One of the main economic activities in the municipality today is the maquiladora industry, which is undergoing great development. Altamira has 3 industrial parks, in which 13 plants are established. This industry employs many citizens as well as people from other states of the Republic that have settled in the city benefiting from better development.

The excellent road network allows the crossing of products from Mexico to the United States and Canada, as well as from North America to the south of the American continent, shortening travel and merchandise transfer times.

Main Highways in the Altamira municipality:
• Western Highway Bypass 070D
• Tampico –Mante Federal Highway 080

Tamaulipas is part of the Burgos Basin; which is the most important natural gas reserve - not directly associated with oil - in the whole country. The basin includes a large part of the northeast (Nuevo Leon and Coahuila)

The Petrochemical Sector stands out in the area representing the generation of service goods; it is also a representative part in the high employment rates that benefit the population by providing salaries and excellent benefits

Of the total surface of the state, 59% has hydrocarbon potential.

The state surface is part of the provinces of Sierra Madre Oriental, Great Plains of North America and Northern Gulf Coastal Plain. Due to the action of the marine currents at the edge of the sea, a series of beaches have been formed that have separated and formed bodies of water such as the Laguna Madre.

In the west and on the international border there is an extension of hills, interrupted in the central part by the Chiquita mountain range.

There are mountain ranges in the southwest, predominantly formed by sedimentary rocks (formed on beaches, rivers and oceans and where sand and mud accumulates), some intrusive igneous rocks (formed below the Earth's surface) and metamorphic rocks (which have undergone changes due to pressure and high temperatures). In these elevations, the highest is represented by the Peña Nevada hill with 3 510 meters above sea level.

The Port of Altamira has become the largest port development in Mexico and a strategic manufacturing and distribution center for NAFTA, TLCUEM and the world's major markets at competitive costs. Recently, it has gained special importance along with the Port of Tampico given its usefulness to the maquiladora industry to export its products to Europe, South America, Asia and even to ports in the United States with a significant reduction in time and costs.