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Nearshoring in 2024: Growing Interest in the U.S. for Manufacturing in Mexico

A new study by Flatworld Solutions reveals a significant and sustained increase in interest in manufacturing in Mexico over the past five years. The study explores various factors contributing to this growing interest, including regional and industry-specific insights.

Key takeaway

  • People in the us search for "manufacturing in Mexico" has shown a consistent upward trend over the past five years, growing at an average annual rate of 33%.
  • With the 2,060 recorded search for "manufacturing in Mexico". New York has shown the most interest in manufacturing in Mexico.
  • Searches related to apparel/accessories manufacturing in Mexico are the highest with 3,480 searches.

Nearshoring is when a company moves its operations to a nearby country to improve efficiency and reduce risks. Many U.S. manufacturing companies are nearshoring to Mexico to minimize the chances of supply interruptions. By doing this, the company benefits from being closer to its suppliers, which makes transportation faster and easier, reduces shipping costs, and helps avoid delays that might occur if the operations were farther away.

Strong Trend

US searches for "manufacturing in Mexico" have grown steadily over the past 5 years, from an index of 17 in 2019 to 58 in 2024. The data show a spike in interest in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the trend has sustained, and the interest in manufacturing in Mexico is at its highest in 2024.

Interestingly, over the past 5 years, the search interest for manufacturing in Mexico grew on average by 33% per year. Comparatively, it only grew by 21% per year for China.

Regarding absolute search volume, some states have shown a strong interest in manufacturing in Mexico. New York leads with an average of 2,060 searches per month, followed by Michigan (1,420) and Connecticut (850). New Mexico comes fourth with 780 but does show the strongest search interest for manufacturing in Mexico according to the Google index, this is likely due to its proximity to the border.

The interest in manufacturing in Mexico varies by industry. Searches related to apparel/accessories manufacturing are the highest with an average of 3,480 searches per month. The automotive industry comes second with an average of 2,520 searches per month, followed by tech and furniture. This indicates that certain industries may be more inclined to work with factories in Mexico or are already leveraging existing opportunities.

Multiple factors, including trade policies, labor costs, and supply chain considerations, drive the growing interest in manufacturing in Mexico. The higher growth rate compared to China suggests a shift in global manufacturing trends. Businesses and policymakers should consider these trends when making strategic decisions.

Methodology

The data for this study was obtained from Google Trends, which provides an index of search interest over time. The index is normalized, with a value of 100 representing the peak popularity of the search term "manufacturing in Mexico" during the specified period. This normalization allows for a relative comparison of search interest across different time points.