Super Bowl avocado shipments threatened by fuel shortages

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January 9, 2019

The prolonged fuel shortage currently afflicting several states could have an unwelcome consequence in the United States: a lack of avocados with which to make guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday.

Mexican producers ship thousands of tonnes of the fruit to the U.S. in late January and early February to meet increased demand for game day, which this year is February 3.

But the gasoline shortage, caused by the federal government’s decision to change distribution methods as part of its anti-fuel theft strategy, could affect producers’ capacity to get their avocados to people’s homes north of the border.

Mexico’s biggest avocado-growing state, Michoacán, is also the worst affected by the fuel shortage crisis, which has now entered its second week.

Producers in the state expect to send 120,000 tonnes of avocados across the northern border in the lead-up to this year’s Super Bowl, 20,000 more than last year.

“Our three most important weeks of the year are this one and the next two. This is when we ship for Super Bowl week,” Ramón Paz, a spokesman for the APEAM avocado growers’ association, told the news agency Reuters.

“We have from now to January 24, 25 to ship all that volume. If we don’t ship it [by then], we can’t do so later,” Paz said.

To date, 27,000 tonnes of avocados have been shipped for the big sports event.

Paz said the fuel shortage hasn’t yet affected exports to the U.S. but explained that it has begun to make it difficult for workers to get to avocado plantations and to transport the fruit within Mexico.

He added that producers also have regular commitments they need to be able to meet with supermarkets and restaurants in the United States, which depend heavily on Mexican imports.

The avocado growing season in California and Peru won’t restart until March or April and there is only a small quantity of the fruit currently being shipped from Chile, Paz explained.

President López Obrador said yesterday that the government’s anti-fuel theft strategy, which has included the closure of some pipelines, has generated savings of 2.5 billion pesos (US $129.1 million).

Source: Reuters (sp)

Light vehicle sales down 7% in 2018; Nissan continues to lead in market share

By

Madison Koen

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January 9, 2019

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The Mexican automotive industry registered its worst December in four years with a 10.68% decline in sales of light vehicles, closing a year in which sales were down 7% compared to 2017.

Last month’s sales totaled 141,963 units, the worst December on record since 2014 when 133,273 vehicles were sold, and down from last year’s 158,898, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA).

Vehicle sales for the year totaled 1,421,458, down from the 2017 figure of 1,530,498. The decline in sales began in June of 2017, which was followed by 18 months of consistently lower numbers.

Despite the bad streak, December’s sales numbers were actually a breath of fresh air for the domestic market: it was the best month of 2018, with sales up 6.11% over November according to the AMIA.

Nissan continued to be the market leader with 22% of the market, although its sales declined by 14.4% to 312,034 units. General Motors’ sales were down 8.7% but the auto maker is still No. 2 in the market with 16.6% market share.

(In terms of production the two companies swapped places after figures revealed that General Motors led production between January and November, bumping Nissan from top spot.)

Volkswagen was third place in sales in 2018 with 196,402 units, down 16% from 2017.

Fourth-place Toyota recorded a 3.1% increase in sales while KIA’s sales grew 8.7%, making it No. 5.

Source: El Economista (sp), El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)

Auto exports to Italy tripled between January and November

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César Hernández

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January 9, 2019

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The Jeep Compass, made in Mexico, is one of the more popular models in Europe.

Mexico tripled its auto exports to Italy between 2017 and 2018, making the European Union one of the top 10 growth markets for the industry.

Data compiled by the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA) showed that 42,575 vehicles were exported to Italy between January and November last year.

Still, Germany remains the strongest market for vehicles assembled in Mexico: 140,600 were shipped during the same period, a year-on-year increase of 61.3%.

The figures explain why Europe is the sixth most relevant region in the world for assembly firms that operate in Mexico.

Figures compiled by INEGI, the national statistics institute, show that the two most popular made-in-Mexico brands in Europe are Mazda and Fiat Chrysler, as both represent nearly all vehicle exports. The most popular models are the Mazda 2 and 3 and the Jeep Compass.

Closing off the list of the top 10 importers of automobiles manufactured in Mexico is China, to which 17,128 were exported between January and November, up 40.6% over 2017.

AMIA president Eduardo Solís Sánchez told the newspaper El Financiero that “the auto sector has positioned itself as one of the top sources of foreign currency in Mexico due to its exports.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Gas shortage hits Coahuila capital; panic buying blamed

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Madison Koen

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January 9, 2019

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Panicked gas station customers last night in Saltillo.

At least 20 gas stations in Saltillo, Coahuila, were left without fuel earlier today due to panic buying triggered by rumors of fuel shortages.

Miguel Dainitín Ferreira, president of the National Organization of Petroleum Distributors (Onexpo), blamed the rush to buy fuel on information posted to social networks and asked consumers not to change their refueling habits to avoid prolonging the situation.

He indicated that a regional distribution center supplies 145 gas stations, most of which did not experience interruptions in supply. Those that did were mostly in northern Saltillo and were only affected for a matter of hours.

Dainitín said Coahuila and specifically Saltillo are located close to the region’s oil refinery, which is why the state has not faced a fuel shortage crisis as in Tamaulipas. He said there have been no reports of supply interruptions in the north and central parts of the state.

Shortages are a result of President López Obrador’s closure of Pemex pipelines, meaning that for markets like Saltillo fuel must be transported by truck.

“It slows everything down, especially given that right now the demand is higher than normal because of the reopening of schools, and the little that is being delivered is not enough to maintain reserves.”

Dainitín also explained that the cost of transporting fuel over land is 14 times more expensive than pipelines, a cost that the federal government has absorbed until now.

Onexpo has asked that more tanker trucks be put into service while pipelines remain closed.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Court hears FBI recordings of El Chapo Guzmán’s incriminating phone calls

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MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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Jurors at the New York trial of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán heard excerpts of phone calls yesterday that were made by the former drug lord and intercepted by the FBI.

The calls, in which Guzmán speaks openly about the illicit activities of the Sinaloa Cartel he allegedly headed, represent the most damaging evidence presented thus far at the trial, which began in mid-November.

The 61-year-old ex-kingpin faces a probable sentence of life imprisonment if convicted of drug trafficking, conspiracy, money laundering and weapons charges.

Stephen Marston, a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent, told the court that the FBI infiltrated Guzmán’s encrypted communications system with the help of a Colombian info-tech expert who developed it.

Marston testified that in February 2010, FBI agents posed as Russian mobsters at a meeting with I.T. specialist Cristian Rodríguez at a Manhattan hotel.

He said that an undercover agent told Rodríguez that he was interested in acquiring an encrypted communications system so that he could speak to criminal associates without law enforcement listening in.

Around a year later, Marston said, the FBI agents convinced Rodríguez to give them his system’s special encryption keys after he had moved the servers for Guzmán’s network from Canada to the Netherlands to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Sinaloa Cartel.

With the permission of Dutch authorities, the FBI intercepted 1,500 telephone calls between April 2011 and January 2012, including around 200 made by Guzmán from his hideouts in the mountains of Sinaloa.

Among El Chapo’s interlocutors were business partners, criminal associates, hired guns and corrupt Mexican officials, Marston said.

The witness explained that Guzmán was easily identifiable in the calls the FBI intercepted by his high-pitched voice, which had “kind of a sing-songy nature to it” and a “nasally undertone.”

The calls were compared with other recordings of the former drug lord, including a video interview he gave to Rolling Stone magazine in 2015, Marston said.

In one excerpt presented to the jury yesterday, El Chapo orders a criminal associate identified as El Gato (The Cat) to continue making monthly payments to members of the now-dissolved Federal Investigation Agency as well as the “azules” (blues) and “yanquis.”

According to the court testimony of Vicente Zambada Niebla, a former Sinaloa Cartel operative and eldest son of the cartel’s current leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, azules referred to members of the Federal Police while yanquis was a nickname for commanders of the federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) who were stationed in Sinaloa.

In another excerpt played in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn, Guzmán warned one of his enforcers, Orso Iván Gastélum Cruz, not to provoke police.

“Don’t be chasing cops,” Guzmán said. “They’re the ones who help.”

“Well,” Cruz responded, “you taught us to be like a wolf, to act like a wolf, remember?”

Prosecutors played dozens of other snippets of calls in which Guzmán incriminated himself. In one call, he advised an associate to pay off “a big fish” for protection.

In another, a woman told Guzmán that soldiers had discovered one of his warehouses but not a tunnel that led to it. “You have to cover the hole,” replied the notorious drug lord, who infamously escaped from prison in 2015 via a tunnel.

A report by The New York Times said that the FBI recordings represent “one of the most extensive wiretaps of a criminal defendant since the Mafia boss John Gotti was secretly recorded in the Ravenite Social Club.”

Guzmán listened nervously to his self-incriminating calls as they played, the newspaper Milenio reported.

Several cartel witnesses have testified against Guzmán since the trial began on November 13.

Jurors have heard testimony about bribes the kingpin paid to corrupt officials, the life of luxury he led, his first prison break inside a laundry cart, multi-tonne drug shipments and bitter cartel wars, among other tales.

Guzmán’s defense team has attempted to portray him as a mere underling to El Mayo Zambada.

Witnesses testifying against Guzmán are “liars,” “degenerates” and “scum” who are speaking in the hope that their own prison sentences will be reduced, one lawyer said in late November.

The trial is expected to continue for at least a few more weeks.

Source: Milenio (sp), Reuters (en), The New York Times (en)

Mexico’s first aerospace laboratory will offer courses to students of all ages

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MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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Mexico’s first aerospace laboratory has opened in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

The lab is the brainchild of Eduardo Guizar Sainz, an industrial engineer and former NASA collaborator, and will offer aerospace courses to students from kindergarten age right up to the university level.

Guizar said that one of the skills students will learn is how to make rockets that can be launched to reach an altitude of more than three kilometers.

He said aerospace experts will be invited to the laboratory to share their expertise with students.

“We have a relationship with the Autonomous University of Baja California . . . We’ll also bring people from NASA, the National Polytechnic Institute, UNAM [the National Autonomous University] and universities in the United States,” Guizar said.

The engineer said the support of the Sinaloa government had enabled the lab to open in a scientific facility that was previously abandoned.

Guizar explained that he hoped to equip the lab with laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers and soldering irons among other equipment.

He added that the lab will be named after United States astronaut José Moreno Hernández, whose parents hail from Mexico.

Guizar also said the federal government and the private sector have to increase investment in Mexico in order to provide greater opportunities for the country’s young scientific talent.

“We can’t allow ourselves the luxury of exporting our brains, they have to stay here in Mexico . . . .”

Source: Milenio (sp)

Seven nominations for Roma at British film awards

By

César Hernández

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January 9, 2019

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A scene from Roma, up for seven BAFTA nominations.

The nominations for the 72nd British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) are out, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma is in the running for seven.

The black-and-white drama written and directed by Cuarón, who also produced, co-edited and filmed it, earned nominations for best film, film not in the English language, director, original screenplay, cinematography and editing.

The filmmaker earned six of those nominations; the film was also nominated for production design.

The BAFTA awards will be announced on February 10 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, marking the start of the home stretch before the most important date in the awards season.

The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22.

Roma has picked up a slew of awards since its release last year. The most recent were two Golden Globe awards for best director and best foreign film.

Mexico News Daily

Low inventories in fuel storage facilities have contributed to shortages

By

MND Staff

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January 9, 2019

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fuel tanker trucks — With limited quantities of fuel in storage, tankers are hard-pressed to keep up with the demand.

Low fuel inventories and declining oil production have contributed to the gasoline shortage currently affecting several states, according to the Energy Secretariat (Sener).

In central Mexico – Mexico City, México state, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala, Puebla and Morelos – the quantity of gasoline in storage facilities is only enough for one day.

In other words, if no new gasoline deliveries arrive via pipelines, tanker trucks or other means in a 24-hour period, reserves in the region will be completely depleted. Diesel autonomy in central Mexico is only slightly better at 1.3 days.

Some gas stations in Mexico City were forced to close yesterday because they had completely run out of fuel. Stations in some other central Mexican states have been affected by fuel shortages for a week or longer.

As part of its strategy to combat fuel theft, the federal government has altered the way in which gasoline is distributed, making greater use of tanker trucks rather than pipelines, some of which have been closed completely.

President López Obrador has said repeatedly that the fuel shortage in some parts of the country is due to logistics rather than a lack of supply.

Sener’s data on gasoline and diesel autonomy highlights the vulnerability of different regions of Mexico to fuel shortages if product doesn’t reach them in a timely fashion, as has occurred recently.

At a national level, gasoline inventories in storage facilities is sufficient to meet demand for 3.1 days but in parts of the country where shortages have occurred, the figure is lower.

In western Mexico, the quantity of gasoline in storage is enough for two days while for diesel, it’s 2.6 days.

Three of the six states in the region – Michoacán, Jalisco and Guanajuato – have been hit hard by the fuel shortages, which were first reported in the last week of December.

In Mexico’s southeast – comprising Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo – gasoline autonomy is 1.9 days while for diesel it’s just 0.6 days.

In the northwestern and northern regions of the country, gasoline autonomy is considerably better at 8.5 and 7.6 days respectively but in the northeast, where fuel shortages have affected Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, gas autonomy is just 2.2 days.

In the Gulf of Mexico region, made up of Veracruz and Tabasco, there is sufficient gasoline for 4.5 days while in the south – Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero – there is enough for 3.1 days.

The fuel autonomy data relates to levels recorded in the second half of December.

In the same period, the state oil company reported gasoline production of 203,000 barrels per day, which is only enough to meet 25.5% of national demand.

Mexico’s six oil refineries were collectively operating at only 30% of their capacity in October, according to Pemex, a situation that López Obrador has pledged to remedy.

Declining oil production has forced Mexico to increasingly rely on imports.

According to Sener, Pemex purchased just over 18.8 million barrels of foreign gasoline in November, of which 94% came from six countries: the United States, the Netherlands, France, Spain, South Korea and China. Private importers purchased 1.1 million barrels of foreign fuel during the same month.

López Obrador said yesterday that the government’s anti-fuel theft strategy has already generated savings of 2.5 billion pesos (US $129.1 million) because the incidence of the crime, which has cost Mexico billions of pesos annually in recent years, has declined by 78%.

However, for motorists and business owners in states affected by the fuel shortages, the savings touted by the president are probably of little consolation.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Driver and family sleep in minibus as they wait for gasoline

By

Madison Koen

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January 9, 2019

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Drivers line up for gas in Zapopan, Jalisco.

For transit driver Juan Martín Acosta and his family, the fuel shortage in Michoacán has meant living in his minibus.

The family has been sleeping in the vehicle since Monday to keep their place in a long lineup at a gas station in the northern part of Morelia, the state capital.

Acosta, who depends on driving as his only source of income, is one of hundreds of public transportation workers that have been affected by gas shortages in the city.

José Trinidad Martínez Pasalagua, president of the Transportation Regulation Commission, said yesterday that 40% of the 6,000 public transportation vehicles in Morelia have had to stop running and warned that if the shortage continues the transportation system would collapse by the end of the week.

Acosta told El Universal that his troubles began on Sunday when he was forced to abandon his route because he was running out of gas. He drove around looking for a place to fill up only to find shuttered gas stations or long lineups.

Now he hasn’t enough gas to drive even a couple of blocks.

“I ran out of gas from driving around in circles and now my only option is to park here [at the gas station] and wait for the tanker trucks to arrive,” said the minibus driver.

He plans to wait in line as long as it takes — along with his wife and daughter — to get a tank of gas so he can go back to work.

Source: El Universal (sp)

As 4,000 soldiers watch over Pemex facilities, severe fuel shortages continue

By

MND Staff

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January 8, 2019

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Soldiers check fuel shipments leaving a Pemex storage depot in México state.

Around 4,000 soldiers and marines are now guarding Mexico’s oil refineries and other facilities operated by the state oil company as part of the federal government’s anti-fuel theft strategy.

President López Obrador said today that the government’s plan, which has also included transporting fuel by tanker trucks rather than pipelines, has already generated savings of 2.5 billion pesos (US $129.1 million).

“Before the plan [a quantity equal to] 787 tankers [of fuel] was stolen daily, now with the plan it’s gone down to 177 tankers a day,” he told reporters at his early morning press conference.

Members of the military have assumed responsibility for security at the refineries in Salamanca, Guanajuato; Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas; Salina Cruz, Oaxaca; Minatitlán, Veracruz; and Cadereyta, Nuevo León.

They are also watching over terminals and storage facilities in other parts of the country including México state and Querétaro.

López Obrador said last month that Pemex employees also steal fuel and distribute it and charged that the company’s managers were aware of it.

“There is a hypothesis that of all the [fuel] thefts, only about 20% is done by illegal pipeline taps,” Lopez Obrador said on December 27.

“It’s a kind of smoke-screen, and the majority is done through a scheme that involves the complicity of authorities and a distribution network.”

Today he said that the military had discovered a three-kilometer-long “hose” that was funneling fuel out of storage tanks at the Salamanca refinery into a secret storage area.

“If the citizens continue to support us, we’re going to put an end to corruption, zero corruption, zero impunity,” López Obrador said.

While the president claims that fuel theft has been dramatically reduced as a result of the government’s new strategy – the figures he cited today represent a 78% decline in the crime just two weeks after the plan was implemented – he also concedes that it has caused gasoline shortages in some parts of the country.

López Obrador reiterated today that the shortages, which have affected at least nine states, are due to logistics rather than a lack of supply.

“There is enough gasoline in the country, it’s not a problem of supply,” he said, explaining that using tanker trucks rather than pipelines for distribution had created a “special situation.”

Energy Secretary Rocio Nahle yesterday apologized for the inconvenience caused to motorists as a result of the gasoline shortage which has hit the states of Michoacán, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, México state and Jalisco the hardest.

“. . . It was not our intention to cause unease to anyone . . . We knew in advance that these types of operation and these kinds of actions [to combat fuel theft] would not be easy but it would be irresponsible on our part if, knowing the size of the problem, we didn’t do anything . . .” she said.

Shortages were reported this afternoon in México state, Hidalgo, Mexico City, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacán and Nuevo León.

The governor of Guanajuato announced today that Pemex has promised to send 41,000 barrels of gasoline over the next two or three days. Another 14,000 barrels are en route to Querétaro and shipments are also on the way to Michoacán.

Roberto Díaz de León, president of the gas station trade organization Onexpo, said today that if Pemex maintains the same “pace” in its efforts to return gasoline supply to normal, shortages could come to an end by Friday in some affected cities, such as Querétaro, Morelia, León, Silao and Saltillo.

Díaz told Radio Fórmula that there is sufficient fuel in coastal terminals but explained that “the great challenge is sending the product inland.”

However, he expressed confidence that if Pemex uses all of its tanker trucks and fuel pipelines are secured, the supply of fuel could begin to normalize by Friday.

Source: Milenio (sp), Reforma (sp), AM (sp)