Mexican Suppliers Gain Traction in Aerospace Industry

Mexico’s aerospace sector fell 32 percent in 2020 and barely recovered in 2021 registering 3 percent growth. However, industry experts believe the industry will grow between 16-18 percent by the end of 2022. The Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (FEMIA) announced it will host the “Be an Aerospace Supplier” Seminar, on Oct. 6 at the World Trade Center in Mexico City to open opportunities for national suppliers.

The aerospace sector quantified a marginal 3 percent recovery in 2021, as the integration of Mexican suppliers in the supply chain seeks to promote national content in an unprecedented opportunity to reduce the US’s dependence on China. Mexican experts believe that national suppliers have a great opportunity to gain traction in this fierce market. 

“Companies such as Honeywell, Spirit Aerospace, GE and Bell, among others, will attend not only to talk about their experiences in the industry, but also to offer the possibility of networking with them, first-level business contacts, achieving integration into the supplier of these large companies,” said Luis Lizcano, Director, FEMIA.

Lizcano explained that large Western companies are reorienting and reengineering their supply chains as part of newly developed business strategies. Mexican suppliers can take this opportunity to integrate in new supply chains, which have also been forced by geopolitical issues. Mexico has the human talent, skills and abilities that the industry requires, according to Lizcano. 

“Between 2014 and 2019, the aerospace industry was considered a new sector with exceptional growth mainly in commercial aeronautics,” Lizcano told MBN. In 2019, Mexico had 368 aerospace business units and aviation exports amounted to US$9.68 billion, making Mexico the sixth largest exporter of aerospace parts to the US. 

“However, with the paralysis of air traffic and projects in 2020, commercial partners in Mexico registered a drop of 31.8 percent… If things continue as we are envisioning them, the recovery could take place in 2023, although in a conservative forecast it would be until 2024 when the figures for 2019 are obtained,” Lizcano told A21.