Nearshoring
Image: Jerónimo-Santa Teresa / Kendra Jones
Note from Jerónimo-Santa Teresa
Hon Hai Technology Group, better known as Foxconn, decided this area would be a good place to invest US $500 million in manufacturing and assembly facilities.
Nearshoring is about relocating business operations to nearby countries with geographical proximity, often sharing borders. This can reduce transportation costs, shorten supply chains, and enable faster market response while maintaining some labor cost advantages. The U.S.-Mexico border represents a classic nearshoring relationship (sometimes, but not always).
Friendshoring, on the other hand, is a more recent concept emerging from political realignments, involving shifting manufacturing and supply chains to countries considered politically aligned or diplomatically friendly. Unlike nearshoring, which prioritizes geographical proximity, friendshoring prioritizes alliance and shared principles, potentially sacrificing some cost and logistics efficiencies for perceived stability and security.
This image represents an uncanny and very dusty full-circle personal moment. In the mid-2000s, I worked directly with Foxconn on VIP deliveries to the U.S. from the China OEMs. Patrol helicopters were scanning the area while I took this photo, and while hiking with the archaeologists, I happened to find a piece of Mimbres Black-on-white pottery. In 2024, this is the 6th fastest growing Port in the U.S. — "a new epicenter for global trade."
