Mexico's commercial vehicle sales expected to hit record in 2024

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Sales of commercial vehicles in Mexico could hit a record this year, the Mexican Automotive Distributors Association (AMDA) said on Wednesday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Mexico exported $593 billion worth of goods in 2023, with much of it transported over land using trucks or tractor-trailers. Cargo flows over the U.S.-Mexico border also made the countries each other's largest trading partners last year.

Mexico is experiencing a manufacturing boom, with multi-national firms bringing their operations closer to products' final destinations, often in the U.S. This is frequently referred to as "nearshoring."

KEY QUOTE

"As we know, nearshoring represents a unique opportunity for the development of Mexico, and because of that, it's important to guarantee the best conditions for stability, infrastructure and coordination to boost the supply chain in the country, which will in turn boost employment and economic growth," said the head of the National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor-Trailer Producers (ANPACT), Rogelio Arzate.

CONTEXT

In August, Volvo announced it was building a $700 million plant in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey to produce heavy-duty trucks. The company cited logistic efficiencies and the benefit of being able to sell vehicles in Mexico, Latin America and the southwest and west of the United States from the site.

BY THE NUMBERS

An expected 56,592 commercial vehicles will be sold in Mexico this year, according to AMDA, above the record set in 2007 with 53,300 sales.

The fresh record would be nearly 11% above 2023's sales.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Diane Craft)