Manufacturing boosts the industrial real estate market
Coahuila
By Luis Mendez
The state of Coahuila continues to be an attractive location for the arrival of new companies that have found in the region the ideal place to expand their operations. According to Marcos Álvarez, business intelligence director of Market Analysis, the pandemic was a decisive factor that caused a decrease in foreign investment in the state during 2020.
Such a situation caused the figures to be among the lowest registered in the last five years, according to data provided by the Ministry of Economy, which represents a deficit of 50 percent in real numbers.
However, at the end of 2020, the Saltillo market registered a year-to-date (YTD) gross absorption of 1.4 million square feet, closing with 11 transactions in total. Of these, 80% belong to foreign investment, where China stands out as the leading investor, while 20% belong to national representation.
Álvarez announced that the most significant operations correspond to the automotive industry, representing 62% of this absorption, equivalent to 840,000 square feet.
He informed that Ramos Arizpe was one of the submarkets with the highest activity, followed by Arteaga and Derramadero.
In the case of Ramos Arizpe, based on Market Analysis information, during the first quarter of 2020, the transaction of the company Sanhua was recorded with an increase in its operations and the acquisition of 145,033 square feet in the Amistad Aeropuerto Industrial Park, and ABB with an expansion of 122,074 square feet in the Santa Maria Industrial Park.
In the second quarter of the year, Daimay Automotive, located in the Finsa Industrial Park, acquired 327,796 square feet, intending to continue with car interiors' manufacture.
In the Derramadero submarket, the second quarter's primary transaction was Detroit Axle, with 86,111 square feet in the Alianza Derramadero Industrial Park. Finally, at year-end, Vitti Logistics acquired 117,327 square feet in Arteaga.
AVAILABILITY AND CONSTRUCTION
Marcos Álvarez explained that the Saltillo market has an availability of 2.4 million square feet, with a total of 23 buildings; of that amount, 55% belongs to class A, and the rest is class B. In addition, it is estimated that there is some construction in progress with a total of 473,000 square feet.
"It is important to highlight Finsa, Mencorsa, Salva, Amistad, and Rochester as the developers with the highest participation. Most of the new projects under construction are located in the 360 Industrial Park, Santa María and Mencorsa Derramadero," he said.
COAHUILA MAINTAINS ITS COMPETITIVENESS IN INVESTMENT
Jaime Guerra Perez, Secretary of Economy in the state, affirmed that the 2020 situation was a test for Coahuila to show its strengths, which placed it as one of the leading states in attracting investments.
Despite the adverse situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the negative effects on the state's economy are not a reason to lower our efforts to find the necessary strategies to accelerate the economic reactivation.
According to the institution, during 2020, Coahuila formalized 17 investment projects, which generated 7,169 jobs and had an amount of 1,631 million dollars to continue with the trend that has taken place during the last three years.
In this regard, the Secretary explained that they are always looking for alternatives to continue maintaining the state's competitiveness. For that reason, they have held virtual promotional tours that have resulted in the interest of five companies in the automotive sector with the intention of settling in Coahuila to carry out their operations.
The Secretary said that the energy sector is another sector that promises more significant growth for Coahuila in 2021. He shared that 12 wind and solar projects have been authorized with an investment amount of around 1,762 million dollars; with this, the entity is expected to become one of the largest renewable energy producers.
To conclude, Guerra Perez pointed out the need to continue improving Coahuila's infrastructure to attract foreign investment, which is reflected in a more significant requirement of space destined for manufacturing activities.
The construction activity is at one of the most complicated points it has been in the past five years. However, developers remain optimistic despite the pandemic.
