The top 5 auto exporters to the United States in 2022 were Mexico, Japan, Canada, South Korea and Germany, according to Commerce Department data.
For the first time, Mexico was at the top of this ranking, displacing Japan to second place.
From around the world, the U.S. market imported automobiles worth $168.337 billion dollars, which was a 14% increase from 2021 to 2022.
At a year-on-year rate, Mexico’s auto exports to its northern neighbor were $36.513 billion dollars, a 13 percent advance.
This was followed by Japan (33.525 billion dollars, with no annual percentage variation), Canada (26.369 billion, +4%), South Korea (22.218 billion, +25%) and Germany (19.518 billion, +27%).
Globally, although industry production has recovered modestly with production up 7 percent in 2022 compared to 2021 and expected to increase 3 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 (according to January 2023 projections from S&P Global Mobility, formerly IHS Markit), production remains well below recent historical levels.
Global industry production in 2022 was approximately 8% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels and 16% below peak 2017 levels.
Auto exporters
Since 2020, industrial and economic conditions have been directly and indirectly influenced by macroeconomic events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and, beginning in the first quarter of 2022, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in unfavorable conditions, including shortages of semiconductor chips and other components, elevated levels of inflation, higher interest rates, and labor and energy shortages in certain markets.
These factors, among others, are affecting consumer demand, as well as the ability of automakers to produce vehicles to meet demand.
According to American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, the cyclical nature of the automotive industry, volatile raw material prices, changing consumer preference demands, regulatory requirements and trade agreements require OEMs and suppliers to remain agile in terms of product development and global capacity.
A critical objective for OEMs and suppliers is the ability to meet these global demands while effectively managing costs.
A developing trend is the expectation that autonomous, self-driving cars are expected to become more common with continued advancements in technology, including applications such as last mile delivery.
