Headlines include Mexico becoming US’ leading trading partner and the peso’s rise in value
It’s been a busy year for cross-border trade, with everything from Mexico replacing China as the top U.S. trading partner to Tesla’s announcement that it would build a $5 billion electric vehicle plant in the Mexican city of Monterrey.
Other major headlines include the Mexican peso’s appreciation over the past year, nearshoring’s growth in northern and central Mexico, as well as cargo theft continuing to cause problems for commercial transporters across the country.
As 2023 comes to an end, here’s a look back at five of the biggest stories.
Mexico is biggest US trading partner in 2023
Mexico continued to solidify its place as the United States’ top trading partner in 2023, surpassing China and Canada in two-way trade.
From January through October, Mexico’s trade with the U.S. rose 2.57% year over year to $672.59 billion, according to a WorldCity analysis of the latest Census Bureau data.
Canada ranked second in trade with the U.S. through the first 10 months of the year, totaling $648 billion in two-way trade. China ranked third at $480 billion.
Mexico was the United States’ top trade partner in October, with two-way commerce totaling $72.8 billion. It’s the 10th time in the past 11 months that Mexico ranked No. 1 in total trade with the U.S. (Read two of FreightWaves’ articles here and here.)
Cars, commercial trucks and auto parts are the top commodities traded and transported between the U.S. and Mexico. Other goods that flow between the two countries include everything from oil and gasoline to computer chips, computer parts, TVs, medical devices, industrial machinery, corn, tomatoes, berries, avocados, potatoes, beef and pork.
Tesla announces $5 billion electric vehicle factory in Mexico
In March, electric automaker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced it would build a $5 billion factory in the Mexican city of Monterrey.
The news was hailed by Mexican authorities as the one of the biggest wins for its manufacturing sector in years.
“The richest man on earth trusted Nuevo Leon, Mexico, for… Read full article here
