Highway robbery of cargo trucks is out of control in Mexico and seriously affecting foreign investment, the president of the country’s influential Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin) declared this week.
José Abugaber said in the past five years, almost 85,000 cargo transportation robberies have been reported, equivalent to about 46 thefts per day.
The financial cost to businesses from these crimes in 2022 was around 7,000 million Mexican pesos ($US411 million), which is equivalent to about 19 million pesos (1.2 million dollars) per day, according to Concamin’s figures.
Abugaber said the lack of security on the nation’s highways and roads discourages foreign companies interested in relocating to Mexico, or “nearshoring.”
Concamin data shows that the Estado de Mexico is the state most favored by criminal gangs targeting cargo trucks, with 29,350 reports in the last five years. Puebla reported 12,129 incidents, Guanajuato 7,174, Michoacán 6,858 and Jalisco with 4,690 reports.
Abugaber said food and groceries were the most common target, followed by construction materials, automotive parts and products, medicines, hydrocarbons, clothing and footwear.