Numbers Don't Lie

Employee Spotlight Profile

Mauricio Pineda, Associate Editor

Modern Machine Shop México
Gardner Business Media, Inc.
 

Some time ago I read an article on the BBC's "Science Focus" website about whether humans invented or discovered mathematics. To me, this topic is simply fantastic.

Some describe mathematics as the underlying language of the Universe, and they say that humans have simply been discovering that language. Others mention that mathematics is something we have been inventing, like any other language.

In any case, this is a question that humanity has been asking itself for thousands of years, but there is no clear answer.

But it’s clear that in the modern world, mathematics is part of everything: from telephones to our understanding of human biology and, of course, humanity's place in the Universe.

In the manufacturing industry, mathematics is a determining element, for the simple fact that it is fundamental to modeling and solving complex problems and because it is used in the real world of manufacturing. In fact, much of the innovation that manufacturing has introduced is the result of a strong foundation in mathematics.

As a journalist, one of the mathematical applications that I have found most fascinating is statistics, because it is a tool that helps to find patterns or trends and, eventually, make predictions.

Put another way: Collecting data and organizing it with the goal of understanding it, can help you make better decisions.

Statistics and the Mexican Manufacturing Industry

Seven years ago, I joined Gardner Business Media as part of the Modern Machine Shop Mexico team (by the way, I was also part of the Plastics Technology Mexico team at some point).

Throughout my time at Gardner Business Media, I have been constantly learning about the different processes that are part of the manufacturing industry. I have had the opportunity to cover events such as IMTS and NPE at an international level.

In Mexico, I have been able to cover practically all the industry trade shows (including our events such as FITMA and Meximold) and other industry events.

But one of the most important aspects of my job has been to write articles about the overview of the most important industries in Mexico, such as Automotive, Aerospace, Molds & Dies, Medical Devices and Oil & Gas.

Month after month I have written these articles that combine the comments of the leaders of the different industries with statistics that complement the information.

It’s precisely in these articles where I have shown data and information that have the objective of providing readers with a broader overview to understand the evolution of Mexican manufacturing in the last few years.

It hasn't been an easy task. In Mexico there are few institutions that provide detailed data on the manufacturing industry, so it has been necessary to investigate, investigate and then investigate again.

Today, I can say that throughout all these years working for Gardner Business Media and Modern Machine Shop Mexico, I have had the opportunity to see the Mexican manufacturing industry from the perspective of statistics.

And I can say that those statistics speak of good results and good prospects for Mexican manufacturing. Numbers don't lie.

These are just a few important examples of the Mexican manufacturing industry:

• Mexican manufacturing industry represents about 18% of the Gross Domestic Product.
• 75% of manufacturing exports correspond to metal production, machinery and equipment.
• Mexico moved up from eighth to seventh place among the world's largest manufacturing exporters in 2022, surpassing Taiwan.
• Latin America consumes more than 10 billion dollars of manufacturing technology and of those 10 billion dollars, Mexico consumes more than 50%.
• Mexico is the 8th largest consumer of machine tools in the world.
• Mexico is the 7th largest producer of vehicles in the world and the first in Latin America.
• In 2022 Mexico became the fourth largest auto parts producer in the world, surpassing Germany.

Business Intelligence

To give shape and meaning to all this information, I started to gather in one place the articles and news that have been accumulating with data and statistics of the Mexican manufacturing industry, that is how the hashtags #inteligencia-de-negocios was created on the website of Modern Machine Shop Mexico.

In this space you can find information and statistics of all industries that are part of the manufacturing sector in Mexico and information on relevant conjunctural topics such as the benefits of nearshoring and the USMCA.

The hashtag #inteligencia-de-negocios shows a global perspective of the Mexican manufacturing industry with the objective of helping the audience to make better decisions.

I want to show an example, the news "Import figures of machining centers in Mexico in 2022", published on the Modern Machine Shop Mexico website, shows that the import of machining centers had a growth of 8.7 % in 2022.

For Mexico it is important to maintain a growth in machinery imports because it means that the national manufacturing industry is expanding and requires more equipment to attend the demand.

And if we add to this information the data of the top 10 countries from which Mexico has imported machining centers in the last 10 years ... you simply get a more complete overview of the topic.

I don't have an answer to the question of whether mathematics was invented or discovered by humans; but I have learned that mathematics and science are fundamental to innovation and information analysis in manufacturing.

That has been one of my greatest learnings from working at Gardner Business Media and Modern Machine Shop Mexico.

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Mauricio Pineda, Associate Editor
Modern Machine Shop México
Gardner Business Media, Inc.
+52-1-55-1460-5198
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About the Author

Mauricio Pineda

Mauricio Pineda is Associate Editor of Modern Machine Shop Mexico. Since 2008, he has covered the manufacturing sector in Mexico, writing for several industrial magazines. Mauricio covers all events in the metalworking sector in Mexico for Modern Machine Shop. He has a degree in Communication from the Universidad del Valle de Mexico and a degree in Digital Journalism from the University of Guadalajara. He joined Gardner Business Media in 2016.