Mexico has seen a reversal in the trend of capital goods imports, an indicator that has grown over the past six months—from March to August 2026—on a year-over-year basis.
With this trajectory, these imports posted cumulative growth of 3% in the first eight months of 2026.
While this cumulative growth rate may seem low, it marks a new trend, following a 14-month consecutive decline in this indicator from January 2025 to February 2026.
Trend in Imported Capital Goods
Imports of capital goods consist of purchases from abroad of machinery, equipment, and tools intended for the domestic production process. According to INEGI and the Bank of Mexico, these imports represent an investment that strengthens the country’s industrial infrastructure. Their performance directly reflects the evolution of gross fixed investment.
Mexico received imports of these goods with a customs value of $5,018 million in August. Cumulatively, the value totaled $38,284 million over the eight-month period.
Looking ahead, the increase in capital goods points to greater installed capacity and technological modernization in industry. Strategically, it serves as a leading indicator of investor confidence. Its performance foreshadows the future strength of Mexican production and exports.
After four consecutive years of growth, Mexican imports of capital goods reached an all-time high of $61,575 million in 2024. However, they fell to $56,245 million in 2025.
Productive Investment
During the first half of 2026, domestic consumption registered a slight increase of 0.1%. This growth was driven by rising demand for goods, which offset the decline in the services sector. Meanwhile, gross fixed investment showed stronger growth, expanding by 2.2% over the six-month period, driven primarily by construction.
In contrast, the acquisition of machinery and equipment showed moderate growth during the same period. Finally, at the institutional level, public investment stood out with a 13.1% increase, driven by railway projects and infrastructure works for the World Cup.
Finally, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into Mexico totaled $34,968 million in the first half of 2026, a year-over-year increase of 2.1 percent.