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The U.S. Commercial Service has identified
several areas as the best prospects for U.S. companies looking
to succeed in Mexico. Ranked in order of importance, they are:
Export manufacturing
While maquiladora production faces stiff
manufacturing competition from China, levels are estimated to
grow at a relatively rapid pace from $89 billion in 2003 to $125
billion in 2008.
U.S. companies own nearly 80 percent of the
more than 3,000 maquiladora plants. Seventy-five percent of
these operations are in the northern border region. Maquiladoras
account for 55 percent of industrial manufacturing, and thus any
decrease in exports from the Mexican export manufacturing sector
creates a ripple effect within the entire manufacturing sector.
Thirty-three percent of maquiladora exports are in the
electrical/electronics sector and 22 percent in the automotive
sector. The primary exports are Electrical Machinery (including
television receivers, insulating cables and wire, motors,
generators and other types of parts), Mechanical Machinery
(including computer components, office machine parts, pumps,
turbines, and air conditioners), Vehicles, Optical and Medical
Instrument, and Furniture and Bedding.
Best prospects to sell to this diverse
industrial base are Electrical Machinery and Parts (including
integrated circuits, switches, cables, etc., Mechanical
Machinery (such as office machine parts, computers and
components, air related pumps and compressors, filters, and
centrifuges), Plastics and Resins, Iron/Steel products, and
Optical and Medical Instruments.
One of the challenges of selling to this industry is determining
if product purchasing decisions are made in the plant in Mexico
or in a company’s headquarters. This depends on the product and
varies by manufacturing plants. Decisions for equipment for a
new plant are generally made at company headquarters. However,
decisions for replacement equipment are usually made at the
plant in Mexico. Purchases of inputs used directly in the
manufacturing process are frequently made on a global basis, but
there is a growing trend to make these decisions locally.
Indirect inputs such as test equipment, lubricants, packaging
and services provided directly to the plant are made in
Mexico...
...Continued
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