Airport and Ground Support Equipment
From 1990 to 2006, Mexico ranked in the top 30 aerospace markets
for U.S. exporters – a key, ever-advancing sector within
aviation. During this period, export sales from the U.S. to
Mexico grew by an annual average of 23.87%. Over the last few
years there has been significant investment in manufacturing
facilities by Bombardier, Honeywell, Ellison Surface
Technologies, Hawker Beechcraft and Airpas Aviation, among
others. Aerospace groups have announced that they will invest an
additional $279M into the sector over the next few years. The
Mexican government is working to attract more aerospace
manufacturing investment - creating opportunities for U.S.
suppliers.
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learn more about this sector.
Automotive Parts and Supplies
Fifty eight percent of the automobiles sold in Mexico are imported, of which 75% come from the U.S. Total production of vehicles in Mexico for 2007 was 2,101,317. The Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA) stated that exports were 1,627.000 units. Of the total local assembly of units, only 474,217 were sold in Mexico. The total number of units sold was 829,880, of which 355,663 were imported from the United States.
Parts, equipment and first and second tier components from the U.S. have experienced an increase in exports due to increased Mexican production of new models that have shifted from U.S. assembly plants. Click here to learn more about this sector.
Education & Training Services
Mexico remains the seventh-leading place of origin for students
coming to the United States, and is one of only four non-Asian
countries among the top ten. Although enrollment in 2006 fell
slightly by 0.8%, it has steadily increased since the
mid-90s.
In the academic year 2006/07, there were 13,826 students from
Mexico studying in the United States. The majority of Mexican
students study at the undergraduate level (57.8%) with 31.2% in
graduate studies and 4.9% other programs and 6.1% in optional
practical training. Click here to learn more about this sector.
Energy Sector
The demand for imported equipment and services for the energy
sector increased by eight percent from 2006 to 2007. U.S.
exports to Mexico also have grown at an average of 8.5 percent
during the same period. The total market grew at an average
of 5.0 percent annually from 2006 to 2007. The competition
will continue to come from Japanese, French, Chinese, Taiwanese,
German, and Canadian companies.
Mexico’s Energy sector will continue to be a priority during the
period 2007-2012, therefore, large budgets are expected to be
assigned to each of the three major government agencies
responsible for the maintenance and investment of energy
infrastructure. Government Owned-Petroleum Company (PEMEX), the
Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and Luz y Fuerza del Centro
(the federally owned Mexico City power company) have been
authorized by the Mexican Congress a total budget of over USD35
billion during 2008. Click here to learn more about this sector.
Electronic Components
In 2006, about 32 percent of all electronic components imported
to Mexico were from the United States, representing a 3.73
percent increase from the previous year. Nevertheless,
China continues to gain market share and had an increase of 58
percent, while Japan and Korea had increases of 11 percent and 75
percent respectively. Nevertheless, there are competitive
advantages for Mexican electronic firms to import components from
U.S. suppliers under NAFTA, including short lead times in
transportation, virtually 100 percent duty-free electronic
components, and streamlined customs procedures.
In recent years, Mexico’s exports of electronic products have
considerably increased by almost 20 percent. In 2006,
electronics exports reached US$ 54.7 billion, almost a 19.3
percent increase from 2005. The main manufacturing
sub-sectors continued to be information technologies (33%) and
audio and video (30%). Mexico has two main centers for the
electronic industry: Tijuana, Baja California and
Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Environmental Sector
This sector includes the sub-sectors of Pollution Control Equipment (POL) and water resources (WRE) equipment and services. The National Infrastructure Program 2007- 2012, identifies several important water projects to be implemented in various major cities of in Mexico, therefore, the market is expected to continue growing. The total market reached an annual average growth of 3.7% during 2006-2007. Major competitors in this market are French, German, Spanish, Canadian, Great Britain and Japanese companies. Click here to learn more about this sector.
Franchising
Since 1998, franchising has been a stable and growing industry in
Mexico generating over 800 thousand jobs and now represents 6% of
GDP. Mexico has also become a mature market in the franchise
sector and has also expansion of franchise concepts to other
countries in Latin America, the United States and Asia.
In 2007, franchises generated sales over 8 billion USD of
revenue. The sector has been proving that the franchise business
is an important source of job creation, self-employment and
wealth. The sector has strengthened considerably in the past few
years, positioning Mexico as the 8th leading nation worldwide in
franchise development. Conservative estimates indicate that this
sector will grow between 14-16 percent in 2008. Click here to learn more about
this sector.
Hotel and Restaurant
The Mexican restaurant industry is constantly evolving and in
need of new technology. The industry reported annual sales of
about USD$16 billion, although this figure probably understates
actual sales. The lack of technology (especially in cold chain
equipment) in Mexico and the increasing sophistication of the
Mexican consumer generate business opportunities for U.S.
exporters of equipment for the restaurant industry.
In 2006, the total market for this segment surpassed USD 1.7
billion. The imports from the United States during 2007 increased
almost two percent compared to 2006. The industry is spread out
from the northeastern to the central part of the country and
almost 45 percent of the industry is concentrated in Monterrey,
Guadalajara and Mexico City. Click here to learn more about this sector.
Housing & Construction
The last decade has seen some improvements in Mexico’s infrastructure network, especially improved access to water and sanitation, electricity and telecommunications. However, Mexico’s infrastructure investment has continually declined since 1988 share from a 7% of GDP to 3%. This has directly corresponded to a drop in Mexico’s competitiveness with respect to other counties and regions of the world. Highly competitive countries are typically investing over 10% of their GDP in infrastructure projects and also allowing more foreign direct investment in major projects. Mexico has much ground to make up in infrastructure development if it wants to increase its competitiveness and attractiveness to foreign investors. Click here to learn more about this sector.
Internet and Telecom
The fixed and mobile markets in Mexico have enjoyed constant growth over the years, more than doubling GDP growth. Fixed lines have reached over 20 million users, and mobile communications today have over 56.5 million subscribers. Telecommunications services are becoming more readily available due to the increased penetration of fixed lines, lower rates and an explosive growth in the wireless subscriber base. Cable TV and wireless industries will be more aggressive and will show strong innovations in the near future. Technologies such as PLC, WiMAX, WiFi, and cable will be the tools for increasing penetration and offering newer services. The industry sees the coming of more mobility in the country along with smarter devices. Click here to learn more about this sector. Travel and Tourism
The United States is the most important destination for Mexican
travelers. In 2005, more than 12.8 million Mexicans traveled to
the United States, representing 26% of the total foreign arrivals
to the country. Mexico is the second source of international
travelers to the United States just after Canada. Additionally,
travel to the U.S. interior grew by 15% to register 4,605,268
arrivals. The solid growth ranked Mexican travel to the U.S.
interior larger than the number one overseas visitor market - the
United Kingdom (4,344,957 arrivals).
This is good news for U.S. destinations and tourism services.
U.S. companies need to market themselves aggressively in Mexico
to tap into this lucrative market. Click here to learn more about this sector.
Packaging Equipment
According to reports from the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI), Mexico is the second largest buyer of equipment from the US in the packaging industry, only preceded by Canada. In 2007 alone, the market reached an average of US$ 460 million. Spare parts contributed another US$ 65 million, making the total value of the industry over a half billion dollars. In 2006 the Mexican economy grew over 4.5%, boosted by external demand as well as the local market, and the industrial sector also kept growing. Last June, national industrial production increased 6.9%. Exports, manufacturing production, and construction made an important impact in the expansion of the industry as a whole.