This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 10/17/2019

Overview

The following table provides the most recent statistics for the aerospace industry in Mexico. Please note that these figures include aviation products and services, as well as military-related purchases, but they do not include airport construction products and services.

Mexico Aerospace Industry Market Size
(Figures in USD billions)
 2016201720182019 (Estimated)
Total Local Production3.03.03.13.1
Total Exports3.73.84.94.2
Total Imports3.53.43.63.5
Imports from the U.S.2.12.22.42.2
Total Market Size*2.82.61.82.4
Exchange Rates18.6818.9119.2219.15
*Total market size = [(total local production + imports) – exports]
Note that 2018-2019 reductions in the value of the Mexican Peso mask growth in these numbers.
Source: Global Trade Atlas 2019

The aerospace industry is relatively young in Mexico, but its roots are deep. In the State of Baja California, for example, one firm has been in the market for 60 years, and aerospace is one of its leading business divisions. Mexico’s aerospace industry is an excellent example of growth, foreign investment attraction, and job creation: 20 percent average annual export growth 2013-2015, 63,000 jobs created as of 2016, and up to USD 6 billion in accumulated direct foreign investment (2007-2017). Moreover, global demand for new aircraft and maintenance services—and growing air passenger flows worldwide—support a positive future for the industry.


Aerospace Supply Chains and Production

Mexico’s aerospace sector grew from 100 manufacturing firms and organization in 2004 to 350 by mid-2019, according to estimates from the Mexican Aerospace Industry Federation (Federación Mexicana de la Industria Aerospacial or FEMIA). Today these firms primarily include maintenance-repair-overhaul facilities (MROs), technical schools, research centers, and universities, as well as related service providers. In general terms, 72.2 percent of all firms are manufacturers, 13.2 percent focus on design and engineering, 11.2 percent are in MRO services, and 3.4 percent are other support entities. Although Mexico does not currently produce large aircraft, there is manufacturing for aircraft parts and components (commercial, private, and military), design and engineering services, and research and development (R&D). It is estimated that direct foreign investment per country of origin has been 46.8 percent from the United States, and 36 percent from Canada. (FEMIA, 2019).

Various developments contributed to this recent explosive growth, from the 2004 arrival of the French aerospace firm Bombardier to various government programs including business incentives, workforce training programs, and new universities. The Mexican Government called this effort the “three helixes,” forging close collaboration between the private sector, government, and academia. However, the foundation for the sector goes back to the late sixties when the Mexican Government’s Maquiladora Export Program triggered expanding industrialization, employment, and regional development. The Maquiladora Program allows the duty-free importation of goods to assemble products for export. Aerospace firms moved to new industrial parks in northern border cities to take advantage of ‘maquila’ cost savings and efficiencies. These parks evolved into diversified aerospace hubs, or clusters. Aerospace companies with a long-term presence include Rockwell Collins (1969, now Collins Aerospace), Safran Group (1991), Labinal (1996/now Safran Labinal), and Beechcraft (2007).

The sector is divided into original equipment manufacturers (OEMs, producing final aircraft), followed by companies involved in Tier 1 production (principal aircraft systems), Tier 2 (producers of sub-assemblies), and Tier 3 (parts and supplies). In contrast with the United States, the Mexican aerospace industry does not include local contractors developing entire projects in defense and space; rather, the Mexican niche is for aerospace parts and assemblies that are integrated into final systems. However, in the space arena, the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) has led projects with academia to produce mini nanosatellites and other projects with NASA.

The Mexican aerospace industry has five main hubs, located in the states of Baja California (Tijuana-Mexicali), Sonora, Chihuahua, Querétaro, and Nuevo León. Baja California is the largest, with 110 aerospace firms supporting more than 35,000 direct jobs. Together with an increased number of OEMs and Tier 1 production, we see moderate growth of Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers. Aerospace hubs continue to attract new aerospace players responding to Mexico’s promotion of logistical advantages, labor, and government incentives.

Mexico has improved its aerospace manufacturing capabilities, moving from production of components, small parts, and harnesses, to manufacturing of airframes, flight surfaces, small drones, and flight control and avionic assemblies. Among the multinationals, GE and Rolls Royce produce new turbine systems in Mexico, Fokker Aerostructures manufactures wings for jets, and Safran Group—with 10 facilities in the country and seven in the State of Querétaro—manufactures landing systems, engine parts, jet engine components, and jet housings.

Some local firms have obtained global certifications that allow them to diversify their manufacturing processes. Successful engineering and design activities have extended to production of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and light aircraft projects. For instance, Aernnova produces airframe and flight structures. Light aircraft prototypes have also been developed, such as the sport model produced by the Mexican firm Horizontec/CENTA, and light attack planes for military training and acrobatics, made by the local company Oaxaca Aerospace. In the long-term, the Mexican Government and domestic industry hope to produce large commercial aircraft.


Regulatory Harmonization and Sector Development

Regulatory harmonization has advanced in recent years. The 2012 Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) has achieved mutual recognition of aerospace standards between the United States and Mexico, such as the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) and the AS9100 aerospace quality management system, as well as certifications from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its Mexican counterpart, the Dirección General de Aeronaútica Civil (DGAC). Altogether, these developments have facilitated growth of manufacturing operations in the North American region. In addition, Mexico’s accession to the Wassenaar Arrangement (2012) provides regulations to effectively control the exportation of sensitive dual-use aerospace products exports.

In 2012, the Mexican Secretariat of Economy (SE) introduced the Aerospace Industry National Strategic Program 2012-2020, called Pro-Aéreo. The program has sought to elevate Mexico to the top 10 global aerospace suppliers by 2020. The program still appears in Mexican government websites, though a restructuring of the program may take place under the new administration.


Aviation Growth

A further factor in the growth of Mexico’s aerospace industry is the rapid growth of the country’s aviation sector. Mexican commercial aviation and related demand for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) has been driven by several factors, including the expansion of low-cost carriers such as Volaris and Interjet, the 2016 approval of the Delta-Aeromexico partnership, the 2015 conclusion of the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Air Transport (“Open Skies”) Agreement, and increased use of Mexico as a regional hub. The Open Skies agreement eliminated restrictions on routes between the two countries, allowing passenger airlines and all-cargo carriers to serve any combination of city pairs in the United States and Mexico. In addition, it allows cargo carriers to begin or end routes outside the two countries. Another profound change in the aviation industry has been the success of low-cost airlines vis-a-vis traditional airlines.

Since 2016, Volaris, Viva Aerobus, and Interjet have invested in new assets and modernized their fleets, being able to absorb a good portion of market share vis-a vis the traditional dominant airline Aeromexico. In 2018, Interjet announced a business deal with American Airlines to jointly offer routes and connecting flights. Airline passenger flows reported by DGAC show annual average growth of nearly 10 percent 2015-2017. In 2018, national and international passenger volume grew 7.6 percent, from 89.6 million in 2017 to 96.4 million in 2018.

However, the direction of aviation’s future growth in Mexico was called into question when the López Obrador Administration cancelled construction of the Mexico City New International Airport (NAIM) as one of his first official acts. The new president specifically questioned Mexico’s role as a transportation hub in the region and the value of expanding air transportation in existing population centers rather than focusing on development of southern Mexico. (Further information on the current Administration’s new plans for an airport system for the Valley of Mexico is available in our Transportation Infrastructure section.) The country has a network of 64 international commercial airports and 1,424 airfields including military bases and small private airports.

The 64 international commercial airports are operated by private-sector companies with long-term concession agreements and others are managed directly by the government. It is estimated that in 2018, the top five airports by passenger volume were Mexico City (44.7 million), Cancún (25.2 million), Guadalajara (10.3 million), Monterrey (10.7 million), and Tijuana (7.9 million). Some of the larger groups operating the international commercial airports include the following:
  • Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (OMA) manages 13 airports in northern and central Mexico that handled 21.5 million passengers in 2018. Improvement projects are taking place for the period 2016-2020, mainly for the Monterrey, Culiacan, and Acapulco airports.
  • Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP) manages 12 Pacific coast airports handling 40.7 million passengers in 2017 (more recent figures unavailable). GAP has worked on improvement projects at the Guadalajara and Tijuana airports in 2015-2019.
  • Grupo Aeroportuarios del Sureste (ASUR) manages nine airports in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Mexico, and one international airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Nationally it served 47 million passengers in 2018. In 2019-2023 ASUR continues infrastructure investment in Cancun, Merida, and Oaxaca airports.
  • Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA) is a government agency that operates 19 airports, co-operates five additional airports, and supplies fuel to 63 airports. The additional five airports it co-operates include Toluca, Querétaro, Cuernavaca, Palenque, and Tuxtla Gutierrez. ASA airports handled 2.8 million passengers in 2018.
  • The Benito Juarez Airport is known in Spanish as Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de Mexico (AICM) and is one of the largest in the world, logging 47.1 million passengers in 2018. AICM operates under a concession structured as a majority state participation company with the name of Grupo Aeroportuario de la Ciudad de México, S.A. de C.V. (GACM). The Transportation Infrastructure section of this guide describes the new administration’s plan for the new International Airport System for the Valley of Mexico that includes the current AICM.


The Space Program

The Mexican space program is a further consideration for aerospace suppliers. The space program is managed by the Mexican Space Agency (Agencia Espacial Mexicana, AEM). The AEM, in its current form, was only established in 2010 with specific, modest goals. However, its efforts to expand the country’s satellite network for communications, space science development, environmental modeling, and surveillance have generated opportunities for U.S.-produced space systems and suppliers. AEM has several cooperation agreements with NASA on space education. It has managed a nanosatellite program with local educational institutions and academia to motivate new programs among space professionals. In 2017, the AEM, the Secretariat of Economy (SE), and ProMexico published the Plan de Orbita 2.0 (Orbit Plan 2.0), a strategic space sector development program outlining niche opportunities and recommendations on specific space projects. To the extent the program continues into the new administration, the program will be led by the Mexican Space Agency.

Leading Sub-Sectors

Leading sub-sectors for aerospace opportunities in Mexico include supplying manufacturing and assembly plants, the entire aviation ecosystem, and the defense sector.
Despite the rapid growth of Mexico’s aerospace industry—or perhaps because of it—the mix of local Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers is still lacking. Large OEMs are unable to find specialized, fully certified local suppliers with advanced capabilities and with sufficient logistics capabilities. This fact, combined with evolving government regulations supporting supply chain growth, creates sales opportunities across Tier 2 and 3 suppliers.
In terms of supply chains, FEMIA estimated in 2016-2017 that Boeing had 26 Mexican suppliers, Airbus had 36, and Embraer 13. Large aerospace OEMs continue looking to expand their supply chain in Mexico to support global business continuity and establish middle- and long-term production programs. Other aerospace firms need partners to reach growth, project size, and investment targets.

Recently, research centers have been created to support R&D, not only for new turbines, motors, and components, but also to drive technological solutions for other complex systems, software, and engineering applications in manufacturing processes. In early 2018, the Center of Aeronautical Technologies of Querétaro (Centro Nacional de Tecnologías Aeronauticas or CENTA) was inaugurated with the support of the National Council of Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología or CONACYT). It will provide services for the aerospace industry, as well support new projects led by small and medium firms. In mid-2017, the Spanish company Indra also opened a new Center of Technological Development in the State of Querétaro to increase offerings for transportation, infrastructure, energy, and other industrial sectors. Starting in mid-2019, aerospace firms in Tijuana will have a new innovation and design center supported by the Mexican Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Confederación de Cámaras Industriales or CONCAMIN) and the Mexico-France Chamber of Commerce. These opportunities go hand-in-hand with growth of the aviation sector, where we see growth of demand for flight and maintenance training, parts and maintenance services, airport needs, and supply of a variety of aircraft including both fixed-wing and helicopters.

Opportunities

The U.S. Commercial Service Mexico is happy to assist you in exploring market opportunities, particularly in the following sub-sectors.


Supply Chain Opportunities

Some of the best prospects for products and services in the aerospace industry are:
  • Thermal and hydro forming
  • Surface treatments
  • Nitro-carburized materials and nitrocarburizing
  • Motors and rotors
  • Testing equipment
  • Special composites and processes
  • Metal treatments
  • Aerospace molding
  • Special tooling
  • Advanced composites
  • Specialized aerospace services


Aviation Sector Opportunities

The growth of Mexican aviation may generate additional opportunities in and around airports:
  • MRO services and maintenance programs
  • Airport construction (see the Infrastructure section)
  • Aircraft and helicopter flight training and MRO
  • Aircraft supply and provisioning services
  • Airport equipment, supply, provisioning, and concessions
  • Small aircraft, executive aircraft, and helicopter sales, parts, and services


Defense Sector Opportunities

Another area of potential business opportunity is in defense aerospace. The Mexican National Defense Secretariat (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional or SEDENA), which includes both the Army and the Air Force and the Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaría de la Marina or SEMAR), received 2019 budgets of around USD 6.1 billion and USD 1.4 billion, respectively. Both SEDENA and SEMAR have growing R&D and manufacturing programs. These programs appear to be continuing strongly. We foresee supply opportunities for manufacturing radars, cannon prototypes, two-seater airplanes, experimental training airplanes, air-to-surface missiles, and launchers for military aircraft. In addition, we have identified military spending needs that include the following:
  • Aerial surveillance radars
  • C-295 airplanes for military transportation
  • Helicopters for high impact operations
  • Tactical operations assets
  • Cargo and personal transportation helicopters
  • Cargo and military transportation airplanes
  • Systems and equipment for maritime surveillance

Web Resources

Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT)www.gob.mx/sct
Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA)www.gob.mx/sedena
National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI)www.inegi.org.mx
Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (FEMIA)www.femia.com.mx
Mexican Space Agency (AEM)www.gob.mx/aem
Mexico Now (magazine)www.mexico-now.com
JetsNews (Aerospace supplements)www.jetnews.com.mx
Vuela Magazinewww.vuela.com.mx
Revista Manufacturahttps://manufactura.mx

Events

To explore these market niches and develop essential contacts, we recommend two activities. First, organize site visits to Mexican aerospace hubs and meetings with companies directly involved with the industry. Second, attend one or more of the upcoming commercial events in the sector. In some, the Commercial Service Mexico will participate with U.S. Pavilions:
  • Mexico Aerospace Summit 2019, August 14–15, 2019, Querétaro Congress Center, Querétaro City, Querétaro
  • Engines Forum Sonora 2020, February 29–29, 2020, (TBC), Expo Forum Hermosillo, Hermosillo, Sonora
  • FAMEX 2021, April 21–24, 2021, U.S. Pavilion, Venue TBC, Mexico

Contacts

For more information on the aerospace sector in Mexico, please contact:
Silvia I. Cárdenas
Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service—Mexico City
Tel: +52 (55) 5080-2000 ext. 5209
Silvia.Cardenas@trade.gov





 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.