It has everything from auto assembly to appliance manufacturers; high-tech electronics to plastic injection molding. In short, virtually anything that can be manufactured or assembled can be done in Northeast Mexico.

      The states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas include 28 percent of the maquilas in Mexico, 31 percent of the maquila industry’s workers. Although all manufacturing clusters are represented, the states are powerhouses in the petrochemical industry, as well as the automotive, electronics and metal industries.

      The Monterrey-Saltillo area is base for the region’s automotive industry. DaimlerChrysler has an assembly plant in Saltillo and several bus and truck assemblers are represented in Monterrey.

      Mexico is one of the Western Hemisphere’s most important automotive industry manufacturing platforms. Mexico is Latin America’s top motor exporter, the world’s 10th largest producer of light vehicles, and the second largest importer of U.S.-made auto parts.

      In recent years, the Mexican auto industry has created substantial sales opportunities for U.S. companies. The world’s largest automotive players have manufacturing facilities in Mexico, located primarily in northern and central Mexico.

      The Monterrey and Saltillo metropolitan regions have become major automotive parts manufacturing hubs. Component manufacturers located in the area supply major automotive assembly plants throughout Mexico.

      Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, is located an hour west of Monterrey. This city of 1.2 million is home to two of the largest auto manufacturing and assembly plants in Latin America. GM has three divisions in Saltillo, engaged in motor and transmission assembly, body part stamping, and car assembly. DaimlerChrysler also has two plants in Saltillo, both in the midst of a major expansion. One of DaimlerChrysler plants assembles Dodge Ram trucks. The other focuses on engine assembly. These plants are served by a large number of Mexican, U.S., European and Japanese companies. New suppliers are regularly being attracted to Saltillo, encouraged by a series of expansion announcements including Toyota’s $800 million assembly plant in nearby San Antonio, Texas.

      Coahuila, famous as a mining and industrial powerhouse, is one of the most promising states for future economic development in northern Mexico. It has excellent highway connections with the country’s major cities and with the United States. It also has access to several international airports. A major irrigation infrastructure has been a boom for agriculture and livestock activities. An example of this is the Laguna Region, one of Mexico’s most productive agricultural and livestock regions.

      The northern part of the state has a long-standing mining tradition. Fluorite, lead and tin mining are important, and foundries have been developed. The presence of Altos Hornos de Mexico in Monclova, one of the traditional leaders of the country’s iron and steel industry, has spurred the development of related activities in several towns. With the arrival of major automobile plants in the state capital and assembly plants in several cities, industry has diversified considerably. Chrysler, General Motors, Anderson Clayton, AT&T, Levy’s and other companies have acted as a magnet in attracting first-class enterprises with foreign investment to Coahuila. Coahuila offers important advantage to businesses looking for materials, manufacturing expertise, participation in growth industries, or access to markets.

Nuevo León

      Nuevo Leon is one of Mexico’s leading industrial states. Located to the northeast of the country, good highways link it to central Mexico. Because of Nuevo Leon’s long tradition as one of Mexico’s major industrial centers, numerous enterprises, ranging from large industrial groups able to compete in the international market to small companies offering subcontracting services, have found a home in this thriving state. Iron and steel, glass, textiles, petrochemicals and capital goods are the state’s main manufacturing activities.

      Many assembly plants have also started operations in the state. Nuevo León’s intensive commercial activity extends beyond its borders and involves its neighboring states. Monterrey, the capital, is the financial center of the Northeast and is now playing an increasing role in new links with the region just across the border in Texas.

      Nuevo León boasts a highly skilled work force, both in traditional industrial activities, and in services and key activities such as computer systems. Monterrey’s famed institutes of higher education have made a significant contribution in training many of Mexico’s top-level professionals.

      Greater Monterrey, home to 4 million people, is considered Mexico’s industrial giant. More than 100 auto parts manufacturers are active in the region. Additionally, there are hundreds of other types of suppliers providing assembly processes for component manufacturers that aren’t considered direct suppliers to the auto industry. Monterrey’s home-grown successes include NEMAK, a major producer of aluminum heads and blocks, and Metalsa, Latin America’s largest manufacturer of small truck and car chassis. Other prominent firms in Monterrey include IMSA Enertec (car battery manufacturer), Carplastic-Visteon (plastic injection parts), and Delphi (automotive electronics for GM and other brands). Finally, Navistar buses, Freightliner trucks, and Volvo and Mercedes class 8 trucks are assembled in Monterrey.

Competitive advantagestc "Competitive advantages"

      •Huge, qualified industrial work force.

      •Very low cost of operations such as mold making, tool and dye services.

      •High developed infrastructure.

      •Full industrial services.

      •Many existing industrial facilities available for lease or purchase.

      •Proximity to the U.S. border.

      •Export-oriented state.

San Luis Potosí

      The state of San Luis Potosí has a privileged geographic location as well as a variety of market opportunities that increase investment revenues, commerce and culture. Investors have the chance to extend their participation mainly with the countries of North America and South America.

      San Luis Potosí is equidistant from Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. It is connected by highway and railroad to the most important points of the country, including the ports of Tampico and Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, and Mazatlán and Manzanillo on the Pacific Ocean, as well as to the border cities of Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo, which have a high percentage of foreign trade.

      The state includes a supply of qualified work force; industrial experience and a high degree of adaptability for industrial work. Current wage rates are lower than those of other industrial zones of the country.

      The main urban centers of San Luis Potosí provide all types of services to people coming from other regions of the country as well as people coming from foreign countries. The industrial sector has been gradually improved too and the industries in San Luis Potosi are getting more competitive now that they are oriented towards exportation within the framework of commercial globalization.

      The mining industry is widely diversified and supplies industrial companies with raw material, significantly lowering the price of production costs.

      In San Luis Potosí you can find complexes where agricultural, farming, industrial and commercial activities take place simultaneously. This helps the industries giving them an advantage because of the level of supply and demand of products by all sectors.

      A good highway network, railroads and an international airport link San Luis Potosí to Mexico City, Monterrey, Aguascalientes and the rest of the country.

      Most of the industry is located in the state capital. The leading manufacturing activities are automobile, non-metallic minerals, metal and mechanical, base metals, food processing, textiles and beverage production. Large companies, many of them foreign, are located in San Luis Potosí. Some of these are Bendix (auto parts), Cummins (motors), Sandoz (pharmaceuticals), Union Carbide (chemicals), Bimbo (food products), Crown Cork and Dexterand Anvi (machinery).

Competitive advantages tc "Competitive advantages "

      •The price of land is relatively cheap.

      •Services available in the industrial zone are: water, drainage, gas lines, telephone lines, electricity, roads, railway sidings and security.

      •Water coasts are lower than those of other states.

Tamaulipas

      Industrialization in Tamaulipas is centered primarily on two activities: oil and the assembling industry. Oil fields and oil-related activities are concentrated in and around Tampico and Ciudad Madero, and in a refinery located in Reynosa. In-bond assembly plants are located in several border cities. Trade and service activities are on the rise, since Nuevo Laredo is the main land route for merchandise flowing between Mexico and the United States. The port of Tampico is one of the most active on the Gulf of Mexico and in the country.

      Sixteen years ago, a second industrial seaport started operations in Altamira, near Tampico. The port will serve the industrial area of Monterrey and will be the basis for the establishment of new export-oriented companies. BASF is already located there, taking advantage of these facilities and the ready supply of petrochemical inputs.

Competitive advantagestc "Competitive advantages"

      •Lowest labor and overhead costs among the NAFTA members

      •Closest distance to the United States and Canada markets.

      •Lowest freight costs to the United States and Canada.

      •Lowest customs tariffs to the United States and Canada.