Borderlands Mexico is a weekly rundown of developments on the planet of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and commerce. This week: Nearshoring investments nonetheless flowing south of the border; Buhler Group plans first manufacturing facility in Mexico; Frisa opens $350M metal manufacturing facility in Monterrey; and $90M logistics hub opens close to Phoenix.
Regardless of the present uncertainty in international commerce relations, overseas direct funding (FDI) in Mexico reached a report $21.4 billion within the first quarter of 2025, representing a 5.4% improve from the identical interval in 2024.
Corporations from the U.S. have been the most important traders in Mexico through the first quarter, contributing 38.7% of complete FDI, adopted by Spain and the Netherlands.
Investments from the U.S. and Canada represented 42.4% of the overall. The manufacturing sector attracted greater than 40% of the nation’s FDI within the first quarter.
Mexico continues to learn from the worldwide development of nearshoring, particularly as firms rethink their dependence on manufacturing in Asia, mentioned Jordan Dewart, CEO of Redwood Mexico.
Redwood Mexico is the cross-border transport arm of Chicago-based fourth-party logistics supplier Redwood Logistics.
“We’re beginning to see that nearshoring development to Mexico beginning once more,” Dewart advised FreightWaves in an interview. “I heard thrice within the final month that firms introduced a few of their provide chain over to Mexico. They perceive they need to get out of China.”
The motion is a pivot amongst producers lately who initially sought alternate options in Southeast Asia however see Mexico as a extra viable long-term answer.
“The short-term answer was to go to Southeast Asia, to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, India,” Dewart mentioned. “However now they’re rethinking and shifting these from Southeast Asia to Mexico.”
International direct funding in Mexico reached a report $21.4 billion within the first quarter, led by firms from the U.S. at 38.7% of complete investing. (Photograph: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
Regardless of Mexico’s optimistic momentum, nearshoring within the nation faces vital challenges, significantly safety considerations, infrastructure wants and commerce coverage uncertainty.
Eric Baker, a transportation legal professional and companion at regulation agency Frost Brown Todd, mentioned a lot of his provide chain purchasers are being affected by the uncertainty attributable to back-and-forth tariffs all over the world.
Cincinnati-based Frost Brown Todd has 600 attorneys in 18 states. The agency advises firms on provide chain threat administration issues.
“I head up our provide chain follow group, and I’m concerned with each manufacturing of us and with the folks offering transportation companies … and all throughout the board we’re seeing the impact of the uncertainty,” Baker advised FreightWaves in an interview. “I don’t care what enterprise you’re in, uncertainty is the bane of any firm’s existence.”
Baker mentioned the uncertainty attributable to tariffs or any sort of disruption, such because the COVID pandemic, impacts long-term funding selections, as producers usually plan provide chain methods years prematurely.
“It isn’t simple for producers to implement a brand new provide chain technique,” Baker mentioned. “When issues like tariffs or pandemics disrupt that provide chain, then it’s very tough for producers to show that ship and reply shortly, as a result of they’re counting on different producers to supply them with tools they could must have regionally or to retool their provide chains, particularly whenever you see the setting altering so shortly forwards and backwards.”
Baker mentioned most huge automotive firms are taking a wait-and-see strategy to tariffs however haven’t considerably modified their provide chains but.
“My impression is that quite a lot of unique tools producers, they’re watching it out of the nook of their eye, … ‘Hey, we’ve obtained to concentrate to this over right here,’” Baker mentioned. “However I actually haven’t seen a wholesale change within the provide chain technique.”
Jacob Shapiro, director of analysis at The Bespoke Group, mentioned that past coverage uncertainty, Mexico faces challenges equivalent to constructing the infrastructure wanted to accommodate a big improve in manufacturing exercise.
The Bespoke Group is an Evergreen, Colorado-based wealth technique agency.
“The most important downside for Mexico goes to be capability,” Shapiro advised FreightWaves in an interview. “Are they going to have the ability to construct out power infrastructure and issues like that to satisfy the power demand that’s coming? Are they going to have the ability to cope with scarce water assets in some cities on the border for what’s coming?”
Shapiro additionally mentioned the uncertainty created by the Trump administration might undermine commerce confidence in North America and the United States-Mexico-Canada Settlement.
“The USA loved its place globally as a result of it was essentially the most trusted and essentially the most steady energy on the planet. Now there’s nations and blocs which might be saying america shouldn’t be reliable anymore,” he mentioned. “Throughout Trump’s first administration and Biden’s administration, it appeared like, particularly in 2020 when the brand new USMCA was signed, that there could be this North American commerce bloc, U.S., Canada and Mexico. I don’t know if it’s gone away, but it surely’s been very strained since Trump’s second time period in workplace started.”
For commerce stakeholders, nearshoring ought to be thought of a long-term development moderately than a short-term phenomenon, in response to Shapiro.
“I feel we’re on the very, very early levels of nearshoring,” he mentioned. “I feel this can be a phenomenon that’s going to emerge over a time horizon of a long time that’s finally going to be very optimistic for Mexico particularly and in addition for the businesses which might be forward of the curve on noticing that.”
Dewart mentioned he’s additionally bullish on Mexico’s long-term prospects.
“No matter what occurs, Mexico goes to be the winner of those commerce wars,” Dewart mentioned. “I wouldn’t say they pull the set off and so they’re relocating factories, however they’re actively asking for quotes, evaluating charges on the ocean world versus what it will appear to be coming from Mexico.”
Buhler Group, a Swiss industrial agricultural tools producer, just lately started development of a $24 million plant in Torreón, Mexico.
The plant, which is able to create 200 jobs, will carry out sheet steel work, tools meeting and portray. The ability is Buhler Group’s first manufacturing plant in Mexico.
Torreón is in northern Mexico, about 343 miles from Laredo, Texas.
The ability will assist the manufacturing wants of Buhler’s grains and meals enterprise and is a part of the corporate’s progress plans within the Americas, in response to a information launch.
Buhler Group relies in Uzwil, Switzerland. The corporate has greater than 12,300 workers, and operates 30 manufacturing websites in over 140 nations, together with three vegetation within the U.S.
Frisa just lately launched a scorching rolling metal mill in Monterrey, Mexico.
The $350 million facility generated greater than 450 jobs and expanded the corporate’s metal manufacturing capability in sectors equivalent to aerospace, semiconductors, wind power and energy technology, in response to a information launch.
Most of Frisa’s metal manufacturing is exported to clients within the U.S., together with Europe and Asia.
Based in Monterrey in 1971, Frisa has greater than 3,000 workers. The corporate has 4 metal vegetation and a distribution middle in Mexico, together with one manufacturing facility within the U.S.
NRS Logistics America Inc. just lately opened the Chemical Logistic Park in Casa Grande, Arizona, simply south of Phoenix.
With a complete funding of $90 million, Chemical Logistic Park features a 67,680-square-foot chemical warehouse, a 9,467-square-foot gasoline pad, a container storage yard and tank container upkeep facility.
The logistics hub will serve semiconductor and electrical car battery producers and suppliers, in addition to industrial chemical markets.
White Plains, New York-based NRS Logistics America is a chemical-logistics firm offering transport, storage and distribution, and asset leasing companies for the chemical and industrial markets.
NRS Logistics America is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based NRS Corp., a world freight forwarder.
The submit Borderlands Mexico: Nearshoring investments nonetheless flowing south of the border appeared first on FreightWaves.
