Bexar County, TX – Vehicle Manufacturing Industry Research

Challenge

As part of its efforts to organize a regional cluster initiative, Bexar County contracted TIP Strategies to develop a report on the Texas—Northeastern Mexico vehicle manufacturing industry. The purpose of the report was to define the region, highlight industry trends, and profile the regional assets that support vehicle manufacturing.

Response

Using detailed industry data and insights from conventional and industry-specific periodicals, TIP researched local, national, and international industry trends in automotive manufacturing. The analysis documented long-term trends, including the southward migration of production capacity in North America, as well as recent sales trends. This market analysis provided context for a profile of the Texas-Mexico Automotive SuperCluster (TMASC), a transnational region anchored by the NAFTA Highway (I-35 in Texas and MX-85 and MX-57 in Mexico) and comprised of the states of Texas, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and San Luís Potosí. In addition to data on the region’s eight automotive assembly plants, the profile highlighted major suppliers, physical infrastructure, research centers, trade organization, and workforce and education assets, along with a series of maps providing geographic context for these assets. Finally, brief profiles were provided for major metro areas in the TMASC region: Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio in Texas and Monterrey, Saltillo-Ramos Arizpe, and San Luís Potosí in Mexico. The report was presented at the Texas-Mexico Automotive SuperCluster Conference in November 2008 and was used to support associated marketing efforts, including a website and other marketing materials. TIP was re-engaged to update the original report in 2011.