Region/Countries: Mexico, North America Industry: Manufacturing Date: November 2022

Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Wisconsin companies in the paint and coating industry may consider Mexico a target market.  

More than 200 companies in Mexico manufacture paint products, and the sector represents 7.4% of the chemical industry’s gross domestic product.

The companies operate nearly 250 production plants, with the biggest concentration—90 factories—in Mexico City and surrounding areas in central Mexico.

While 60% of Mexico’s paint manufacturers are small to midsize companies employing fewer than 100 people, in all, the industry provides jobs for about 12,700 people, as of 2021.

Paint products are sold at more than 15,000 shops across Mexico, the vast majority of which are small companies. If hardware and home repair stores are included, nearly 65,000 stores carry paint products on their shelves, nationwide.

According to ANAFAPYT, the National Association of Paint and Ink Manufacturers, the amount of paint sold has grown 1.9% a year for the last decade, and sales have increased 4.5% a year.

People in Mexico use less paint than people in the U.S., but more than people in some other countries. Annual paint use in Mexico is 9.1 liters per person, as of 2021, compared with 15 liters per person in the U.S., 14 liters in Canada, and 11 liters in Brazil. But per capita use is just over 8 liters in Argentina and Colombia, 7 liters in China, and only 4 liters per person in India.

The global paint and coatings industry was valued about $160 billion in 2021 but could grow to $235 billion by 2029, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 5%, according to analysis conducted by Fortune Business Insights and reported by the Farnsworth Group, an Indianapolis market research consultant firm.

Mexico produces about 1 billion liters (about 265 million gallons) of paint and coatings each year, according to Coatings World publications.