Chihuahua, industrial development pole
Chihuahua
By Redacción
In 2020, the state of Chihuahua registered 39 operations; projects in the manufacturing and logistics sector stand out.
Industrial market absorption in the state of Chihuahua remained stable during 2020, according to Fabián Santana, director of Promotora de la Industria Chihuahuense, a division of the Ministry of Innovation and Economic Development (SIDE).
In an interview for Mexico Industry, the director explained that Chihuahua had kept its foreign investment afloat based on the collected data.
"In 2020, 39 operations were registered in the state of Chihuahua, representing 415,000 square meters in industrial space," he said.
Some of these operations are the third plant in BRP (Ciudad Juarez), Incora (Chihuahua), the expansion of the Flex north plant (Ciudad Juarez), and Safran (Chihuahua), to mention a few.
Although the pandemic has affected some industrial sectors in the state, the director shared that others have shown an upward trend, such as medical devices, packaging, logistics, and construction materials.
Fabian Santana commented that January is generally a strong period, regardless of the circumstances, because companies put their plans in place for the year. "We saw [in January 2020] operations in different municipalities, such as Jiménez, Saucillo, and Aldama. However, there was a slowdown period that extended to the middle of the year," he said.
"Large investments have processes that last 18 to 24 months. It is difficult to quantify a downturn in the market from one month to the other, as these are scheduling issues. We usually see an upturn in January, June, and the months of October and November, which is when the last investment packages are executed before the end of the year," he explained.
He clarified that 2020 investment numbers are lower compared to 2019. Still, he said 2020 "wasn't that bad."
"There was an absorption movement. It followed the same pattern of current dynamics with movements at the beginning of the year, mid-year, and the fall months."
Ciudad Juarez, the crown jewel.
For Marcos Álvarez, Business Intelligence Director of Market Analysis, the growth of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ciudad Juárez stands out, despite the pandemic scenario.
"Its [Ciudad Juarez's] growth did not stop. Most of its foreign direct investment was generated by the maquiladora sector," he said.
He also pointed out that according to the Ministry of Innovation and Economic Development, by the end of 2020, Ciudad Juarez would generate 90% of the country's exports and manufacturing of medical devices.
He announced that, for the Juarez market, the year-to-date gross absorption (YTD) registers 2.9 million square feet, closing 21 transactions in total.
"Ninety-two percent of the investment in Ciudad Juarez is foreign. Of that percentage, the United States represents 58 percent and Canada 18 percent. The remaining 8 percent corresponds to domestic absorption," he stated.
He added that the industry with the highest absorption is logistics, with 1,32,000 square feet, followed by the automotive sector, with 619,000 square feet.
Based on Market Analysis information, the representative transactions for the closing of 2020 were that of the Canadian company BRP, with a BTS in Juarez's northern area.
"They were a strong trigger for investment growth in 2020, as their announcement represents 536,000 square feet," Alvarez highlighted.
He also highlighted the investment of Ergomotion in the Centro Industrial Juarez Industrial Park, Flexsteel in South Park, 3M in AeroJuarez, and SM Industries, among others.
As for availability, the Juarez market at YTD has 1.8 million square feet and 16 buildings, of which 50% are Class A, and 50% are Class B. It has 179,000 square feet under construction.
Among the players with the largest participation are IGS, MPA Group, Intermex, BTSD, Los Bravos, Vesta, Axial, to mention a few.
For Fabián Santana, Ciudad Juárez, as an industrial city, has notable strengths that are not shared by other maquiladora regions in the country, such as the variety of business sectors that operate independently.
"In Juarez, the traditional sectors are automotive and metal-mechanic, but there are also operations in medical devices, electronics and home appliances, logistics, and services, including components for power generation and even health protection equipment (masks, gowns, filters)," he said.
"We have an upturn in these sectors that are helping the current pandemic situation," he explained.
Projection 2021
Fabián Santana, director of Promotora de la Industria Chihuahuense, clarified that, by 2021, they foresee growth in several sectors, particularly in electronics.
"There will be large projects in this area, with an interesting level in terms of employment investment. Some consider other options of cities, states, and even countries. Still, we believe that we have an interesting amount of analysis, and we will have a movement in line with previous years," he concluded.
2020 projects in the state of Chihuahua
Building | Industrial Park | Leased Space |
Igs - Parque Industrial Juárez l | West | 6,416 |
Intermex- Inventory building | Chihuahua | 3,003 |
American Industries - Supra | Chihuahua | 17,844 |
Intermex - Textron | Chihuahua | 4,063 |
Wrangler Saucillo | Saucillo | 8,268 |
Wrangler jimenez | Jimenez | 8,595 |
American Industries - Inventory South II | Chihuahua | 5,200 |
Intermex | Chihuahua | 5,341 |
Los Fuentes Group - F-IIIA | North | 10,514 |
Intermex - Aj 15 | Southwest | 6,360 |
Axial - Nave I | Southwest | 5,536 |
Terrafina - CJS-IN-06 | East | 6,548 |
Vesta - Building Q3 | Southeast | 10,028 |
Fiber Upsite - Building 1 | Southeast | 13,952 |
Intermex - CJS-BI-01 | Southeast | 14,206 |
Vesta - Q4 | Southeast | 7,288 |
Commercial Border Partners - Industrial / Manufacturing Facility | East | 414 |
CBRE - TYCO Building | Central | 1,207 |
Colliers - Edif Sofia | Central | 284 |
Private - Flexspace Puente Alto | Southwest | 4,001 |
Intermex - CJS-BI-01 | Southeast | 14,206 |
Prologis - MIJA | Southeast | 8,914 |
Contec Camargo | Camargo | 5,000 |
American Industries - Inventory South I | Chihuahua | 13,941 |
Platinium 614 | Chihuahua | 1,900 |
Vesta - Q1 | Southeast | 9,353 |
Prologis - Building 15 | Southeast | 22,550 |
Macquarie Fiber - Jua 036 | West | 14,068 |
Roca Developments - CJ1-INV | Southwest | 10,084 |
Roca Developments - Boyd Corporation Expansion | Southwest | 10,112 |
Macquarie fiber - JUA 035 | Southwest | 15,917 |
Bts Development - Juárez 1 | Southeast | 24,084 |
Terrafina - Inventory Building | Southeast | 11,187 |
American Industries - Independence ll | Southeast | 11,159 |
Wrangler Delights | Delight | 35,144 |
BRP Floor 3 | Juarez | 32,528 |
Grupo Bermudez - Faraday Logistics Center | Central | 1,501 |
Igs - West ll | West | 5,147 |
Prodensa Select - Poppies 3450 | West | 5,128 |
Source: Promotora de la Industria Chihuahuense.
Table | | | | | | |
Representative lease and sale transactions | | | ||||
Submarket | Tenant | SF | Industrial park | Developer | Type | End use |
North | BRP | 536,262 | Stand Alone | N / A | Bts | Manufacture |
Southeast | Ergomotion | 242,643 | Juarez Industrial Center | Prologis | Inventory | Manufacture |
Southeast | Flexsteel | 194,014 | South Park | IGS | Inventory | Manufacture |
Southeast | 3M | 193,000 | Aerojuárez | Intermex | Inventory | Logistics |
Southwest | SM Industries | 180,534 | Aerojuárez | Intermex | Inventory | Manufacture |
Southeast | Sumitomo | 165,000 | Aerojuárez | RMSG | Expansion | Manufacture |
| | | | | | |
Source: Market Analysis. | | | | | | |
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