The electronics industry in Mexico

The electronics industry in Mexico has positioned itself to be among the leading exporters on a global scale of some classes of manufactured products in this competitive sector.

According to recent studies that have been conducted by the Mexican Ministry of the Economy, the electronics industry in Mexico can be divided into 5 subsectors.  These include audio and video; computing and office; semiconductors; communications and medical equipment and precision, measurement, navigation, control, and optical instruments.

Studies also indicate that the products that record the greatest share of export sales include computers, flat-screen TVs, and smartphones. The electronics sector in Mexico is particularly well-developed and has positioned itself among the major exporters on a global scale in some classes of products.  In addition to items produced on a mass scale, Mexico is increasingly specializing in higher value-added products.  The electronics industry in Mexico has advanced from a posture of low-mix and high-volume to the manufacture of small quantities of many different products, i.e., low-volume and high-mix.

It should be noted that, according to Mexican government calculations, the total production of the electronics industry in Mexico for 2020 was approximately US $8.5 billion. The main export destinations for the consumption of these products are United States, Canada, Colombia, France, and the Netherlands.  In this sense, steady overseas sales to a diverse clientele indicate that Mexico has an extremely successful track record of more than 30 years as an exporter of electronic products.

Over three decades, many of the world’s leading multinational companies in the different segments that comprise the electronics industry in Mexico have established operations in the country. This has allowed mid-sized and large multinational firms alike to take advantage of Mexico’s beneficial cost structure, logistics, and increasingly qualified labor. Additionally, Mexico offers trade liberalization throughout the supply and production chains.  This means that the country has access to inputs at international prices that are competitive due to the country’s proximity to the highly competitive North American market.

It is important to note that the companies in the electronics industry in Mexico are mainly located in the northern region of the country, as well as in the central and western regions.

According to projections by expert electronics industry analysts, Mexican exports will grow at a rate of about 4% per year through 2022. The segments that will have the most activities in these export flows are computer and consumer electronics, and flat-screen televisions, in particular.

Despite the high degree of development achieved by the electronics industry in Mexico over the past thirty years, interviews with purchasing managers of multinational companies in the sector, have identified several processes, parts, and components whose national supply of production is relatively low.  Opportunities to establish more production exist in the following subsectors:

• Printed circuits
• Micromechanics (micro-injection, micro-cutting, among others)
• Active components (integrated circuits, microprocessors, transistors)
• Passive components (connectors, capacitors, inductors)
• Electrical components (cables).

Additionally, according to industry purchasing managers, in Mexico you can find some processes that are in demand in the electronics industry in Mexico; however, many supplier companies do not have the controls, manufacturing practices, or levels of precision required by multinational companies in processes such as precision die-cutting, plastic injection, die casting and sheet metal,” the document states.  Opportunities for foreign investors exist for suppliers in each one of these areas.

At present, Mexico’s National Statistical Directory of Economic Units (DENUE) has identified 1,145 firms that manufacture computer equipment, communication, measurement and other equipment, components, and accessories in the electronics industry in Mexico.  Although the three principal locations of Mexico’s electronics manufacturing clusters are in the states of Baja California, Chihuahua and Jalisco, companies producing these items are found throughout the Mexican Republic. 

They are located as follows:

• Aguascalientes, 19
• Baja California, 189
• Baja California Sur, 1
• Campeche, 1
• Coahuila, 34
• Chiapas, 5
• Chihuahua, 112
• Mexico City, 127
• Durango, 5
• Guanajuato, 34
• Guerrero, 2
• Hidalgo, 8
• Jalisco, 118
• Mexico, 76
• Michoacán, 5
• Morelos, 11
• Nuevo León, 105
• Oaxaca, 2
• Puebla, 21
• Queretaro, 52
• Quintana Roo, 5
• San Luis Potosí, 20
• Sinaloa, 7
• Sonora, 84
• Tabasco, 2
• Tamaulipas, 70
• Tlaxcala, 7
• Veracruz, 10
• Yucatan, 9
• Zacatecas, 5

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