Semiconductors used in Mexico‘s auto parts industry in 2018 were valued at 75 billion pesos and accounted for 6.2% of inputs.
More than 95% of those semiconductors were imported, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
As of 2014, when the most recent WIOD data is available, the United States was the largest importing country of semiconductors used in auto parts, although its share decreased from 48% in 2003 to 34% in 2014.
For its part, China‘s share increased from 3% in 2003 to 20% in 2014.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s domestic semiconductor supply decreased from 20% in 2003 to 8% in 2014.
Semiconductors used in the automotive vehicle sector were worth 8 billion pesos and accounted for 0.6% of total inputs in 2018.
Semiconductors are not particularly used in the motor vehicle body and trailer sector, having a value of P200 million and accounting for 0.3 percent of total inputs
Auto parts industry
According to Hitachi, semiconductors have specific electrical properties, while a substance that conducts electricity is called a conductor, and a substance that does not conduct electricity is called an insulator. Semiconductors are substances with intermediate properties.
While integrated circuits and discrete electronic components such as diodes and transistors are made of semiconductors, the most common elementary semiconductors are silicon and germanium.
Silicon is one of the best known. Silicon forms the major part of integrated circuits. The most common semiconductor compounds are gallium arsenide or indium antimonide.
Finally, Hitachi stresses that semiconductors have become essential for many electronic devices, as well as for the social infrastructures that underpin everyday life.
In its April-June 2021 Quarterly Report, the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) estimates a loss in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of between 0.71 and 0.99 percentage points in 2021 due to the impact of semiconductor supply on Mexico’s automotive production.
Mexican companies in the sector include: Vitro, Katcon, Metalsa, Rassini, Sisamex, Grupo KUO and Nemak.
