SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The number of industrial buildings currently sitting empty in Tijuana is at its highest since the economic crash of 2008-2009.
José Luis Contreras Valenzuela, president of the Industrial Otay Mesa Association in Tijuana, said more than 12 percent of industrial buildings are vacant, and it’s mainly due to uncertainty over tariffs hurting exports out of Mexico.
“We are seeing a lot of empty commercial businesses,” he said. “We were hoping for expansion, but it never happened. Many customers have stopped placing orders.”
He says some companies have opted to stay put rather than expand into new or other existing facilities.
“What we are seeing is that warehouse space is in high demand as people look for places while they wait out this slow down in manufacturing — the reality we’re living now is that all lack of industrial activity has generated 12.5 percent vacancies,” he said. “This is not a yellow-light warning, but a red-light alarm.”
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