The booming growth of the industrial real estate market in northern Mexico, driven by the relocation of production lines (nearshoring) , has led sectors such as diverse manufacturing and the automotive industry to seek to establish themselves in Saltillo, Coahuila, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
According to a statement from CBRE , a consultancy in office and industrial real estate spaces, in the metropolitan area of Saltillo, these industries added more than 92 thousand square meters (m2 ) of gross absorption or commercialized spaces during the second quarter of 2024 .
The continued demand for space, as well as the delivery of pre-leased buildings, brought the quarterly net absorption to 134 thousand m2 , with the half-yearly accumulation reaching 300 thousand m2 . The Ramos Arizpe submarket remains the most dynamic in the city, concentrating 60% of the demand during the first half of the year .
The Saltillo industrial market ended the first half of the year with an inventory of 4.69 million m2 and the new supply accumulated more than 292 thousand m2 during the first half of 2024. Of the total new spaces delivered, only 10 thousand m2 were integrated into the available inventory.
At the end of the second quarter of the year, Saltillo’s inventory registered an increase of 125 thousand m2 , closing with 4.7 million m2 and an annual increase of 12.6 percent. The Ramos Arizpe industrial corridor continues to dominate the market, as it represents 66% of the total existing inventory, 82% of the new supply delivered and 56% of the current construction activity.
These figures have been driven by the creation of new formal jobs at the end of May, which in Coahuila was 21 thousand positions, according to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) , which has placed this state in sixth place nationwide in this matter.
Another indicator is the increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which totaled more than 921.4 million dollars (mdd) in 2023 in various projects, according to the Ministry of Economy. This amount represented 2.6% of the national total, as well as an annual increase of 5.6 percent.
Diverse manufacturing is positioned as the industrial sector with the highest demand in Saltillo and its metropolitan area at the end of the second quarter of 2024; it was followed by the automotive manufacturing sector with an additional 36 thousand m² of demand.
Regarding the country of origin of these investments, the United States (43%), Canada (20%) and China (19%) lead in gross demand.
Demand for industrial parks in Ciudad Juárez on the rise
Demand for such spaces has also grown in Ciudad Juárez; in the second quarter of 2024 alone, it closed with 15,000 m² of net absorption and accumulated so far this year of 226,700 m², which meant the second largest mid-year net absorption ever recorded.
In the same quarter of this year, it closed with 445 thousand square meters of space under construction, of which 315 thousand m² are speculative.
Completed projects accounted for the majority of absorption in the reference period, although while new vacant inventory has been delivered and more space is being built, the market remained tight as most leasing is occurring within new construction .
There is limited second-generation space available and activity outside of renovations is minimal, plus there are 31 speculative buildings available or under construction across the city.
Industrial demand for market space is in the size range of 3,700 m2 to 28,000 m2 , and electronics and electrical and medical equipment manufacturing are almost 50% of the demand, driven by nearshoring .
To foster dialogue on the opportunities presented by nearshoring , Grupo T21 will organize the Transportation and Logistics Meeting (ETYL) on October 9 and 10 in Nuevo León. With the central theme “Maximizing logistics opportunities with nearshoring ,” this event will bring together important industry leaders in Mexico.
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