Heavy vehicle exports stabilized Mexico’s automotive exports to the United States, offsetting in relative terms the drop in foreign sales of cars and auto parts to that same market from January to September 2021.
Compared to pre-pandemic levels (the first nine months of 2019), Mexico’s automotive exports to its northern neighbor fell 8.9%, while the United States’ import market in this industry decreased 9.2 percent. Of all US automotive imports from January to September of each year, the slice in which Mexico participated was 36.4% in 2019, 36.6% in 2020, and 36.6% in 2021.
How could Mexican exports maintain relative competitiveness? In the same comparison with pre-pandemic levels, Mexican auto exports fell 27.1% (compared to an 18.7% decline in total US imports of those same vehicles) and Mexican auto parts exports decreased 0.8%, while the corresponding total imports increased 2.2 percent).
Recent history is different for heavy vehicles. Shipments from Mexico fell only 4.3%, while total US imports fell 12.4 percent. These last two behaviors allowed Mexican exports of heavy vehicles to the United States to gain share in the United States and reach a record market share of 87.5 percent. All these behaviors occurred in an environment of instability, since the global shortage of semiconductors has prevailed.
In a report, the government of the province of Ontario, the heart of Canada’s automotive industry, described that significant challenges have emerged in supply chains around the world, leading to delays in shipments and increased costs. .
For example, he noted that difficulties in acquiring semiconductors have led to significant production disruptions in the automotive industry, adding that a worsening of these conditions could result in further production disruptions. In absolute terms, automotive exports from Mexico to the United States totaled 94,756 million dollars from January to September of the current year, distributed in 20,670 million in cars, 27,574 million in heavy vehicles and 46,512 million in auto parts.
At the enterprise level, Westport Fuel Systems reported that it is currently experiencing global supply chain challenges in sourcing semiconductors and other inputs for production due to supply shortages. The company exports from Canada to the US and other destinations and focuses on engineering, manufacturing and supplying alternative fuel systems and components for transportation vehicles.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx