Analysis by Crossborder Group Finds Tijuana #1 City in North America for Medical Device Manufacturing Employment

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Recently released research by Crossborder Group on the medical device industry shows that Tijuana, Baja California, has the highest amount of medical device manufacturing employment in North America, with over 30,000 employees in this city alone.

In a new briefing paper prepared for the Tijuana Economic Development Corporation (DEITAC), “Tijuana: North America’s Medical Device Manufacturing Capital”, Crossborder Group compared medical device cluster employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for key U.S. counties and States,  along with late-2010  employment data from 38 companies in Tijuana surveyed by Crossborder, and regional data from Canada. The result: Tijuana’s medical device manufacturing employment was larger than that of the number two region (the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area) by more than 7,000 employees.

           

“We knew that putting Tijuana up as a leader in North America for such an important technology sector would create some controversy,” states Kenn Morris, President of Crossborder Group, in charge of the study. “But the reality is that it’s based on data and independent facts…

Gaining Altitude: Aerospace industry report by Crossborder Group shows 7,300+ employees in Tijuana

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FACT: there are 29 aerospace industry firms operating in the City of Tijuana, Baja California.

FACT: based on a company survey of each of those 29 firms, Crossborder Group found average Q2-2011 employment totaling 7,313 workers, making Tijuana the Mexican city with the largest number of aerospace cluster employees within 400 miles of the US-Mexico border.

These are just two of the many findings in a recent aerospace industry white paper developed by Crossborder Group for the City of Tijuana Economic Development Corporation (DEITAC) and released at this year’s Paris Air Show by DEITAC and Baja California business and economic leaders. As with most of Crossborder’s business projects,

CrossborderInforma: Shifting Leadership? Trends in Mexico’s Maquiladora/IMMEX Industry

Download: PDF briefing on 2010 Mexico maquiladora/IMMEX trends

Crossborder Group has just completed an analysis of the most-recent INEGI data for Mexico’s maquiladora/IMMEX industry — some findings of which are presented at right in our CrossborderInforma briefing (download here, or by clicking on the image [PDF, 175kb]). Beyond the fact that Mexico’s IMMEX companies are continuing their rebound from the 2008-2009 recession — ending 2010 with a respectable 1.81 million employees (9.1% growth year-over-year compared to December 2009) — several other findings stand out:

• Border states captured only 63% of the nearly 165,000 jobs created in the maquiladora/IMMEX sectors in 2010;
• Nuevo León has surpassed Baja California for second-place in terms of total IMMEX employees (despite the negative security image, Chihuahua remains in first-place); and…

Got a Question for Border Crossers? Try Crossborder’s Quarterly At-Border Survey Services

Since we started doing at-border surveys in 2003, one of our goals has been to make finding information out about this binational marketplace more affordable — and to provide useful data to businesses and policy makers without waiting for infrequent (and really expensive) studies…  Our recent CrossborderInforma briefing about crossborder holiday shoppers and their economic impact on San Diego (read it here), in fact, reflects those goals.

Crossborder's At-border Survey team in Mexico

Well, today we’re happy to announce a new Quarterly, at-border survey service –pre-scheduled times each quarter to ask 4 to 8 of your questions at very affordable prices (check out our Quarterly Omnibus Survey flyer in PDF, here or below).  This at-border survey service uses trained, bilingual Crossborder staff with PDAs, and can cover the entire California-Mexico border (San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate, Calexico, Calexico East and Andrade — with other POEs optional).

Got questions you want to ask border crossers?  Download our CrossborderSurveys Quarterly Omnibus overview — and contact us today about our Spring and Summer 2011 survey sessions (multi-season discounts available!). We can help you answer questions about the hundreds of thousands of border crossers people that make up the US-Mexico border economy!

Download the 2011 CrossborderSurveys Quarterly Omnibus Overview

Questions?  Email us at Answers[at]CrossborderBusiness[dot]com.

Border Surveys: Crossborder Holiday Shoppers Leave the Green in San Diego Stores

Download: PDF CrossborderInforma Brief on Crossborder Shoppers

Crossborder Group has released initial findings from their December 2010 (Winter Quarter) at-border surveys, conducted among nearly 1,000, randomly-selected northbound car, SENTRI, and pedestrian travelers at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry.  These results (download PDF at right) highlight nearly 800 responses from Mexico-residing visitors into San Diego and their Christmas Holiday purchases in San Diego County.

“Since 2003 we’ve been surveying border crossers, and have repeatedly asked Mexican shoppers to estimate their household expenditures on Christmas gifts purchased in San Diego,” explains Kenn Morris, President of California-based Crossborder Group and it’s Mexico subsidiary, Crossborder NS, S de RL de CV.  “This last Holiday season, Baja California visitors estimated that they’d spent $536 dollars per household on Christmas gifts purchased in San Diego — that’s an enormous and positive economic impact that the public should know about.”

Mexican Peso Strengthening – Lowest US$ Exchange Rate in 2+ Years

The Mexican peso has reached its strongest exchange rate against the U.S. dollar since October 2008 — 12.07 pesos to US$1 — benefiting some in the domestic market, while bringing back some concerns about a “Super Peso” for those that are involved with (or depend upon) cash inflows from the United States.

Possible Return of the Super Peso in 2011?

As seen in the graph at right (developed by Crossborder Group and based on historic Banco de México peso exchange rate data [showing the official rate to resolve currency obligations]), the peso was last at these levels in early-October, 2008, during a time in which the peso depreciated by 20-30% from 10 pesos per US$1.

A variety of factors appear to be creating this peso-strengthening trend:  a still-slow U.S. economic recovery, concerns about certain European markets (and the stability of the Euro), and the contrasting relative fiscal/economic stability in Mexico.  In fact, recent efforts by the Calderon Administration to increase foreign reserves to over US$113 billion and secure a US$73 billion two-year line of credit from the IMF, while maintaining Government debt to just over 2% of GDP, will likely contribute to some continued strengthening of the peso for at least the first half of 2011.

A new Super Peso could lead to increasing costs for international visitors to Mexico, as well as a higher cost for production in the foreign-dominated IMMEX/maquiladora industry — potentially undermining some of Mexico’s competitive strength internationally.  Crossborder Group will continue to track this issue throughout 2011, and can provide insights into potential impacts on your market or industry — contact us at answers[at]crossborderbusiness.com for more information.

Our Two Pesos: Time to Make the San Diego-Tijuana Crossborder Airport Terminal a Reality

US-Mexico Border & Tijuana's Airport (TIJ)

For those keeping up on border infrastructure issues in the California-Baja California region, some quiet progress has been happening that could dramatically shape the future of the binational sister cities of Tijuana and San Diego.  On July 23, the U.S. State Department issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) [link] for Otay-Tijuana Venture, LLC’s proposed crossborder airport terminal — followed even more quickly than some (including ourselves) could imagine with the issuance on August 4 (only hours ago, as of this writing) by Secretary of State Clinton of the Presidential Permit required to authorize moving forward on the project [link to announcement].

While many may not be familiar with this project, the concept has been discussed at various governmental levels (and various levels of interest) since at least 1991 — the year that Mexico’s Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA) proposed an expansion of Tijuana’s International Airport (TIJ) that included two runways and a US terminal in Otay Mesa. More recently, a local economic development organization, the South County Economic Development Council (SCEDC), has championed the concept, resulting in a positive preliminary study in 2007-2008 by the San Diego Airport Authority. Our own firm, in fact, included questions about the crossborder terminal concept in our own at-border surveys for several years — a few results of which are presented at bottom — finding that over one-third of San Diego residents that crossed the border had flown out of TIJ at least once within the last year.

Crossborder Insights: After Recession Pitstop, Is Mexico’s Auto Industry Racing Ahead?

New data from several major automotive manufacturers signals a recovery, and a shift toward expansion and increased foreign direct investment into Mexico’s automotive industry.

Mexico Automotive Brief - Download PDF Here

Mexico’s automotive sector experienced a steep decline in production and investment in 2009 due to the global economic downturn.  In fact, by January of 2009, production of cars and light trucks had fallen to less than half of January 2008’s levels — a trend which continued throughout most of 2009.  However, several major OEM’s have recently announced plans for production or supplier expansions in Mexico over next few years.

Research and analysis conducted by Crossborder Group (in PDF at right) shows that

Client News: Major Industrial Supplier Chooses Crossborder Group for Mexico Market Research

We’re proud to announce that one of the world’s largest manufacturer of miniature ball bearings — and a major supplier of cooling fans, precision motors and electrical component — has retained Crossborder Group for a country-wide analysis of Mexico’s manufacturing markets, and new sales opportunities.  While not new to the Mexican market, this California-headquartered subsidiary of a major Asian company has contracted Crossborder to provide a state-by-state review of key manufacturing sectors (including both maquiladora/IMMEX and domestic manufacturers), regional industrial insights and strategic guidance, as well as survey-based feedback from potential customers companies in order to facilitate their growth in Mexico.

Front Page Union-Tribune Article Features Crossborder’s President on Border Crossing Trends

This week, the San Diego Union-Tribune covered recent trends of border crossings between San Diego and Tijuana — quoting Crossborder Group’s President, Kenn Morris, and highlighting some of the firm’s recent research. “It is great to see the U-T covering such an important aspect of our binational economy.  This is an area that has been in steady decline since 2003, but is finally starting to show signs of stabilization,” states Morris.  “There’s really a huge lack of data available about who’s crossing the border and why — something that our own team at Crossborder Group has been trying to solve with periodic at-border surveys.”  Current plans are, in fact, underway by Crossborder to conduct these surveys on a quarterly basis to create more real data, and up-to-date information regarding border crossers and their impact on the binational region.

You can access the Union-Tribune article here