Mexico’s industrial position within North America is real.

Proximity to the United States, productive integration under the USMCA, and the relocation of supply chains have strengthened its relevance as a manufacturing platform. However, that position coexists with a technology gap that could limit how much value the country captures.

Only 4.8% of Mexican manufacturing companies with more than ten employees use artificial intelligence.

This share is below Mexico’s national average of 8% and the comparable OECD manufacturing average of 19.1% reported in México Inteligente, a study prepared by Centro México Digital with data from INEGI’s 2024 Economic Censuses.

A manufacturing power with limited adoption

The gap is especially relevant because of manufacturing’s weight in the Mexican economy.

Mexico already has plants, supply chains, export experience, and privileged access to the North American market. What is not yet distributed as widely is the capacity to integrate artificial intelligence into production processes.

Adoption is not uniform either. Some industries and large companies are moving quickly, while a considerable part of the sector still struggles to build the digital, technical, and organizational foundation it needs.

What the data already show

Centro México Digital analyzed 33,316 manufacturing establishments using data from the 2024 Economic Censuses.

The study found that every ten percentage point increase in artificial intelligence adoption within a manufacturing industry is associated with:

  • 18.8% more gross production per establishment.
  • 5.4% more compensation per worker.

These findings require a precise reading.

They are statistical associations observed across industries. They do not mean that any company will automatically increase production or wages by those percentages after adopting a tool.

They do show that technology adoption is linked to meaningful economic differences and that the debate can no longer treat artificial intelligence only as a future possibility.

Adoption does not mean buying software

A company does not integrate artificial intelligence simply by subscribing to a platform.

The study identifies six structural barriers:

  • An insufficient digital foundation.
  • A lack of use cases and clarity about return on investment.
  • A shortage of technical skills.
  • Limits in connectivity, cloud infrastructure, and data centers.
  • Uncertainty about data, privacy, and cybersecurity.
  • Difficulty financing the initial investment, especially for small and midsize companies.

These conditions explain why adoption requires more than access to technology.

Artificial intelligence must connect with usable data, defined processes, stable infrastructure, operational knowledge, and people who can interpret and improve its results.

Nearshoring does not close the implementation gap

Relocation can attract investment, expand production capacity, and bring new operations closer to the United States market.

It does not replace the development of local capabilities.

When manufacturing concentrates on assembly and intermediate processes, a significant share of the value generated by design, engineering, data, and innovation can remain in other parts of the chain.

Mexico’s opportunity is not only to produce more. It is to increase its participation in activities that concentrate knowledge, productivity, and decision-making capacity.

Proximity to the United States opened an opportunity for Mexico. The ability to turn technology into productivity will determine how long it can preserve that advantage.

The transition depends on the conditions for adoption

Mexico is not starting from zero.

Manufacturing companies and industries already show that these technologies can be integrated into maintenance, quality control, planning, process analysis, and supply chain management.

The challenge is to expand that capacity.

Doing so will require connecting business decisions with technical training, digital infrastructure, financing, data governance, and effective collaboration among industry, academia, and government.

The question, then, is not whether Mexico can remain a manufacturing platform. It already is one.

The pending decision is whether it will also develop the infrastructure, talent, and knowledge required to compete in the higher-value segments of advanced manufacturing.

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