Guanajuato, the most dynamic industrial market in the Bajío
Guanajuato
By Lizete Hernández
The Bajio region has sufficient space for industrial development with more than 400,000 square meters. Guanajuato is in the lead, with an occupancy rate of 48% and 2,000 hectares available.
The Bajío-Occidente region continues to be the area with the most significant economic dynamism. In terms of industrial land absorption, Guanajuato is positioned as a profitable market with a sustained investment during 2020.
Marcos Álvarez, business intelligence director of Market Analysis, mentioned that the Bajío corridor is one of the most important in the country in terms of the automotive industry and that after the changes in terms of investment that arose during the Covid-19 pandemic, new opportunities were created to grow in some sectors, as happened with e-commerce. Hence, the growth in renting space for logistics purposes increased exponentially.
“In some parts of the country, the pandemic scenario did not allow for industrial growth as was projected. There were variable increases in inventories and vacancy, as well as some substantial decreases in absorption, but in Guanajuato, growth and investment were maintained, being the most dynamic submarket in the region," he said
GUANAJUATO, A STABLE MARKET
According to information from Market Analysis, at the end of 2020, gross absorption for the Guanajuato market registered almost 1.7 million square feet with 15 transactions in total, gathering 86% of total Foreign Direct Investment.
The capital with the highest investment comes from the United States, with 39%, followed by Japan, with 17%, and 13% is of national origin.
The sector that represents the highest absorption is the automotive sector with 583,100 square feet, followed by e-commerce with 445,400 square feet.
The most representative transactions in Guanajuato during 2020 were those of Amazon and Norman Shutters in the PILBA Industrial Park; Nippon Express in Colinas Apaseo; ZKW in Santa Fe IV of Guanajuato Puerto Interior; Gentherm in Parque Amistad Celaya Sur and FedEx in Parque Stiva León.
In terms of market availability for 2020, Guanajuato has 4.1 million square feet with 40 buildings, 95% of which are class A and 5% are class B. There are approximately 481,000 square feet under construction.
The developers with the most extensive participation are Advance, Vesta, Intermex, Roca Desarrollos, Vynmsa, and Finsa, among others.
THE ECONOMIC REACTIVATION CONTINUES
Mauricio Usabiaga Diaz Barriga, Secretary of Sustainable Economic Development, stated that Guanajuato reported stability during the first semester of 2020 concerning the closing of business units presented at a national level and that it was also above others in the generation of new companies. The previous was based on the 2020 Business Demographics Study that was applied throughout the country.
The Secretary mentioned that industrial parks are fundamental pieces in the region's development, and Guanajuato has world-class complexes in the industrial corridor (which includes municipalities from Apaseo el Grande to León). However, he reported that new economic poles have also been developed outside the industrial corridor in San Luis de la Paz, San Miguel de Allende, and San Felipe.
He said that, at the moment, the entity sustains 60% of the occupation of the 29 industrial complexes and has close to 2,500 hectares available for investment.
In the municipalities inside and outside the industrial corridor, there is a total area of 3,480 hectares, 914 million dollars of accumulated investment, and 160,000 direct jobs generated by 2020.
"So far, 56 new companies have arrived in the state with an investment amount of 2,182 million dollars. This represents 43% of the six-year goal, and it is intended that in 2021 more than a dozen new investments land in the state to attract the remaining 3,000 million dollars of the goal for 2024, which is for 5,000 million dollars," said Usabiaga.
In the entity, investments have been concentrated in the automotive, auto parts, services, metal mechanics, new technologies, plastics, textiles, aeronautics, agro-industrial, construction, ceramics, and materials sectors.
Investments have come from countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, Austria, Canada, England, France, China, Italy, Mexico, and Taiwan, among others.
Companies such as Kohler, Taigene, Pepsico, Continental, P&G, Webasto, Nucor, GKN Sinter, CW Technology, Eurocast, ZKW, Nestlé-Purina, JK Material, Nucor, Stant, Serviacero, and FedEx, among others, stand out.
THE RESURGENCE OF THE INDUSTRY
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), the coronavirus crisis led Mexico's industrial production to fall by 14.1% between January and June in 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. However, in seasonally adjusted figures, industrial activity increased by 17.9% as of July 2020 compared to the previous month due to the gradual economic and social opening.
As a result, manufacturing increased 26.7%, construction 17.5%, mining 1.6% and electricity generation 0.7%.
Nationally, at the close of 2020, availability rates increased in a generalized manner. In Guanajuato, the absorption, construction, transactions, and inventory data remained with similar inertia to that of 2019, which forecasts a recovery in demand (zero growth). Still, with sustained commercialization activity towards the first quarter of 2021, INEGI concluded.
