Since it was founded 36 years ago, the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks (AMPIP) fosters the creation of industrial parks in Mexico which are essential to the national economy and the strategic infrastructure for supply chains to drive job creation and economic development.
Mexican industrial real estate has become stronger in its almost four decades of existence and is now ready to offer the world, in this current economic climate, over 400 industrial parks to serve those industries and companies which seek to come and establish in Mexico.
The AMPIP, currently chaired by Mr. Sergio Argüelles, has five core strategic vectors to respond to the changes that Mexico and the world are facing. The first vector is representativity, as it is the only association for industrial parks that operates on a national scale and its purpose is to support all the industrial parks nationwide.
The second strategic vector is energy as this sector is key for industrial parks. “Fortunately, we are on the right track and we are lucky to have the goodwill of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to help us make an adequate planning of the energy supply in the short, medium and long term,” mentions Mr. Sergio Argüelles, president and CEO of FINSA.
The third strategic vector is infrastructure and security, which according to the AMPIP, are the key elements that nowadays define the operation and development of industrial parks in the country. The fourth vector is sustainability, based on environmental, social and governance criteria, as the plan is to turn the Association into a leading example of sustainability for the industrial real estate sector and therefore increase Mexico’s competitive edge.
Promotion is the fifth strategic vector. “The Association joins efforts with its members and the government on its three levels, federal, state and municipal, to make the most of the opportunities available so that more companies can establish and develop manufacturing processes or logistic activities in Mexico. This always results in economic growth and job creation,” says Mr. Argüelles.
It is important to mention that the AMPIP has had successful approaches with the Secretariat of Economy of Mexico, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) as well as CFE. “ We have had a positive response from all these agencies and they have shown an interest in supporting the existing industrial parks and developing new ones,” comments Mr. Argüelles, president of the Association.
The AMPIP offers today more than 430 million square feet of leasable industrial real estate and over 26 million square feet of developing industrial real estate
“The first priority within an industrial park is to implement security measures to support the activities of the companies that establish there”. Sergio Argüelles, president and CEO of FINSA.
Mexican industrial parks: an attractive option for foreign investment?
According to the president of the AMPIP, all the industrial parks in Mexico are attractive and able to welcome companies that invest in Mexico.
Mr. Sergio Argüelles says that in 2021 his partners reported an estimate of 50 investments in industrial parks and during the first five months of 2022, 25 investments in industrial parks were announced. “The truth is there have been many more investments, but it is not up to us to make them public.”
He also mentions that investments in distribution centers and logistics spaces are located mostly close to big urban centers. Companies such as Mercado Libre and Amazon made huge investments in Querétaro, State of Mexico, Sonora and Jalisco. However, investments in manufacturing vary depending on the sector or specific industrial activity, target market, origin of the raw materials, etc.
“Ecommerce was undoubtedly the sector with the highest growth during the pandemic in Mexico and the entire world. According to data from CBRE Consulting, the recorded growth for the sector between 2019 and 2021 was 126%. This has obviously brought with it an increase in demand for logistic spaces and distribution centers. We believe that 2022 will continue with the positive trend, until the sector stabilizes. This growth poses multiple challenges, to us it means satisfying the space demand from ecommerce companies so that they can meet the current demand,” states Mr. Argüelles.
Additionally, he mentions that nearshoring also represents a business opportunity for industrial parks. According to the latest report from CBRE Consulting, the market share for nearshoring went from 21% of the total industrial demand in Mexico in 2021 to 40% during Q1 2022, and for geographical reasons, markets in northern Mexico concentrated almost 90% of the nearshoring demand nationally. “The industries that have dominated so far are furniture, electronics, household appliances and of course, automotive. The latest leads from AMPIP show the trend is now shifting to the textile industry.”
Mr. Argüelles claims that international companies generally prefer to establish within an industrial park, not only because of the certainty of land ownership, but also because of the convenience of having all services readily available as well as an efficient facility administration.
The first priority within an industrial park is to implement security measures to support the activities of the companies that establish there. These actions include doing risk analysis, implementing safety measures, designing security protocols and establishing preventive measures. In the end, these are all advantages of establishing within an industrial park, because we can guarantee companies a safe space for their operation,” concludes Mr. Sergio Argüelles.
