T-MEC boosted the development of industrial space in Mexico

MEXICO – The development of Mexican industrial space has seen a boost since 2021, due to the agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), according to Newmark.

According to the consulting firm, a decade ago, there were average absorptions of 1.4 million square meters, mainly Class A warehouses.

However, in 2021, the rental of these spaces rose to 2.9 million square meters, which represented a 108% growth. By the end of 2022, they expect similar figures to the previous year.

The automotive and electronics industries have not grown in this proportion, said Sergio Pérez, executive director of corporate accounts at Newmark Latam.

The reason was the impact of the lack of semiconductor supplies due to the pandemic.

The executive emphasized that the benefits that the T-MEC brought to the national industry were due to the supply of raw material to foreign plants already installed in the country. This increase occurred independently of the boom in real estate demand.

It also favored the level of employee training, as companies raised the level of education so that now there are more qualified personnel. This also led to a greater economic benefit in terms of salaries and taxes.

Likewise, rental prices per square meter increased considerably in strategic submarkets of the country. In Toluca, for example, it went from US$5.4 to US$6.20 per square meter per month.

Last-mile spaces, on the other hand, saw the most stable overall growth in the market. In Mexico City, rents rose from US$6.10 to US$8.69.

Finally, the Newmark executive pointed out that the pandemic caused the demand for goods in the United States to grow 20%, boosting manufacturing production and the construction of industrial space in Mexico.