Is NAFTA such a good deal?

For us in the transportation industry, it doesn’t look like a bad deal with all the freight to move across North America, mostly between Canada and Mexico. But now more and more of our jobs are going southbound and this will affect us in a future closer then many can think.

There are a growing number of large companies, some have been the pride of the economy of Quebec, which are expanding in Mexico. Labour laws, environment laws and unions are taken over by the stock holders that want a good return on their investments. Still many components are made here in Canada or in the USA but the final costly assemblies are made in sombrero country.

This past December 20^th, Freightliner was announcing the build in 2007 and the start up of a new production plant in Mexico. The forecasts are showing that in 2009 more sales would come and the company wants to be able to face the demand. In 2009, 30,000 trucks branded Freightliner and Sterling will roll out of that facility. And Sterling has just announced lay-offs in the St-Thomas Ontario plant.

In 2002, the same company had closed the Kelowna plant and moved all of Western Star production in Oregon, and the bus plant of Woodstock Ontario was spread around other facilities. Navistar had pushed the production of their Escobedo plant to face a strike in Chatham. Navistar also found out that is was cheaper to assemble there then in Canada.

Some even say that the Canadian Class 8 are to become Mexican!

I could come out with even more on the automobile industry, but I don’t have the patience of all that research.