The constant blockades by farmers at border points and highways in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, which have occurred in the last two weeks due to the lack of agreements with the federal government on the Water Law , generated major economic and logistical problems.

In an interview with T21, Manuel Sotelo , vice president of the northern region of the National Chamber of Freight Transportation (Canacar) , warned that the blockades paralyzed goods with an estimated value exceeding two billion dollars (mdd) , affecting the maquiladora industry that operates mainly through this border crossing.

Sotelo noted that, according to U.S. Customs data, each shipment has an average value of $65,000, and at least 7,000 shipments cross the border daily, including both exports and imports. Last week alone, with four days of closures, the value of the goods that failed to cross on time reached $1.3 billion . This week, with three days of closures, approximately 17,500 shipments were held up, representing $1.137 billion.

Sotelo recalled that the previous week the city faced four days of total isolation. Protesters blocked key border crossings such as Guadalupe-Tornillo, Zaragoza-Ysleta, Córdoba de las Américas, and Jerónimo-Santa Teresa , as well as highway access to the north and south, leading to shortages of gasoline and basic goods.

In contrast, this week the blockades were concentrated solely at border crossings, leaving the routes south open, which served as alternatives for diverting goods to Nogales or Laredo. However, costs and transit times skyrocketed: a crossing that normally takes two hours and costs $150 to $200 became a journey of up to two days and more than 100,000 pesos per unit .

Regarding customs, Sotelo explained that there is a delay of between seven and ten days for the flow of goods to return to normal. However, it was agreed that customs will extend its operating hours, which will expedite the flow and reduce accumulated delays.

The vice president of Canacar lamented that a region strategic for binational trade is being hit by the lack of agreements and pointed out that the protesters chose Chihuahua because “Ciudad Juárez is the number one manufacturing exporter in the country.”

“We are pleased that the federal government is doing its part. It is not fair that a region should be so negatively affected because they cannot reach an agreement with one economic sector of the country,” he emphasized.

On Friday morning, farmers withdrew from the Zaragoza–Ysleta, Guadalupe–Tornillo and Jerónimo–Santa Teresa border crossings, which had been blocked since December 2.

According to data from the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) , in the period January-August 2025, trade was recorded for 581,306 million dollars, of which 72,975 million dollars were through the Juárez-Ysleta International Bridge , consolidating it as the second most dynamic crossing, after Nuevo Laredo-Laredo, with 229,738 million dollars in the cycle.

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After the Senate voted with a qualified majority of 86 votes in favor and 41 against, the reform to the judicial power continued its path to approval by local congresses, which this morning of September 12 already had the approval of 18 states, so only its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) will remain pending.

Various business organizations warned prior to the Senate vote of the risk that the judicial reform proposed by the Federal Executive could generate for investments, and that this could contain the dynamic wave of nearshoring , where, according to estimates, this effect alone could attract 48 billion dollars (mdd) of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), in addition to the normal rate of these flows.

Even in the uncertainty of the September 10 vote in the Senate, the Texas Public Policy Foundation shared a message through its account that has generated uncertainty and concern.

“Texas is ready to welcome investment dollars that may be looking for a new home as a result of the uncertainty surrounding Mexico’s sweeping judicial reform. We offer a stable, business-friendly environment for global investors without drastically changing powers. We respect business,” reads the X account of this research institute.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, according to information on its website.

In this context of uncertainty due to the approval of the reform to the judicial branch by the Federal Congress, the lack of a reliable infrastructure in customs matters continues to reduce Mexico’s competitiveness.

“Since Monday we have been facing interruptions in the Customs system again, which is why we operated for a few hours and the process was stopped again, with what this implies for trade between Mexico and the United States,” Manuel Sotelo Suárez, vice president of the Northern Region of the National Chamber of Cargo Transportation (Canacar), told T21 .

Sotelo said that in the Ciudad Juárez area alone there are 400 maquiladoras that daily motivate between three and four thousand transport vehicles to cross to El Paso, Texas, to maintain commercial operations between both countries. If in regular operation the crossing can take two or three hours, now this can double.

“Priority is being given to urgent shipments, and non-crucial materials are being left for times when there is a greater flow through customs. But this affects all those involved, and we hope that the system will soon stabilize,” said Sotelo Suárez.

The businessman even added that the activation of a contingency to operate manual processes was authorized, “we have photocopies, but this is becoming even more complex to operate.”

In the current state of uncertainty, where Texas maintains a policy of attracting investment, as happened with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the recurring situation of intermittent customs operations does not contribute to an environment of efficiency and productivity.

Based on data from the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM), in the period January – July 2024, the country’s border, maritime and internal customs had generated a collection of 661 thousand 347.86 million pesos (mdp), that is, an increase of 1.8% below what had been achieved in 2023, and where only border customs face an increase in tax collection.

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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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