Automotive exports hit a record high of over US $15 billion in August, the national statistics agency INEGI reported Tuesday.
Exports of Mexican-made vehicles and auto parts totaled $15.24 billion last month, a 42.5% increase compared to August 2021.
The annual growth in percentage terms was the highest since June 2021, when auto exports surged 859% a year after the pandemic forced the closure of many plants.
Auto exports accounted for just over 30% of all Mexican exports last month, which were worth a total of $50.67 billion – up 25.2% compared to a year earlier.
INEGI data shows that non-automotive manufacturing exports were worth just under $30 billion last month, oil exports totaled $3.21 billion, shipments of agricultural products earned $1.55 billion and mining sector export revenue was just under $688 million.
INEGI said that automotive exports to the United States increased 43.7% in annual terms last month while those to other markets rose 36.7%. Mexico was the leading exporter of vehicles to the U.S. in the first six months of 2022, taking the top spot for the first time ever.
U.S. Department of Commerce data shows that Mexican vehicle exports were worth just over $17 billion between January and June, an annual increase of 16.4%. Ranking second to fifth for vehicle exports to the U.S. were Japan, Canada, South Korea and Germany.
Mexico overtook Japan as the top vehicle exporter two years after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the free trade pact that superseded NAFTA, took effect.
U.S. data also shows that Mexico was the United States’ second largest trade partner in the first seven months of the year with two-way trade worth almost US $450 billion. Canadian-American trade was worth a slightly higher $466.7 billion.
INEGI data shows that Mexico’s total exports earned $377.94 billion in the first eight months of the year, an annual increase of 18.9%. Imports rose 24.1% to $402.35 billion in the same period, leaving Mexico with a trade deficit of just over $24.4 billion.
With reports from El EconomistaÂ
