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…

Crossborder’s Research Data Highlighted in Article

We must admit:  it’s nice when your work gets some recognition — so it was a real treat for our Mexico market research staff to see data from some recent industry research being used in by the San Diego Union Tribune in a recent article (“Tijuana group aims to change city’s image” – August 8, 2010, by Sandra Dibble).

Tijuana Employment by Sectors - Data by Crossborder Group

While the print edition included two graphics (including some data we provided on the number of IMMEX/maquiladora firms in major Mexican cities), the online edition included the graph at right — which shows approximate employment numbers for various tech clusters in Tijuana based on research our team did over the last few months (including medical devices, aerospace, and others).

One piece of new information (which didn’t really get covered in the article) was our estimate of Call Center employment in Tijuana.  This is an emerging industry not just in Tijuana, but other parts of Mexico as well — and one that has much potential for growth (particularly given the bilingual nature of the US-Mexico border States). Look for more research from Crossborder Group on this topic in the coming months….

Our Two-Pesos: Today’s Travel Warning for Mexico – What Does it Mean?

Yesterday, Mexico joined a long list of countries — including Colombia, Eritrea, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iran (among others) — on the U.S. State Department’s Travel Warning list. This Warning comes only three weeks after the State Department issued a Travel Alert for Mexico — one that used more than 80% of the same text as used in a previous Alert, and was the subject of our blog posting on February 25th, “Is New U.S. State Department Travel Alert on Mexico Fair?”

What has prompted this change — the “downgrading” of Mexico (in essence) from an Alert to a Warning? The sad facts are…[read more]

Our Two Pesos: Is New U.S. State Department Travel Alert on Mexico Fair?

The U.S. State Department has issued an updated Travel Alert for Mexico that is already creating debate amongst city leaders and tourism officials in Mexico. So the question once again comes up: is the most recent State Department Travel Alert on Mexico fair, or justified, given the security conditions in Mexico?

Frankly, it’s a difficult question to answer — because few of us have access to the kind of information that Embassy and Consular staff in Mexico likely have, nor do we necessarily know the specifics of any of the cases that are filed by U.S. citizens (or dual-nationals). What most of us hear is from media sources (in the U.S. or in Mexico), or — in some cases — based on research or data provided by local, State or Federal sources in Mexico.

What all of us can look at are a few publicly-available facts…[read more]

Crossborder Insights: Mexico’s IMMEX Industry (Maquiladora/PITEX): On the Rebound?

New data released in mid-February shows Mexico’s IMMEX (“maquiladora”) industry employment was on the increase, adding an average of just over 14,000 jobs each month since July 2009. The IMMEX industry (the new, regulatory term for what is widely considered the “maquiladora industry”, covering both former “maquiladora” operations and “PITEX” companies) has been hard hit by the U.S. economic downturn, losing nearly 365,000 jobs in this sector from a near peak in November 2007 to its low-point of 1.58 million employees in July, 2009. Some key findings are presented in our downloadable Crossborder Insights brief…[read more]