of A.G. 379-2010 could not be read in the official source.
- Overweight detected: the vehicle does not continue until the excess is removed or the imbalance corrected; there are 24 hours to remove the excess and scale staff do not guard the cargo (according to the DGC, 2012).
- Reefer container: the genset weighs 621 to 830 kg without fuel, and that weight is subtracted from the cargo allowed.
How each payload figure was estimated
- 20’ standard, 2-axle chassis (T3-S2): 37,000 kg − tractor and 2-axle chassis 11,650 kg − container 2,300 kg. Tare derived from a 2015 Crowley table (equipment in Guatemala). The maximum is the figure from that same table, not an independent confirmation. High risk of exceeding the 16 t tandem. Applies to Guatemala (international cargo), El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
- 20’ standard, 3-axle chassis (T3-S3): 41,000 kg − tractor and 3-axle chassis 12,700 kg − container 2,300 kg. Tare derived from a 2015 Crowley table (equipment in Guatemala). The maximum is the figure from that same table, not an independent confirmation. Applies to Guatemala (international cargo), El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
- 40’ standard, 2-axle chassis (T3-S2): 37,000 kg − tractor and 2-axle chassis 11,650 kg − container 3,700 kg. Tare derived from a 2015 Crowley table (equipment in Guatemala). Applies to Guatemala (international cargo), El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
- 40’ standard, 3-axle chassis (T3-S3): 41,000 kg − tractor and 3-axle chassis 12,700 kg − container 3,700 kg. Tare derived from a 2015 Crowley table (equipment in Guatemala). Applies to Guatemala (international cargo), El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
- 40’ HC, 2-axle chassis (T3-S2): 37,000 kg − tractor and 2-axle chassis 11,650 kg − container 3,900 kg. Tare derived from a 2015 Crowley table (equipment in Guatemala). Applies to Guatemala (international cargo), El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
- 40’ HC, 3-axle chassis (T3-S3): 41,000 kg − tractor and 3-axle chassis 12,700 kg − container 3,900 kg. Tare derived from a 2015 Crowley table (equipment in Guatemala). Applies to Guatemala (international cargo), El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
- 40’ HC reefer, 2-axle chassis (T3-S2): Operator data, not our own calculation: maximum cargo Crowley published in 2015 for a 40’ reefer container with its equipment in Guatemala, on a 2-axle chassis (43,914 lb). Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
- 40’ HC reefer, 3-axle chassis (T3-S3): Operator data, not our own calculation: maximum cargo Crowley published in 2015 for a 40’ reefer container with its equipment in Guatemala, on a 3-axle chassis (50,413 lb). Indicative estimate, not a legal limit: the container plate and the limit of each axle group govern, and the axle group limit is usually reached before the gross total; the total assumes the front axle loaded to its maximum, which rarely happens. It is confirmed with the actual tare of the equipment.
Before the gate: appointments and entry.
What each operator publishes for whoever arrives with the truck. Where it says an item is not published, the operator does not make it public: you have to ask for it.
Puerto Quetzal
- APM Terminals Quetzal offers online truck appointments, container tracking and lookup of pending and scheduled customs inspections; its gate hours are not published.
- It is not confirmed whether containers are received at two separate points (APM Terminals Quetzal and the commercial dock with Yilport).
Last reviewed: September 2026. Taken from what each operator or authority publishes; what is marked as indicative comes from secondary sources cited in the profile. Hours are always checked with the operator. View the 3 sources (some in Spanish)
APM Terminals Quetzal — operator’s website; APM Terminals Quetzal — citas de camiones; Yilport — ficha de YILPORT Quetzal.
Before sending the truck.Gate hours, appointments and requirements change without notice. They have to be confirmed with the terminal operator on the same day. The documents for the trip are listed in Documents: DUCA-T, waybill.
GoTruck in Guatemala: the regional dry van gets there.
This page is a reference profile for anyone planning cargo through Puerto Quetzal. Guatemala is a destination for GoTruck’s regional dry van, which leaves Costa Rica with a waybill (carta de porte) and under customs transit (in-bond).
Quetzal, to the point: appointments, bans and weight.
How many kilometers is it from Puerto Quetzal to Ciudad de Guatemala?
About 100 km by road, on CA-9 Sur, as a reference value. Detail of the sources: approx. 100 km; between 98 and 109 km depending on the measuring point (98 km in the WFP profile, Km 102 in EPQ’s address and 109 km Capital–Puerto San José in the WFP matrix, data from 2016 to 2022). This profile does not publish truck times: they change with the departure time, the line at the gate and the state of the road.
Who operates the container terminal at Puerto Quetzal?
Empresa Portuaria Quetzal (EPQ, state-owned); container terminal: APM Terminals Quetzal, S.A.; cargo handling at EPQ’s docks: Yilport Quetzal. As of September 30, 2026: APM Terminals Quetzal operates under temporary contracts that expire on Oct 31, 2027; EPQ has been receiving expressions of interest since Sep 1, 2026 to select the terminal operator, and APM Terminals Quetzal submitted its own (press reports).
How are truck appointments requested at Puerto Quetzal?
APM Terminals Quetzal offers online truck appointments, container tracking and lookup of pending and scheduled customs inspections; its gate hours are not published. It is not confirmed whether containers are received at two separate points (APM Terminals Quetzal and the commercial dock with Yilport).
How much weight does Guatemala allow for a container by road?
In Guatemala, for international cargo, the maximum gross vehicle weight (tractor, chassis, container and cargo together) is 37,000 kg with a 2-axle chassis (T3-S2) and 41,000 kg with a 3-axle chassis (T3-S3). As an indicative reference, a 40’ HC container has 21,400 kg left for cargo with 2 axles and 24,400 kg with 3 axles; the actual figure depends on the tare of the equipment assigned. Run the numbers with your pallet in the load calculator.
Are there bans on heavy trucks on the way to Puerto Quetzal?
Yes: Guatemala suspends the movement of heavy trucks during Holy Week and at year-end, by ministerial agreement (acuerdo ministerial). A new agreement is issued every year, a few weeks ahead, with authorized routes to the ports. The details of the last agreement published are under By road.
Does GoTruck move containers at Puerto Quetzal?
This page is a reference profile. What GoTruck offers to Guatemala is the regional dry van, which leaves Costa Rica with a waybill (carta de porte) and under customs transit (in-bond). If your cargo goes from Costa Rica to this area, tell us what you need to move.
After the port: the border crossing and the route.
Cargo to Guatemala? Tell us.
The regional dry van leaves Costa Rica and crosses through to Guatemala. Tell us what you are moving and where it is going.