The funding is earmarked for the expansion of its Saltillo, Coahuila, manufacturing plant, located around 50 miles from the business hub of Monterrey, Nuevo León.

La Planta Ensamble Camiones ubicada en Saltillo, Coahuila de Stellantis llegó a los 5 millones de unidades ensambladas. La mejor manera de celebrarlo fue con una Ram 2500 Power Wagon. ¿Qué les parece?@StellantisMX @RAM_MX #stellantis #ram #pickups #MemoLira pic.twitter.com/hWKzggYM9f

— Memo Lira (@AutosMemoLira) August 5, 2023

“Stellantis is committed to Mexico, and we want to continue investing in the country since we have a high-quality [level] of manufacturing, we are one of the best plants of the corporation,” Carlos Quezada, CEO of Stellantis Mexico told the newspaper El Economista. “The workers have great experience, and we have everything to be very competitive,” Quezada added.

Stellantis initially announced plans to expand its Coahuila plant, where it has been making trucks since 1995, in October.

Chrysler Brand Chief Executive Officer Christine Feuell said the Mexico plant expansion is moving forward and will serve as a “relief valve” for a Stellantis truck factory in the United States that is expected to eventually reach full production capacity.

The investment will boost production at Stellantis’s Coahuila facility to nearly 1 million engines, which is leading to market speculation over the announcement of a new RAM truck model.

Stellantis is also aiming for greater production of electric vehicles (EVs) at the facility, according to Quezada. The firm also began producing EVs at its $1.6 billion Toluca plant in August.

Stellantis México’s CEO highlighted several challenges facing the company in 2025, including the likely introduction of higher US tariffs under the new presidential administration of Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20, 2025.

“Starting in January, a lot will depend on the automotive industry and how the issue of tariffs … can affect the footprint of the companies that assemble and export to the United States,” explained Quezada.

In early December, Coahuila’s Governor Manolo Jiménez Salinas met in Rome with leaders from the automotive industry, including the directors of Stellantis Europe, to discuss the potential for new investment in the Mexican market.

“We strengthened ties, presented competitive advantages and talked about new initiatives from Italian suppliers that could soon arrive in Mexico,” the governor said, according to the news site ANSA Latina.

In Rome, Jiménez also met with Gianmarco Giorda, general director of the National Association of the Automotive Industry, which represents 470 companies. Giorda and other business leaders agreed to visit Mexico to promote investment and strengthen trade ties.

With reports from El Economista, ANSA Latina and MEXICONOW

The post Stellantis prepares new investments in Mexico in 2025 appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The investment is being driven by the expansion of national and international companies taking advantage of Mexico’s logistics capabilities, Ávalos said in a Banorte Norte Económico podcast.

“While Chinese companies have played a very important role in this phenomenon,  companies from the United States are also returning their manufacturing operations from China to North American territory, which they call reshoring,” explained Ávalos.  

According to Ávalos, in 2024, nearshoring accounted for approximately 59.2 million square feet of gross rentable area, which is 35% of rentable industrial space in Mexico. 

New 900-million-dollar Natura Industrial Park breaks ground in Tijuana

Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda attended a groundbreaking event for the 18.4-billion-peso (US $911 million) Natura Industrial Park in Tijuana, Baja California, across the border from San Diego, on Nov. 19. 

The new project covers over 444 acres and will have 24 industrial warehouses, responding to the growing demand of the manufacturing sector. It is expected to generate 27,000 direct jobs. 

En nuestro gobierno lo tenemos claro: el desarrollo económico no puede estar separado del bienestar social y ambiental como ocurría en el pasado.

Hoy buscamos prosperidad compartida, con desarrollos como el Parque Industrial Natura que generará más de 27 mil empleos en una… pic.twitter.com/mTcITjaqqW

— Marina del Pilar (@MarinadelPilar) November 19, 2024

“We are building not only an industrial park but a development engine that will position Baja California as a leader in industrial infrastructure and social welfare,” industry news site Cluster Industrial reported Marina del Pilar saying. 

The governor also emphasized the economic leadership of the state, which has attracted $5.3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), according to Cluster Industrial.

Collaboration between the state and municipal governments has enhanced the business environment for companies by improving regulatory processes and digitalizing procedures, Cluster Industrial reported the mayor of Tijuana Ismael Burgueño Ruiz saying. 

Meor to invest $1.5B in Mexico over 7 years 

The Mexican industrial park developer Meor, founded in 2006, announced plans in September to invest $1.5 billion in parks over the next seven years. The company develops projects under the HubsPark brand.

“We seek to generate value not only for our investors but also for the communities where we operate, driving economic development and job creation,” Meor’s Finance Director Alberto Bessoudo told the news site Mexico Industry. “We seek to generate value not only for our investors but also for the communities where we operate, driving economic development and job creation.”  

The company reported occupancy rates of above 96% and aims to close 2024 with a portfolio of around 2.6 million square feet of new constructions and 1 million square feet of leases.

The investment will be concentrated in three northern locations — Tijuana, Baja California, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and Monterrey, Nuevo León. However, the company sees potential for growth in other regions in the north of the country, as well as Mexico City. 

With reports from Datoz, Cluster Industrial, Mexico Industry and Milenio

The post Industrial parks set to draw US $6B in 2025 appeared first on Mexico News Daily

With natural resources in the area at such a premium, how are these giant data centers solving their demands for water? Will the construction of these new tech hubs help local communities, or harm them? What can we expect in the Querétaro region in the near future? We also take a look at why Querétaro is the ideal place for data centers and what exactly it is that attracts global corporations to this area of Mexico.

This podcast was produced using AI tools. All information collected and discussed in this episode was investigated, written and edited by human journalists. Compiled from Mexico News Daily articles by Travis Bembenek, Thomas Buckley, Andy Altman-Ohr and Peter Davies. Edited by Rose Eglhoff, Caitlin Cooper and Kate Bohné. Podcast produced by Chris Havler-Barrett. 

The post MND Deep Dive: Querétaro’s data center boom appeared first on Mexico News Daily

In September, the Illinois-based company announced plans to shift some of its production from factories in Iowa and Illinois to Mexico by the end of 2026. Following the announcement, Trump said he would impose 200% tariffs on equipment sold in the U.S. that was made in Mexico.

With a planned investment of US $55 million, John Deere plans to move ahead “regardless” of political changes, said Gecimar Morini, company manager for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, in a statement.

The new plant will initially manufacture mini track loaders and mini wheel loaders targeted at the national market, and will be John Deere’s first facility in the country dedicated exclusively to manufacturing equipment for the construction sector.

“Our focus is on developing the company in the agricultural, construction, and, mainly, infrastructure sectors,” Morini emphasized.  

John Deere’s investment announcement comes one day after Trump reiterated his intentions to slap high tariffs on Mexican exports, this time extending the threat to Canada, as well. 

Local media reports that the new plant will be located in the northern state of Nuevo León, where John Deere has its own dedicated export lane in the Laredo-Colombia International Bridge. The company currently has production plants in Ramos Arizpe, Saltillo and Torreón, Coahuila, as well as in Monterrey, Nuevo León.  

The manufacturing center is scheduled to start operations in 2026. 

Why is John Deere relocating production to Mexico?

According to data compiled by John Deere, Mexico is the second largest consumer of its construction equipment in Latin America, with a growth of 76% since 2022. 

“We see Mexico as an attractive market, which is why we are investing in the expansion of our dealers and growth in new territories,” Morini said.

Furthermore, Morini said the compact equipment segment is still developing in Latin America, with an estimated market size of 4,000 units, he added. In contrast, more established markets like the U.S. see approximately 100,000 units sold. 

With reports from Expansión, Cluster Industrial and The Wall Street Journal

The post John Deere confirms US $55M investment in Mexico plant despite Trump’s threats appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Mexico finds itself, quite suddenly, awash in Chinese cars. Hundreds of thousands of them.

The United States and Canada look at the situation and wonder: What exactly is going on with our neighbor to the south, our trusted partner in the USMCA?

Now imagine for a moment that you have been appointed to be the independent judge and jury.

Do you find Mexico:

A. Guilty — Mexico is secretly building ties with China.

B. Innocent — Mexico was blindsided.

or

C. It’s Messy — Mexico was an unwitting accomplice.

Before delivering a verdict you say you need more facts.

Here’s how the events have unfolded:

Back in 2020, Mexico decided to open the door wider to imports from China. A decree dropped import tariffs on cars from 20% to 0%. The idea was to give some Mexican car buyers access to low-cost electric vehicles (EVs).

Pretty soon a small stream of affordable cars from companies like Chery, Great Wall and MG arrived on Mexican shores.

No harm, no foul.

But then, the numbers began to jump. Today, a tsunami of Chinese cars and trucks is pouring into Mexico — and flying out of showrooms.

The P.R.C. will ship close to 500,000 vehicles to Mexico this year. China has blown past the United States to become Mexico’s number one supplier of cars.

One of every three new cars sold in Mexico this year will be built in China. That’s up from just 4% in 2020.

Mexico’s leaders appear to be frozen in stunned disbelief.

“I just don’t think Mexico was prepared for China’s scale and speed,” Travis Bembenek, CEO of Mexico News Daily, told me last week.

Mr. Bembenek, who has been doing business in Mexico for more than 30 years, knows his adopted country well. He is probably right.

And yet, the Mexican government seems strangely slow to counter the flood of Chinese imports. In fact, the Chinese market momentum seems to be getting stronger by the month.

BYD: Big, bold plans

Take Berkshire Hathaway-invested BYD, for example. China’s No. 1 automaker just entered Mexico in 2023.

The company is on track to sell 50,000 cars in Mexico this year. And BYD de Mexico CEO Jorge Vallejo says the company plans to double that to 100,000 in 2025.

That’s not all. Vallejo says that BYD will soon announce the location of a new BYD plant with the capacity to build 150,000 cars per year.

One veteran Mexican car dealer who just started selling BYDs told me he was ecstatic. “I’ve never sold so many cars in a quarter!”

BYD’s numbers look even more stunning when compared with industry giants like Toyota. It took the world’s largest automaker 22 years before it achieved 100,000 sales in Mexico in a single year.

BYD plans to get there in just 36 months. As my teenage daughter, Aurelia, likes to say: Wait, what?

Mexico’s own export machine

At the same time that Mexico is spending billions on cars imported from China, the country is also exporting a record number of vehicles to the United States.

In 2023, Mexico shipped a record 2.2 million cars to the U.S. It is a lucrative business for Mexico that also employs tens of thousands.

Mexico is also home to a strong and vibrant parts industry.

It is natural to wonder: Why would Mexico import so many cars from China when the country is working hard to build its own export-oriented industry?

That does not make sense.

Trade sweats

China’s surge in investment south of the border has given North American leaders those middle-of-the-night sweats. Mexico is the canary in the coal mine.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. And President-elect Trump has said that he will absolutely block any efforts to bring Chinese cars into the U.S. via Mexico.

In October, the Department of Commerce added new regulations to ban cars with Chinese hardware or software from being sold in America.

Trump’s declaration

American politicians and industrial leaders are beginning to complain out loud that Mexico may be a less than totally reliable partner.

On November 7th, just two days after the election, President-elect Trump made clear his displeasure:

“I’m going to inform her [President Sheinbaum] on day one that if they do not stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I am going to immediately impose a 25% tariff on everything they send to the United States of America.”

Trump is not alone in his fury. Last week Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Canada, recommended potentially removing Mexico from the USMCA.

Ford said Mexico should “at the very least” match U.S. and Canadian tariffs on Chinese imports, or “they shouldn’t have a seat at the table or enjoy access to the largest economy in the world.”

When four is a crowd

Tensions are building. The U.S. and Canada are not happy. China is quietly delighted. Mexico is under pressure to act.

Look for Mexico to increase tariffs on Chinese cars. Soon. Car exports to America are simply too crucial to the Mexican economy.

The 0% decree elapsed in September, so now Chinese cars face an import duty of 20%. That is hardly enough to stop the flow.

“Mexico will match the [100%] tariffs of the U.S. and Canada,” said Jorge Guajardo, former Mexican ambassador to China and now a partner at the DGA Group in Washington D.C., “precisely because Mexico wants to protect its own industry, its own supplier base. There is a strong auto parts lobby in Mexico pushing for higher tariffs right now.”

That happened, now what?

Mexico opened the door. Chinese automakers flew in. The U.S. and Canada got nervous: Is Mexico complicit or naive, they wondered?

The USMCA is definitely entering new territory. Much remains up in the air.

• What happens, for example, if Leapmotor International, the 51/49 JV between Stellantis and Leapmotor, starts building cars in Mexico?

• How will states like California react when some of the nearly one million Chinese cars now running on Mexican roads find their way north across the border? (I already see an occasional China-built car with Mexican plates rolling on San Diego highways)

Things can get complicated in a hurry.

Amidst all the uncertainty, one thing is clear: China successfully poked the USMCA. It won’t be the last time.

That’s the verdict.

Michael Dunne is an entrepreneur, author and keynote speaker. In 2018, Dunne founded Dunne Insights to deliver world-class advisory services on global electric and autonomous vehicle markets. Subscribe to his newsletter at newsletter.dunneinsights.com.

The post Analysis: Chinese cars pour in to Mexico, rattling the USMCA appeared first on Mexico News Daily

These investments are expected to materialize within the next two to three years, the SE said in a statement. 

In the statement, the SE reported that the manufacturing sector accounts for 56% of the total planned investment with an expected value of $36.9 billion. This segment includes the beverage, automobile, auto parts, iron and steel and electronic components industries.  

Next is the construction industry, with a planned investment of $7.46 billion, followed by the commerce sector with $6.9 billion. Finally, mass media, transportation, energy, professional services, real estate, mining and agriculture make up the rest of the industries with investment plans in Mexico. 

The countries that have announced the largest investments in Mexico include the United States, which accounts for 46% of the announcements, followed by companies from Germany with 11%, and Spain with 8%. 

Additionally, several other countries have announced investments in Mexico this year, including Canada, India, Brazil, China, Italy, France, Argentina, Switzerland, Colombia, Pakistan, Portugal, Austria, Philippines, Sweden, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Japan. 

The main destinations for investments in 2024, according to the SE, are Querétaro (11%), Nuevo León (11%), Veracruz (10%) and México state (10%).

The companies that have announced the largest investments so far this year are Mexican FEMSA group, with an expected investment of $9.9 billion, Amazon Web Services with $4.9 billion, DHL Supply Chain with $4 billion, Walmart with $3.9 billion and Constellation Brands with $3 billion. 

Regarding foreign direct investment (FDI), Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said in a conference on Wednesday that Mexico had received $35.7 billion in FDI from January to September 2024, a growth of 8.5% compared to the preliminary result for the same period in 2023.

The official projected that FDI in Mexico at the end of 2024 will be $38.2 billion, a record sum. 

According to the GBM’s Nearshoring Barometer 2024, from October 2022 to July 2024, Mexico has seen 118 foreign investment announcements totaling $122.7 billion. However, only $13.2 billion worth of these projects have been completed — meaning that 89% ($109 billion) remains unrealized.

With reports from El Economista

The post Mexico attracts US $64.7B in private investment through Q3 2024 appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Should Mexico should aim for higher-value jobs in areas such as engineering, research,  and management, rather than simply replicating the low-wage, low-skill model of maquiladoras? Will the influx of international companies rushing to nearshore in Mexico ultimately help Mexicans, or damage local economies and offer poorly-paid and undesirable jobs?

This podcast was produced using AI tools. All information collected and discussed in this episode was investigated, written and edited by human journalists. Compiled from Mexico News Daily articles by Travis Bembenek. Edited by Caitlin Cooper and Rose Eglhoff. Podcast produced by Chris Havler-Barrett. 

The post MND Perspectives: Will Mexico benefit from nearshoring? appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Asked in a radio interview whether he believed Tesla’s proposed gigafactory project near Monterrey, Nuevo León, wouldn’t go ahead due to Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election, Ebrard said that Musk, Tesla’s CEO, “hasn’t told us anything.”

“… I’m going to arrange a meeting with him soon so that he tells me exactly what he’s thinking,” he said.

Ebrard said that the government will see what it can do to ensure that the multi-billion-dollar project goes ahead.

However, he added that it was “clear” that Tesla’s plans don’t “depend on the decisions we’re taking in Mexico, but rather the general situation of the company, which now has very strong competition from Chinese companies.”

That competition, especially from the Shenzhen-based electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, is “limiting” Tesla’s “capacity for investment in the short term,” Ebrard opined.

Musk, the world’s richest person, announced in March 2023 that Tesla would build a gigafactory in Santa Catarina, a Nuevo León municipality just west of Monterrey that borders Coahuila.

However, he said in July that the project was “paused” because of the possibility that Trump would impose tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico if he won the presidential election in the United States.

That possibility remains live, although it is conceivable that Musk — a massive donor to Trump’s campaign — could negotiate an exemption from any tariffs that a second Trump administration imposes on vehicles made in Mexico.

As things stand, vehicles made in Mexico can be exported tariff-free to the United States provided they meet regional content rules. However, Trump has made repeated threats to impose hefty tariffs on vehicles made in Mexico, and last month pledged to renegotiate the USMCA free trade pact.

After his election as the United States’ 47th president this week, President Claudia Sheinbaum declared that “there is no reason for concern” for Mexicans, including business people who may be concerned about tariffs. Sheinbaum previously said she considered U.S. tariffs on products made in Mexico “very unlikely.”

A decision by Tesla to forge ahead with its planned factory in Nuevo León would be a shot in the arm for the new federal government, which is seeking to capitalize on Mexico’s nearshoring opportunity.

Nuevo León Governor Samuel García said late last year that Tesla and its suppliers would invest a combined total of US $15 billion in the northern state.

Ebrard ‘optimistic’ about USMCA renegotiation 

In separate remarks on Thursday, Ebrard said he was “optimistic” about the outcome of the USMCA review scheduled for 2026.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy because nothing is easy, but the relationship with President Trump and his government is going to be very good,” he told reporters in Mexico City after attending a retail industry meeting.

Ebrard, Mexico’s foreign minister during most of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency, said that his confidence that the Mexican government will have a good relationship with the second Trump administration came from the fact that Mexico is the United States’ largest trade partner and that millions of jobs in the U.S. depend on exports to Mexico.

He highlighted that U.S. exports to Mexico increased more than 4% in the first nine months of the year, while Mexican exports to the United States increased 6.5%.

Ebrard stressed the importance of Mexico, the United States and Canada working together in order to compete with other regions of the world, such as Asia. He said last month that Mexico would “mobilize all legitimate interests in favor of North America” amid the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, which could escalate during Trump’s second term as U.S. president.

The economy minister said Thursday that tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States would only increase costs for U.S. consumers.

Ebrard looks set to play a key role in Mexico’s relationship with the United States during the second Trump presidency, which will commence Jan. 20. As foreign minister in the López Obrador administration, he dealt directly with Trump, including when Mexico was attempting to stave off a tariff threat in 2019.

Citing analysts, Reuters reported on Wednesday that Sheinbaum’s appointment of Ebrard as economy minister “was seen as a powerful signal that Mexico is readying itself with its best political firepower for the USMCA review.”

With reports from Radio Fórmula and El Financiero 

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Doubts had surfaced in September after a Bloomberg News report alleged that BYD had postponed its plans for a Mexico plant indefinitely due to uncertainty about the U.S. election. As the Republican candidate for U.S. president, Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to impose prohibitively huge tariffs on Chinese imports.

BYD’s Americas head said that BYD plans to build a factory in Mexico but stresses that this is for the Mexican market and not for export to the US.

She said the US market is too complicated, including the politics, whereas in China if you don’t go electric, “you have no future.” pic.twitter.com/07bmyQeRDw

— Kyle Chan (@kyleichan) July 20, 2024

In February, BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li told Yahoo Finance in no uncertain terms that BYD has no plans to enter the U.S. market via Mexico.

At the time of the Bloomberg report, BYD officials denied that they had wavered in their resolution to build the announced Mexican plant. 

“BYD has a very strong interest in the Mexican market, and to give the people here our products, we intend to build a factory here,” Ray Zou, president of BYD’s Mexican operations told the newspaper El País. 

The company has no intention of exporting vehicles from the Mexico plant to the U.S., El País reported, although some experts have theorized that BYD building a plant in Mexico is a strategy to attempt to skirt U.S. tariffs on Chinese products by importing their cars to the U.S. from inside the USMCA free-trade zone. 

BYD will reveal the new plant’s location soon, reported Forbes. 

“Since the swearing-in of the new Mexican government,” Zou added, “we have had more close conversations with the authorities to determine the best location.”  

Jorge Vallejo, BYD’s general director in Mexico, told Reuters late in August that the firm had narrowed the list of potential sites for the plant to three candidate states. Vallejo, however, did not name them. In October, Vallejo said that he expects BYD to sell 50,000 EVs in Mexico this year, and 100,000 in 2025. 

By the end of the year, BYD will confirm the details of its manufacturing plant in Mexico, which is expected to produce 300,000 units and create over 10,000 jobs.

José Miranda, director of Marketing and Communications for BYD’s Americas operations, stated that the U.S.’s imposition of duties on products from China would not influence BYD’s investment decisions in Mexico. 

BYD presented a new SUV model for Mexico on Tuesday called the BYD Yuan Pro, with prices starting at 599,880 pesos ($29,472).

Several automotive companies, including BYD, Zeekr, MG Motor and Yadea, have stood firm on plans to invest in Mexico, with many developing manufacturing plants. 

With reports from El País, Forbes, Imagen Radio and Reuters

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Adjustments in logistical operations and substantial investments in infrastructure have helped normalize port services, but experts agree that more is needed. Some are eyeing the port of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, as a potential solution to the problem.

Until 2022, Mexico’s Gulf coast ports dominated the auto import business, with most vehicles arriving from Europe and Brazil. Now, according to the newspaper El Financiero, nearly half of new imported vehicles coming into the country’s ports arrive from China.

Arrivals at Lázaro Cárdenas (Michoacán), Mazatlán (Sinaloa) and Manzanillo (Colima) on Mexico’s west coast have surged, with Mazatlán becoming the main beneficiary.

Official data shows Lázaro Cárdenas as the No. 1 recipient of new auto imports, however, Mazatlán has climbed to No. 3 with arrivals rising from an annual average of roughly 25,000 to more than 130,000 auto imports through September of this year.

The news magazine Expansión reports that Mazatlán port officials hope to exceed 180,000 new vehicle imports by the end of 2024.

Autos chinos llegan a México apilados como ‘Legos’

Desde colocar autos en posición vertical dentro de contenedores hasta adquirir camiones propios para su traslado, la saturación logística en los puertos ha llevado a implementar soluciones creativas.

Por: @TzuaraDeLuna
:… pic.twitter.com/rdMoMa7bjN

— Expansión (@ExpansionMx) November 1, 2024

As a result of this import boom, investors are scrambling to upgrade facilities while also attending to the satellite industries, such as warehouses and storage yards, that are increasingly popping up around the Sinaloa resort city.

However, new challenges have arisen.

Chinese shippers have found it more cost-effective to ship the vehicles in containers (arranging them vertically) rather than on the traditional ROROs (roll on/roll off cargo ships). This means cranes are needed to offload the containers while a different apparatus is needed to remove each vehicle.

The increased arrivals also require more efficient operations, another factor in Mazatlán’s favor.

While Lázaro Cárdenas has better infrastructure, Chinese auto importers must compete with a larger cast of importers there. As Mazatlán’s port operations began to grow, Chinese automakers looking to expand in Mexico, such as MG Motor, saw benefits to arriving at the Sinaloa port.

“The advantage we have in unloading (vehicles) in Mazatlán is a more stable flow,” Josimar Hernández, manager of MG México, told Expansión. “We can unload some in Lázaro Cárdenas and others in Mazatlán, depending on inventory needs.”

Should Mazatlán become a specialized automotive port? Experts weigh in

As demand for Chinese vehicles in Mexico continues to rise — El Financiero reported that demand has risen from 9.6% in 2019 to 18% in 2023 — one industry expert thinks Mazatlán should consider becoming a specialized port.

Mario Veraldo, co-founder of logistics firm MTM Logix, believes converting Mazatlán into an automotive port could be a winning move. 

Without fully sacrificing operations to manage other types of merchandise, Veraldo told Expansión, reorienting the port would attract investments from and streamline cooperation with the entire supply chain in the automotive industry. 

Mauricio Ortiz, director of the port’s cargo services provider Terminal Marítima Mazatlán (TMAZ), told Expansión that such a reorientation is worth considering, especially because TMAZ views the automotive sector as a key segment of port operations.

New infrastructure investments in Sinaloa

As reported by Expansión, TMAZ is preparing investments of US $30 million to upgrade infrastructure and build external storage facilities at the port over the next five years. But Ortiz says he expects nearshoring volumes — particularly in the automotive sector — to increase during those five years.

“What we are seeing with the relocation of [Chinese] auto assembly plants indicates they have interest in providing for the Mexican and Latin American markets,” he said. “First they build up import volume, generating critical demand, and then they’ll make decisions related to factory installation.”

Several Chinese automakers have expressed interest in nearshoring manufacturing to Mexico, including BYD and MG, which will put additional pressure on parts volume at Mexico’s Pacific ports.

Meanwhile, less than 100 kilometers north of Mazatlán, plans to construct a port between the towns of Mármol and Dimas are moving forward after a prolonged pause.

The port, a joint venture of Mexico-based Caxxor Group and Texas-based Puerto Verde Holdings, is still in the studies and permitting stage. However, according to Sinaloa’s Economy Minister Javier Gaxiola Coppel, there is interest from U.S. investors in financing the initial stage of construction, which is estimated to require approximately $400 million.

In November, Gaxiola Coppel will travel again to Texas to continue negotiations, as reported by the news outlet Punto MX. There, he will meet with representatives of the governments of Durango, Coahuila, Chihuahua and Nuevo Leon regarding the “T-MEC corridor,” which seeks to improve logistics infrastructure between Mexico and the United States.

This new port — reported to have the potential to become “the most important in the country” — is viewed by state officials as complementary rather than a rival to Mazatlán. 

With reports from Expansión, Debate, El Siglo de Torreón and Portal Portuario

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