Powershoring and Mexico: The Green Logistics Opportunity

There are moments when the global economy quietly shifts, long before most people notice what is happening. Today, we are experiencing one of those turning points. The next transformation of supply chains will not be fueled by efficiency or cost optimization, but by something far more decisive: access to clean, reliable energy. That shift is opening a door that countries are only beginning to see.

For years, the conversation revolved around offshoring, reshoring, and nearshoring. But a new model is emerging: powershoring, or the relocation of industry to regions capable of powering manufacturing and logistics with clean, competitive energy. It is not simply about producing closer to the market, but about producing cleaner, smarter, and with long-term resilience. Nearshoring put many regions back on the map. Powershoring will define who stays there.

Energy represents nearly 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. For multinational companies with net-zero commitments and ESG accountability, shifting production is no longer a business strategy, it’s a climate mandate. The race is no longer for the lowest labor cost, but for the most competitive carbon footprint.

This is where Mexico enters the picture, with both a unique advantage and a pressing challenge. A country with one of the strongest manufacturing ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere, positioned next to the US consumer market, now holds a strategic asset the world is beginning to value differently: the potential to power industrial corridors with renewable energy. More than 30% of Mexico’s electricity generation already comes from renewables, and its geography offers a rare combination: solar capacity in the north, wind corridors in the south, and access to hydropower and geothermal sources.

If we limit ourselves to cost and geography, we will win a decade. If we lead on energy, we will win a century. 

Countries like Portugal and South Korea are already moving in this direction. Portugal is transforming its ports and industrial zones into green-energy-based trade hubs, while South Korea integrates renewables into smart manufacturing clusters to maintain competitiveness against China. Both understood that the next industrial advantage would not be labor or land, it would be energy.

Mexico has the same chance, perhaps an even bigger one given its geographic position and manufacturing scale. But seizing it requires intent. The opportunity is not automatic. Industrial occupancy in regions like Bajío, Monterrey, and Tijuana is above 97%, proof of nearshoring’s momentum, but powering this growth sustainably is the next test. The country must decide if it wants to be seen as a low-cost assembly base, or as the clean-energy gateway of North America.

Powershoring is not a theory, it’s the new competitive frontier where sustainability, logistics, and industrial strategy converge.

To unlock this future, Mexico will need to accelerate renewable investment and transmission capacity, create public-private alliances to build “green manufacturing belts,” and provide regulatory clarity that attracts long-term energy and logistics capital. If it succeeds, it could add up to 1.5% to annual GDP growth and generate thousands of highly skilled jobs, with positions in energy engineering, green logistics, supply chain analytics, and sustainable manufacturing.

This is a window of opportunity, but like all windows, it will not remain open forever. The world is already moving. The question is whether Mexico will move with enough vision and speed to lead — not follow — this shift.

The next era of global competitiveness will not belong to the countries that produce the most. It will belong to the countries that produce with the cleanest energy, the smartest logistics, and the courage to reinvent themselves.

Author’s Note:
As a Mexican supply chain leader, I believe this is our moment to redesign how we compete. Not by imitating global models, but by building one rooted in sustainability, talent, and regional strength. The world is watching. This time, we must act with purpose.