Shutdowns of assembly plants hit the automotive sector, says the AMIA, which also reported that car production fell 4.9% annually in the fourth month of the year.
In Mexico the production and export of cars was reduced 4.9 and 15.6 percent, respectively, resulting from shutdowns by automakers in their plants, said Eduardo Solis, president of the Mexican Association of Automotive Industry (AMIA).
"This month and prior ones some plants are performing scheduled shutdowns, each car maker has a strategy," the executive said at a conference Monday.
We are seeing that the light vehicle market demand in the US is falling for light vehicles (units made in Mexico), while it's increasing for light trucks, larger units due to the reduction in the price of fuel, he added.
"I am convinced that this year we will reach a historical record, in spite of the dynamics shown in the first few months. The importance of having a strong domestic market and not depend only on other countries," Solis said.
During April there were 269 000 604 units produced in the country, a reduction of 4.9 percent compared to the same month last year. This is the first month-to-month reduction since 2011, when it fell 7.2 percent.
Assemblers who are making fewer cars are Ford Motor, that reduced its production by 35.6 percent in April compared to the same period in 2015, followed by Mazda, which made 30.5 percent fewer cars, and FCA Mexico at 28.4 percent less.
In the case of total auto exports to 197 000 units other nations were sent to other nations in the fourth month of 2016, an amount 15.6 percent lower than those reported last year. This is the first reduction since the economic crisis of 2009.
Cumulatively, January to April 2016 figures, in Mexico One million 75 thousand 340 cars were assembled, five percent less than in the same period last year; also first reduction since the economic crisis.
In case of export, 854,000 cars were sent in the first four months of the year, down 7.4 percent compared with that reported in the same period of 2015; first decline since 2013.
Source: El Financiero