Did I Say Mexico Was Hot?

On Jan. 2, I wrote that Mexico was benefiting from the trend of “reshoring” manufacturing jobs from Asia to North America. New evidence of that trend came in today from PolyOne Corp., Cleveland, which is realigning some assets it acquired last year as part of Spartech. Those assets are located primarily in Ramos, Mexico, and will now operate within PolyOne’s Producer Services business unit, which provides contract compounding services to resin producers, processors, and OEMs. Here’s the kicker: “Our multinational customers are increasingly concentrating production in North America and often choose Mexico as a strategic location,” said Robert M. Patterson, PolyOne executive v.p. and CEO. “Under the leadership of our Producer Services team located in Seabrook, Texas, we look forward to expanding our capabilities in Mexico with improved customer service, quality, and delivery.”

As I noted in my earlier post, rising labor and other costs in China are making Mexico increasingly cost-competitive—not to mention it’s being on the same side of the ocean as customers in the U.S. and Canada.