A recent article in Area Development magazine focuses on how strong sales in the automotive and aerospace industries are spurring new facility and expansion projects in existing and new locations. In the article, Auto/Aero Firms Redrawing the Map, Dale Buss describes how ongoing expansion and redrawing of the map of automotive manufacturing in North America is taking place. Both domestic and foreign-owned automotive and aerospace manufacturers continue to overhaul and expand their plants in order to keep up demand.
This investment is not only in the United States, but also in Mexico. Automotive manufacturing in the United States is being pressured by the rise of automotive production in Mexico. Mexico’s low labor costs, high labor quality, free trade agreements and proximity to Atlantic and Pacific ports are contributing factors to the increase in investment. Automakers and parts suppliers have announced more than $20 billion of new investments in automotive manufacturing for Mexico, and industry analysts see Mexico’s current annual production of cars to increase. Since 2009, here have been seven new assembly plants announced in Mexico and only one in the United States. The automakers making capital investments in Mexican include General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Fiat Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen. In addition, parts suppliers such as Magna International are also making capital investments in Mexico.
The aerospace industry in the United States is also enjoying its biggest expansion in several years. The aerospace manufacturing sector has had more than $25 billion in investments since 2012. Jobs and manufacturing work that had previously been moving to China and other sites have begun moving back to the United States over the last few years. Capital investments by Boeing and Airbus in the Southeast United States has also attracted several aerospace suppliers.
