The logistics sector in Mexico has a deficit of between 25% and 30% in infrastructure and labor , so it is necessary to carry out actions that allow its growth to keep pace with the demand of this industry.

José Ignacio Aguado, Director General of Innovation, Services and Domestic Trade at the Ministry of Economy (SE) , stated that by 2030 the logistics market in the country will register accelerated growth.

“We cannot aim for only 7% growth because we will continue with this deficit trend in our country; we have to grow more than double so that by 2030 we are already on par with the sector’s demand,” he stated during the conference “Logistics and Infrastructure Integration of Mexico in the Context of the USMCA, Nearshoring and Regional Development,” held at the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico (CICM) .

He mentioned that Mexico ranks 10th among the main countries exporting goods and 12th in imports, and highlighted the integration of the economy between Mexico and the United States, noting that 81.7% of the country’s exports go to the United States, while Mexico buys 36% from its northern neighbor, “almost double what we buy from China (19.3%), and the United States buys more from China than we buy from them.”

Therefore, he said it is necessary to improve and incorporate new technologies into the current infrastructure in airports , ports, highways and railways, to help reduce logistics costs and position the country as a global logistics platform.

He noted that by 2030 the goal is to consolidate Mexico as a logistics hub , increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in strategic sectors, generate formal jobs with job training, and expand logistics infrastructure in response to industry growth.

He emphasized that the goal is also to promote import substitution of critical inputs, strengthen energy and food security, reduce regional gaps through the Economic Development Hubs for Well-being (Podecobis), and increase regional competitiveness within the framework of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) .

Furthermore, he explained that the trend in the logistics sector is towards greater technology and digitization , data analysis and intelligence, automation, as well as the last mile focused on sustainability.

Meanwhile, Reyes Juárez del Ángel, Vice President of Planning and Foresight at CICM, maintained that Mexico is going through an exceptional period to consolidate itself as the main industrial logistics center of North America, driven by nearshoring (relocation of production lines) and by its position as the main trading partner of the United States.

However, he considered that the country is going through “a governance labyrinth” in logistics . “We came from a simpler effort, with less dependence and bureaucracy, and now logistics has become significantly fragmented.”

He specified that the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) manages the highway network and rail transport with the support of the private sector, while the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) manages the seaports; airports and border crossings are subject to diverse commands such as the Navy, private entities and the Ministry of National Defense (Defensa) ; the pipelines have been quasi-private infrastructure of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) , while customs “operate with a control approach that does not always synchronize with the trade facilitation that is required and that is implicit in the Mexico Plan”.

“This fragmentation is indeed worrying and will surely require a great collaborative effort to provide the country with the necessary resources to coordinate the entire logistics system, synchronize it, and put it into perspective. Just across the border with the United States, three billion dollars pass through daily, which implies significant pressure and the need to have the capacity for the more than 50 international crossings and bridges that Mexico operates,” he concluded.

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The lack of human capital training has become one of the main bottlenecks for the manufacturing industry in Mexico, particularly among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), warned Claudia Valdés, director of Expo Manufactura , who cautioned that inequality in access to technical training and maintenance is directly impacting the competitiveness, productivity and growth capacity of the sector.

He explained that there is a significant gap in training levels depending on company size. While around 81% of large companies train their staff, only 3.7% of micro-enterprises do so, and in the case of SMEs, the percentage is around 44% .

This disparity, he said, has contributed to a talent shortage that has been accumulating over the past 15 years and that today limits the performance of up to seven out of every 10 manufacturing companies in the country.

“The lack of training not only affects the staff, it also translates into poor management of machinery maintenance. It’s like not servicing a piece of equipment: the problem isn’t always immediately apparent, but when it appears, the impact can be in the millions,” he pointed out.

Underestimating training has direct consequences for operations. Line stoppages, bottlenecks, missed deliveries, overtime, and unexpected machinery failures are some of the most common costs faced by companies that don’t invest in technical training or predictive maintenance.

Valdés explained that many companies continue to rely on corrective maintenance schemes , which are much more expensive than prevention supported by digital tools and constant monitoring.

“It’s not about the failure existing today, but about detecting in time one that could occur in one or two years. Avoiding that problem is what makes the difference,” he pointed out.

These operational risks are compounded by strategic costs: the loss of business opportunities, the inability to take on new projects, and the breach of contracts, factors that directly affect the reputation and financial viability of companies.

While Mexican manufacturing showed strong growth at the beginning of 2025, exceeding 20%, the pace slowed toward the end of the year, not surpassing 3% or 4%, according to the event’s outlook. This slowdown, Valdés explained, is linked to trade uncertainty with the United States, tariff issues, and the lack of clear definitions surrounding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has led many companies to adopt a “wait and see” approach .

At the same time, the industry is facing a talent shortage . The rapid growth of previous years absorbed a large portion of the available skills, and today there is a need to attract more people interested in joining the manufacturing sector to meet existing demand.

The director of Expo Manufactura sent a message to industry leaders: “The cost of not training today is too high, and opportunities don’t always come around . ”

“Losing projects or being unable to deliver due to a lack of training would be a great shame for companies,” he warned.

Expo Manufactura will take place from February 3 to 5 at Cintermex , Monterrey, Nuevo León, with free registration and access, as part of its commitment to strengthening talent and competitiveness in manufacturing in Mexico.

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In a challenging logistics and transportation landscape, the main challenges of the supply chain in Mexico are more concentrated in external factors such as insecurity and infrastructure , however, leaders are increasingly addressing best practices to confront them.

The Comparative Study of Practices and Trends in Mexico 2024 , presented by #SoyLogístico Asociación in conjunction with Deloitte , addresses the current state of key issues and challenges facing the value chain function, and was answered by 73 supply chain leaders from 21 different industries.

According to the study, the main challenges facing supply chain leaders are : qualified labor (59 mentions), road infrastructure (58), inventory shortage (58), financial volatility (57), competition for assets and infrastructure (56), insecurity in the country (56), port infrastructure (54), excess inventory (46) and airport infrastructure (41).

Regarding the level of implementation of technologies , the study indicates that the technologies with the highest level of implementation are enterprise resource planning or ERP (73%), barcodes (66%) and warehouse management systems or WMS (59%).

On the other hand, they highlight as emerging technologies that companies do not implement blockchain (81%), artificial intelligence (75%) and task automation (68%).

The study also referred to the availability and quality of information that allows leaders to make better and more informed decisions , in which information and feedback from suppliers obtained the highest level of dissatisfaction with 39%; a field in which logistics players constantly insist on integrating business metrics.

To meet these challenges, the study indicates that companies prioritize investment in operational excellence (42%), with practices mainly in quality and safety certifications; logistics and distribution (26%), with techniques such as inventory management and warehouse optimization; and sustainability (16%), before focusing directly on cost reduction (15%).

Furthermore, due to the complicated logistics, companies are outsourcing some processes, such as inbound and outbound transport , with partners who have the necessary infrastructure and knowledge, so this business model grows year after year.

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