Mexico City.- The rise of companies that seek to take advantage of nearshoring faces obstacles such as the lack of connectivity in production centers, inefficiencies in the dispatch of merchandise and deficient infrastructure, specialists warned.
The collapse of logistics chains due to the pandemic, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the trade war between the US and China have favored Mexico’s position as a destination for the relocation of companies.
However, Fernando Noriega, general director of Idealease Mexico, warns of risks derived from deficient infrastructure that delays the crossing of goods.
“It is important that goods and products can cross the border quickly; in the case of land transport we need mechanisms that improve the time at the crossings, because currently a truck can take up to two days to pass depending on the type of product that it transports” , said.
Another problem, he added, are the official checkpoints in inspections that take 5 to 7 hours for a unit to circulate, which affects the logistics chain.
On the other hand, he indicated that there are saturated highways, such as the Mexico-Querétaro, where it is already difficult for such a number of vehicles to move and to support the growth that is coming.
The same happens in the ports, he added, where there are problems in loading and unloading times, as well as in fiscal precincts and customs clearance at airports.
Steph León, national commercial director of Eternity México, commented that infrastructure issues are worrying about nearshoring, despite the fact that its effects do not occur immediately.
In ports, the terminals must be improved to make the handling of merchandise more efficient, especially in periods when there is more saturation.
“The lack of efficiency in Manzanillo means that importers who do not have a special agreement must pay storage. They can only stay for seven days, but in some cases it takes up to two weeks,” he explained.
Currently, he said, an importer pays 2,500 pesos per day per container stored in the port terminal.
He emphasized that investment must be made in local infrastructure and encourage the use of other ports and unusual routes to bring goods closer to production centers.
Carlos Barreda Westphal, representative in Mexico of Stella-Jones Corp, explained that customs management services must be optimized to expedite border crossings, in ports and the rail sector.
In this sense, he added, the hours of attention would have to be extended and the personnel in charge would have to be increased by 20 percent throughout the year.
He assured that the railway infrastructure of the Bajío and the north has been developed for years to meet the growing demand for cross-border transportation.
There are currently seven rail crossings in operation, in Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Piedras Negras, Ciudad Juárez, Nogales, Mexicali and Tijuana.
“In addition, a second railway bridge is under construction in Nuevo Laredo that KCSM will start operating in 2024, as well as the one in Ojinaga that Ferromex is expected to start operations this year,” he explained.
Also noteworthy are the double-track projects and border rail yards of Río Escondido and Sánchez operated by Ferromex and KCSM in Coahuila and Tamaulipas, respectively, which are already in operation and which expand and facilitate the entry and exit of cars and containers from the country.
Inside, there are patios and terminals that have been significantly expanded, such as in San Francisco de los Romo, in Aguascalientes; Salinas Victoria y Lobos, or the industrial highway of San Luis Potosí.
“Additionally, the T-MEC rail corridor operated by Canadian National (CN) should be added, which facilitates connectivity between the three countries in the region,” he pointed out.
