During October, 14,249 heavy duty trucks were produced in Mexico, compared to 17,576 during the same month in 2019, according to data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography.
The 19% decline is an improvement over recent months but still reflects the slow recovery of Mexico’s auto production industry, said Miguel Elizalde, president of Mexico’s National Association of Producers of Buses, Trucks and Tractors (ANPACT).
“In October we reached the pre-pandemic levels,” Elizalde said during a virtual press conference Wednesday. “The growth is due to exports to the United States; the value chain was always declared essential and more orders are seen.”
Mexico exported 12,288 heavy vehicles during October, a year-on-year decrease of 15.7%. The U.S. was the main export market for Mexican-made trucks, with 94.7% of total exports between January through October. Canada (2.9%) and Colombia (1.3%) were second and third.
“We saw a 5% growth [in October compared to September] in trucks because we are the number one exporter of trucks in the world, but we have a 40% drop in the accumulated [exports] from January to October,” Elizalde said. “We have to wait until the end of the year to know the world ranking; we believe that there has been a change, but Mexico had the plants closed for two months and this had an impact on exports.”
Truck makers with assembly plants and factories in Mexico include Freightliner, Kenworth, Navistar, Hino, International, DINA, Mercedes-Benz, Isuzu, Scania, VW/MAN, Cummins and Detroit Diesel, according to ANPACT.
The top heavy-truck producers in Mexico during October include:
- Freightliner with 8,488 trucks.
- International Trucks Inc., 4,068 units.
- Kenworth, 1,387 units.
- Isuzu, 66 units.
- Volkswagen, 21 units.
- Hino, 22 units.
- Dina, 16 units.
Mexico’s top heavy-vehicle exporters during October were:
- Freightliner, 8,027 units.
- International, 3,705 units.
- Kenworth, 544 units.
- Dina, 12 units.
ANPACT also reported a total of 2,687 trucks were sold to the wholesale market in Mexico during October, a decline of 16% compared to the same period last year. Retail sales of trucks fell 21% in October.
Kenworth sold 922 trucks wholesale during October, followed by Freightliner at 735, International 483, Isuzu 155, Hino 134, Volkswagen 70, Scania 25, Volvo 12, and Mack Trucks 2.
“The sales figures indicate that [Mexican] carriers, particularly micro and small companies, are facing difficult times that prevent them from renewing their fleet,” Elizalde said. “It is crucial to have both a legal framework that guarantees certainty, as well as electronic procedures.”
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