Market Intelligence
Mining Equipment and Machinery Metals Mexico

Mexico Metal Mechanics

Mexico received USD 31.6 billion FDI in 2021, with 40 percent of that landing in manufacturing. Mexico’s major FDI investor was the United States (INEGI).

Mexico’s metal-mechanics sector involves metalworking machinery and all types of metal transformation not including finishing. In Mexico, the sector has gained relevance as it is an important supplier to almost any industry. Mexico’s metal-mechanics industry currently contributes 14 percent to the country’s manufacturing GDP. Mexico has been the U.S.’s second-largest market in the metal-mechanics segment for many years. The U. S. exported 22 percent of its total fabricated metal production to Mexico, and 15 percent of total machinery exports in 2021.  The manufacturing portion of FDI in Mexico is integrated by OEM and tier companies in the automotive, aerospace, medical devices, appliances, electric, and electronic industries. This presents extensive opportunities to suppliers of special alloys, metalworking machinery, robots, welding technologies, and forging processes, as well as for secondary processes involving finish coatings, thermal analysis, custom tooling, and mold fabrication.
 
U.S. exporters should consider Mexico’s Metal-Mechanics results in 2021:

Fabricated Metal Parts (NAICS 332)
Mexico purchased USD 11.2 billion in metal parts. this makes them the U.S.’s second-largest partner.

  • Mexico has grown a solid supplier base of fabricated metal products.
  • Large to very small fabricators can now be found in every city.
  • Few fabricators have reached higher levels of sophistication
  • Few fabricators own some type of certification (ISO, TS, or AS).

Metal-Mechanics Machinery (NAICS 3335)
Although the U.S. has increased its exports of general machinery to China by 6.2 percent, the metal-mechanics machinery segment has dropped by 8.8 percent since 2015. The U.S.’s total exports to the world are decreasing by 2 percent since 2012. U.S. exporters should leverage the drive to promote nearshoring to Mexico.

  • Mexico imported USD 2 billion worth of metal-mechanics machinery. This makes it the U.S.’s preferred destination.
  • Mexican imports from the U.S. are increasing year on year by 1 percent.
  • Asian suppliers are gaining market share providing a wide range of high precision machines.
  • New metal processing machines are in demand.

Sources: The Office of Trade and Economic Analysis (OTEA); Mexico’s National Institute of Geography and Statistics (INEGI) Updated to April 2022.
 
Recommended trade events:

Fabtech Mexico
 May 3-5, 2022
 https://mexico.fabtechexpo.com

ExpoMaQ
 Jun 23-24, 2022
 https://expomaq.org.mx

For more information, contact: Mario Vidana, Senior Commercial Specialists at Mario.Vidana@trade.gov or Ph. +52 81 8047 3118.

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