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…

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….