| Nuevo Laredo Industrial Profile |
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KEY INDUSTRIES
MAIN COMPANIES
RECENT ACTIVITY
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
Overview Nuevo Laredo is a well-established location in Mexico’s maquiladora industry, but mainly for its role as one of the key transportation hubs in North America, not its manufacturing base. Almost 40% of all commerial traffic coming in and out of Mexico crosses through Nuevo Laredo’s bridges. While finding a trucking company is no problem, companies reliant on local suppliers will have to look at other markets for support. However, Nuevo Laredo does offer excellent opportunities for self-sufficient companies to run a world-class operation. Both Caterpillar and Visteon have some of their top plants worldwide in Nuevo Laredo. In Summary, Nuevo Laredo is an area that should be considered when looking at the border but may not be the best fit for operations requiring local suppliers. The City POPULATION Nuevo Laredo is the fifth largest city on the U.S./Mexican border with 310,277 people counted in the 2000 census. This is up from 41.38% from 1990 and is projected to grow to 500,000 by 2010. The 2000 number represents almost 12% of Tamaulipas’ total population. It is estimated that over 100,000 inhabitants of Nuevo Laredo are from other locations in Mexico. Laredo, Texas has 193,117 people counted in the 2000 census. Laredo was the 9th fastest growing city in the U.S from 1990 to 2000, with a 44.9% growth rate. LOCATION
Nuevo Laredo is located in the northwestern corner of Tamaulipas and shares borders with Texas to the north, Nuevo Leon to the west, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz to the south, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Located on the Gulf Coast, Tamaulipas reveals an economic base in fishing, trade and oil exploration. Its largest seaport is Tampico. Nuevo Laredo sits 425 ft above sea level. The city is hot and humid most of the year and experiences heavy rains at times. PROXIMITY TO KEY CITIES Land distance from Nuevo Laredo to:
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY Nuevo Laredo is best known as a transportion corridor to the interior of Mexico. The city has two dedicated commericial bridges as well as a rail crossing. 38% of the total U.S./Mexico ground-based trade passes through Laredo, including more than 10,000 trucks daily at the World Trade Bridge alone. The Colombia Solidarity Bridge, inaugurated in 1991, also has world-class crossing facilities but has yet to seen major traffic due to its location 15 miles outside of town. The Workforce DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACT AGE DISTRIBUTION Nuevo Laredo: population by age group
EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS
Nuevo Laredo’s population and demographic projections point to above average growth rates resulting from increased trade and border migration. The city has a workforce of approximately 116,000 people. The maquiladora Industry employs over 19,000 people in 44 plants distributed in seven industrial parks. Internal growth and migration are only part of advantages to be found in Nuevo Laredo’s labor pool; there is also an existing pool of experienced workers looking for employment. The maquiladora industry has contracted significantly in recent years. So far in 2004, Nuevo Laredo went from having 53 maquiladoras employing 21,970 people in January 2004 to 44 Maquiladoras employing 19,326 people in March 2004. This trend has stablilzed, but highlights the capacity of the city to incorporate new labor demands. SKILL RANKING AND EDUCATION Nuevo Laredo’s workforce has a good reputation across Mexico as capable and educated. This is due in large part to the presence of several high quality educational institutions, as well as several high quality technical and vocational schools. The main universities are the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, the Instituto Tecnologico de Nuevo Laredo, and the Universidad del Valle de Bravo. The State Government has created the Tamaulipas Institute of Job Training, which works closely with the State Department for Employment Services to offer free training in different topics required by the local industry. Approximately 100 engineers graduate every year from the Nuevo Laredo’s Institute of Technology and are quickly absorbed in to the local workforce. TURNOVER RATES The state of Tamaulipas has historically been known to have high turnover rates. While TeamNAFTA touches on this subject in more depth in our Info Center, general estimates put average turnover around Click Here To Register The Operation WAGE RATES
Average hourly wages paid in Laredo - 2004
Source: Area industry wage studies and interviews with local managers, $11.00 pesos/USD
Source: Mexican Department of Energy, Chihuahua State Government, CFE and Bancomext 2004 INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE There are only three typical industrial parks in Nuevo Laredo housing about half of the maquiladora plants. The other operations are spread along a large industrial corridor. Unlike many other border towns, Nuevo Laredo does not have large tracts of land ready for industrial development. However, the city is considered to be one of the key markets in Mexico and almost all national real estate developers will serve clients in the area. A current survey of industrial parks in Nuevo Laredo provides the following average USD prices. U.S. Dollars/sq. ft.
Exchange Rate $11.00 pesos/dollar INFRASTRUCTURE Laredo is the largest, most efficient port of entry on the U.S./Mexico border due to its highway infrastructure. In 2003, the Port of Laredo handled 1,625,819 loaded truck shipments, 220,000 rail car shipments and 262 million pounds of airfreight. Currently, there are 830 transportation related businesses in Laredo, Texas. Nuevo Laredo’s infrastructure consists on five international bridges. The "Gateway of America" is the older, smaller pedestrian crossing. The Juarez-Lincoln Bridge is the new downtown crossing that recently has been turned into an exclusive non-commercial crossing. This was the main commercial crossing before the World Trade Bridge opened and it experienced significant delays and congestion. The World Trade Bridge is dedicated to truck traffic and enters Laredo in the northern warehouse and distribution zone. The Columbia Solidarity Bridge is the newest bridge, sitting approximaltye 15 miles northwest of downtown Laredo. The Columbia bridge actually connects Texas with the state of Nuevo Leon, not Tamaulipas. Laredo is served by the Texas Mexican Railway Company, jointly owned by the Kansas City Southern and Transportation Maritima Mexicana, providing service from Canada to Mexico. The Union Pacific also connects to Laredo out of the Midwest CUSTOMS The World Trade Bridge offers excellent facilities, and the presence of many competent customs brokerage firms ensures efficient, timely crossings. Laredo has more licensed U.S. custom brokers than any other border city and Nuevo Laredo has the largest customs operation in Latin America. TAXES & INCENTIVES STATE OF TAMAULIPAS Training: The State of Tamaulipas provides up to 90 days of worker training, paying workers between one and a half to two minimum salaries for up to 90 days. Companies interested in this program commit to hire at least 70% of those people trained. This incentive is paid by the state employment department and takes place either at the plant or in a technical school. State of Tamaulipas Payroll Tax Incentive: The state published a covenant for fiscal year 2003, which states an incentive of a 50% reduction on the payroll tax for a period of two years. The payroll tax is 2% of total payroll payment. The Politics UNIONS Most companies in Tamaulipas are unionized but organized labor has not been a negative factor for maquiladora operations. In fact, the relationship between unions and management has been very cooperative. Labor unions actively assist plant management to encourage punctuality and to minimize absenteeism of union employees. There have been no labor strikes in Tamaulipas in the last two years. Unions are committed to new job creation and assist management in recruitment and job training. POLITICAL INFLUENCES Local governments on both sides of the border are staunchly pro-maquila and can generate significant assistance packages through both states if necessary. Tamaulipas has a tradition of supporting the ruling PRI party. The state’s governor, Tomas Yarrington, is a young and charismatic leader who understands the importance of foreign investment to generate jobs and economic growth for the state. OTHER BIG NAMES Click Here To Register Industrial Market Map
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