Border & Immigration

The Rise Of Auto Production In Mexico

By John Rosman / Digital Editor, KPBS

Published November 21, 2012 at 7:48 AM PST

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

Automobile production in Mexico is growing, fast. In just six years, the country has climbed from the ninth to fourth-largest exporter of cars in the world.

The results are already being seen on in the U.S. Some quick facts, via The Wall Street Journal:

One in 10 cars sold last year in the U.S. were made in Mexico

Next year, every new taxi in New York’s fleet—made by Nissan Motor Co — will have been made in Mexico

Wages for Mexican automotive assembly-line workers begin at $40 a day. In China average manufacturing wage is $3 hour.

The last point highlights ongoing tension between production workers in the U.S. and Mexico. This summer, we highlighted how NAFTA, almost led to a trade war over tomatoes; Mexico’s largest agriculture export.

Border & Immigration

John Rosman

twitter

John Rosman is the digital editor for KPBS News. He oversees all news content on KPBS.org and across all digital properties. Prior, John was the social media editor for Fronteras Desk. Before heading south, John was a digital producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting. There he led the flagship radio program Think Out Loud in all aspects of digital media. Working with OPB's cultural website, Arts & Life, he also produced multimedia features. By way of metro Detroit, John is a proud graduate of the University of Oregon's School of Journalism. He has worked as an editor in television and film. But he found his passion for public radio during a long winter, in a lonely hotdog stand. When John's away from the office, you can find him catching up on all the sun he missed in Oregon.

See stories by John Rosman

More News