Tijuana is the largest city in Baja California, with a successful infrastructure and transportation network that crosses into the rest of Mexico and the U.S. Among its many advantages, access to the global market through major international seaports, airports, and highway infrastructure create a competitive import/export market in Tijuana. As one of the biggest border crossings in Mexico, TIjuana has a steady growth of employment that also bleeds into the United States. Tijuana’s industrial development has amounted to more than $5.7 Billion USD of Foreign Direct Investment since 2012. The region supports over 550 companies from over 20 countries that employ more than 185,000 people.
Success in operational practices has has pushed Tijuana to maintain the No. 1 export manufacturing base in Mexico. The city has become a manufacturing powerhouse for many industries, these include medical devices, electronics, aerospace, automotive, and semiconductors.
Medical Device Manufacturing
Tijuana’s medical device manufacturing industry is 30 years old and maintains an established local supply chain network making the city the biggest medical device manufacturing hub in the country. As of 2016, there were 67 companies that had a $599 M USD production value employing about 42,000 people. Some of the medical device companies include: BD, Welch Allyn, and Thermo Fisher.
Electronics Manufacturing
Electronics manufacturing in Tijuana produces a wide range of goods spanning appliances, electrical components, media equipment, and semiconductors. The electronics manufacturing industry has been established for around 50 years and provides 50,000 jobs over 122 companies. TVs and Semiconductors are the most produced goods in the industry. Over 20 million TVs are manufactured a year, creating a $419M production value. Semiconductors are the base of the supply chain for the electrical and electronic devices hosting 71 companies and providing over 20 thousand jobs. Electronics manufacturing companies in Tijuana include: Plantronics, Kyocera, Philips, Foxconn Sanyo, Samsung, and Panasonic.
Aerospace Manufacturing
The range of the aerospace industry in Tijuana has turned into its own ecosystem of supply chain and tier level companies over the past 40 years. Tijuana’s aerospace cluster is four times as full of industry operations as any other sector in Mexico. The city’s highly skilled workforce adds a $14.3K value per employee with 11,700 employees working for the 39 companies. Some aerospace companies in Tijuana include: 4 times more concentrated than MX aerospace sector. Cubic Honeywell, BEA systems.
Automotive Manufacturing
The automotive industry in Tijuana is also a manufacturing powerhouse that specializes in truck chassis, stamped metal parts, seat belts, sound speakers, carbon fiber body kits, and electronic sensors. The industry employs 14,600 employees over 50 companies, and a few of those automotive companies include: Hyundai, Toyota, and Goodridge.
Real Estate
A Colliers international report on Tijuana’s real estate market provided a general overview of the city’s leasing and land averages, along with a list of industrial parks in the area. The vacancy rate of class A space currently is 5.7%. Manufacturers in the state have a 1% higher chance to prosper than nationally overall, and compared to the the commercial and services industries. Companies in Tijuana have a 7 year longevity projection from when they first begin manufacturing, and the longer they’re in business the longer they’re successful.
Demographics
Tijuana holds one of Mexico’s largest and highly skilled workforce with more than 185,00 manufacturing jobs and over 50 years of manufacturing Foreign Direct Investment. Over 2 million people live in Tijuana, making the city the number 1 export manufacturing base in Mexico as of 2016. The Tijuana – San Diego border region maintains a $230 B Economy providing 2.8 Million jobs. Specifically, the region’s manufacturing industry consists of 74% direct labor employees, 19% Technicians/engineers, 7% management.
Quality universities and an attractive cost of doing business have supported the development of high-growth industries, attracting more than $5.7 billion of foreign direct investment to the region since 2012. Specifically, the state of Baja California accounts for more than 50 public and private universities which graduated more than 2,500 engineers last year. Of those, 35 private and public universities have 14,000 students enrolled in engineering and tech programs including mechatronic engineering, and nanotechnology engineering.
Tijuana is the center of an established manufacturing region that holds a robust supplier environment, access to the global market, and a skilled workforce. The city’s manufacturing specializations compliment the industry to provide quality operations and continuous improvement for any industrial good.
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