U.S. automotive players seek to expand operations in MexicoU.S. automotive players seek to expand operations in Mexico
Mexico continues to attract expansion projects from U.S. automotive OEMs, as several recent announcements note. Navistar International Corp., headquartered in Lisle, IL, a maker of medium and heavy-duty trucks and diesel engines, is in talks with the Ministry of Economic Development in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, regarding re-location of Navistar's U.S. plants, according to a news item in MexicoNow, a business and industry trade publication.
February 10, 2016

The objective will be job generation and reduction of costs for Navistar, reported MexicoNow. At least 20 of Navistar's suppliers are interested in relocating their plants, as well. As part of the overall strategy, Navistar has new expansion projects and is seeking to reduce costs by relocating its suppliers. Navistar built its first truck assembly plant in Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, in 1998, investing $167 million in the then 700,000-square-foot facility, which was Navistar's first new plant in 20 years. According to the information in MexicoNow, Navistar produces more than 60,000 vehicles in Nuevo Leon annually, 85% of which are exported to the U.S. and Canada.
According to several reports, Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI) will build a new assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, investing $1.5 billion. A Wall Street Journal article on Monday, Feb. 8, said the new plant will "sharply increase factory output" from Mexico. "The No. 2 light-vehicle seller in the U.S. plans to add 500,000 units of annual Mexico capacity starting in 2018, more than double what it built in 2015," said the Journal. Ford also will expand an existing facility near Mexico City. Last April, Ford announced that it would spend $2.5 billion to build an engine plant as well as a new transmission facility. Currently, Ford employs 11,300 people in Mexico, where it builds the Fiesta, Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, according to various reports.
To prove a point, John Brenkus of ESPN Sport Science hangs more than 60,000 pounds of F-Series trucks—eight F-150s, plus an F-750 Tonka dumptruck—from the frame of a 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty. |
Mexico isn't the only beneficiary of Ford's expansion plans, however. Ford announced in December that the company will create 2,000 new jobs and invest $1.3 billion in its Louisville, KY, truck plant to support the launch of the all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty truck. The Kentucky plant currently produces the F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks and chassis cabs, as well as the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The plant has produced more than 5 million Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks since it was introduced in 1999, according to a Ford announcement. The Kentucky truck plant covers six million square feet and employs nearly 4,400 people. Ford built the first manufacturing plant in Kentucky in 1913.
"This tremendous investment and commitment to new job creation reconfirms the strength of a more than century-long relationship between Kentucky and Ford Motor Co.," said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. "We wholeheartedly appreciate Ford's continued confidence in the commonwealth's work force and pro-business environment, and we look forward to expanding our relationship in the future."
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