The three states that make up Mexico’s Northeast corridor include some of the largest manufacturers in the world.

  In Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, Mexico has some of the world leaders in auto assembly, petrochemicals and textiles. The three states also include major steel industries, a world-class financial industry and education levels unrivaled anywhere else in Mexico.

Coahuila

  Coahuila has a population of about 2.3 million and its main cities are Saltillo, Torreón, Ramos Arizpe, Monclova, Piedras Negras and Ciudad Acuña. The state’s economy ranks ninth in Mexico and principal industries are steel, automotive parts, coal mining, cotton textile mills, aluminum products, agricultural products, dairy products and a variety of equipment manufacturing. Two of the largest automobile assembly plants in Latin America, General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler, are located near Saltillo.

  Coahuila’s production is divided by regions: La Laguna is where the principal textile, agricultural and livestock industries are; the Southeastern Region, where Saltillo is a leader in automotive assembly plants as well as in metallurgy, textile and chemical industries; the Center region, where one of the most important iron and steel industry in the country is located; the North Region, where a large amount of assembly plants are.

  The state has two international airports: Plan de Guadalupe in the city of Ramos Arizpe serving the southeastern region especially Saltillo, with flights to destinations such as Mexico City, Houston and Dallas; and Francisco Sarabia in Torreón with flights to Monterrey, Mexico City and other destinations.

  Some important facts about Coahuila:

  •It is Mexico’s main coal producer.

  •It ranks second in national steel production.

  •It produces nearly 40 percent of the country’s cars and trucks.

  •It ranks first in goat milk production and second in cow milk production in the country.

  •It is the second largest producer of melon, apple and pecans in Mexico.

  Saltillo is home to General Motors, Chrysler, Renault, John Deere and Kimberly Clark.  Manufacturing is the main economic activity, followed by the service industry (26 percent), construction (10 percent) and agriculture (3 percent).

  Torreón has grown into one of the largest industrial centers in Coahuila, and has become Mexico’s leading producer of textiles (5 million garments per day), milk (1million gallons per day) and a leader in mineral and food processing as well as auto parts.

  Each region in the state has promotional agencies run by the private sector with the economic support from the state to assist promotion on a regional basis. There are also international offices in Bilbao, Spain and San Antonio, Texas that act as a link for companies of Coahuila in need of support for their commercial operations in Europe and the United States.

  The state offers a number of incentives, such as subsidies and exemptions from taxes and other charges, to boost the development of the productive sectors. Examples of this include waiving the payroll tax, access to training programs and support for formalities on the three levels of government (federal, state and local).

  It should also be pointed out that, depending on the location of the new project, economic aspects and the number of jobs that would be created, further incentives are offered, which are subject to negotiation and include the waiving of public register fees, construction license, infrastructure projects and the processing of municipal incentives.

Tamaulipas

  Tamaulipas is a highly developed state. It borders with Texas in a 231-mile long line and its seashore extends for almost 263 miles along the Gulf of Mexico, where the Altamira and Tampico deep ports are located. Tamaulipas has a population of 2.9 million and during the last five years its industry has grown to create 42 percent of all jobs in the state.

  Tamaulipas has a GDP of more than $15 billion. One of its most productive sectors is the service industry (commerce, restaurants and hotels) with a participation of 22 percent in its GDP, followed by the manufacturing industry with a contribution of 21 percent.

  The state has more than 40,000 businesses and more than 300 assembly plants in the automotive, electrical, electronic, and textile sectors. These maquiladoras employ more than 175,000 workers. In the maquiladora sector there are companies such as Panasonic, Zenith, Delphi, TRW, Emerson and Seagate.

  Another important industry in Tamaulipas is the chemical and oil industry, which produces more than 2.8 million tons of products such as acrylic fiber and plastic resins.  There are 18 industrial plants whose output represents 25 percent of Mexico’s total private sector chemical and petrochemical production.  Some of the larger companies operating in Tamaulipas include: BASF, Finacril, Du Pont, Polimer, Petrocoel, Polimar, Hules Mexicanos and Indelpro.

  The most important cities in Tamaulipas are Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, Ciudad Victoria, Tampico and Altamira .

  Matamoros has more than 125 automotive, electrical and electronic assembly plants. It is located near three international bridges and is a major crossroad of commerce between Mexico, United States and Canada.

  Nuevo Laredo is considered one of the most important border crossings in the country, through which, over 60 percent of all imports and exports pass. It has more than 40 assembly plants and 150 freight-forwarding companies.

Nuevo León

  Nuevo León is Mexico’s industrial giant. The state’s first industrial site was established in 1850, and in the 150 years since the state has grown to become a leader in industries such as beverage, packaging, cement, glass, steel, auto parts and financial services. Among the major companies here are Whirlpool, Carrier, York, Mercedes Benz, Alcoa-Fujikura, Mitsubishi, BASF, Packard Electric, Caterpillar, Danfoss, Delphi, Siemens, General Electric, Visteon and Yazaki.

  Nuevo León encourages investment and the establishment of new industries as a way to promote economic growth. This is achieved by reducing state taxes (payroll tax).

  Tax breaks are granted depending upon site location. Labor force training, and development of suppliers are also sponsored by the state. Other incentives include:

  •Fiscal Credits in income taxes paid to the federal government for companies that invest in high technology and value-added processes, equipment, machinery or assets.

  •Real estate tax and real estate acquisition tax paid to the municipal governments.

  •Mixed Labor Force Training Program, where the state becomes the employer of the trainees for the new company.

  The Mixed Labor Force Training Program includes a provision equivalent to a 1.5 minimum wage salary for up to three months and health care for the trainee and his family for the same period of time. Under this training scheme, the state becomes the employer, paying the workers under training, while the company commits itself to hiring up to 70 percent of the trainees by the end of the program. 

Supplier development

  In order to optimize quality, volume, and price, as a base for growth of its different industrial clusters, the state identifies, evaluates, and supports the development of suppliers. This policy is intended to assist the local industrial sector in meeting the international quality standards and requirements of the leading foreign industry.

  The state government has a Supply Development Program within the Department of Economic Development whose main purpose is the identification, approach and integration of the supply chain for foreign and national companies, allowing the increase of direct and indirect local exports by small and medium-sized companies.

  The program has been running since 2000 and has many success histories with companies such as United Technologies, LG Electronics, Honeywell and General Electric. The state organized for them a symposium where national potential suppliers met with commodity managers of the client company in order to exchange information about the required inputs for the manufacturing process.