Mexico Truck Exports Jump 159% in October as US Demand Roars Back

Mexican plants shipped 13,518 heavy-duty trucks abroad in October, a 158.9% jump from 5,221 units a year earlier, while production nearly doubled to 16,375 vehicles, up 129.6% from 7,131. The figures come from INEGI, Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography, published November 11 through its heavy vehicle registry (RAIAVP).

The numbers confirm something freight watchers have suspected for months: the export machine is running hot while the home market sputters. And the US is doing almost all of the buying.

Who is building — and selling — what?

Freightliner dominates the picture. The Daimler brand accounted for roughly 64% of Mexico's heavy-duty production and 71% of its exports in October: 10,457 units built, up 160.3%, and 9,568 exported, up 164.1%.

International posted the steepest growth curves. It built 4,208 trucks, a 189.6% increase, and exported 3,583, up 205.2%. Kenworth was the outlier: production up just 5.8% at 1,145 units and exports down 13.7% at 366.

Together, Freightliner, International and Kenworth represented approximately 97% of Mexican production and virtually all exports.

Where are the trucks going?

Straight north, mostly. The US took 104,064 units through the first ten months of the year — 93% of total exports of 111,912 vehicles, itself a 20.3% gain over 93,037 in the same period of 2025.

October alone saw 13,097 trucks cross into the US, a 173.5% year-over-year surge, according to ANPACT figures cited at the association's monthly news conference. Shipments to the US are up 18.6% for the January-October period.

Canada ranked second with 4,493 vehicles year-to-date, followed by Colombia at 2,138.

Year-to-date production now stands at 133,496 heavy-duty vehicles, up 17.8% from 113,299 through October 2025.

What does this change for Mexican carriers?

Not much, and that is the problem. The domestic market tells the opposite story to the export lines.

Retail sales rose 5.1% in October to 3,162 vehicles, from 3,009 a year earlier. But the year-to-date total is 28,479 units, down 15.4% from 33,653 — and only October represented the second month of positive year-over-year retail growth in all of 2026, according to Cristina Vázquez, economic studies coordinator for the Mexican Automotive Distributors Association (AMDA).

Wholesale numbers look healthier: 3,301 vehicles in October, up 26.8%, and 26,912 units year-to-date, up 10.5%. The tractor-trailer segment led the way, with fifth-wheel tractor wholesale sales climbing 48.1% to 1,438 units from 971.

Why aren't fleets buying?

Three forces are holding the domestic market back, according to ANPACT and AMDA.

• Used-truck imports. For every 100 new heavy-duty vehicles sold in Mexico between January and September, roughly 51.4 used trucks came in from the United States, ANPACT executive president Rogelio Arzate said. The association argues this flood of older equipment distorts pricing and undercuts fleet modernization.
• Economic and trade uncertainty. Vázquez pointed to unclear economic conditions and North American trade policy as reasons fleets are delaying capital spending.
• Postponed purchases. She said some companies are holding off on vehicle orders until they have greater clarity about future operating and investment conditions.

Arzate put it plainly in the ANPACT release: "The results for October show mixed signals for the industry, particularly as the domestic market faces significant challenges. Although retail sales increased during the month, the year-to-date total remains about 16% below the previous year."

ANPACT's policy ask

The association is not just diagnosing. It wants stronger vehicle scrappage programs, better financing options and policies that push smaller trucking companies to replace aging equipment. It has also flagged rising imports of buses built in countries without free trade agreements with Mexico, arguing they compound the pressure on domestic manufacturers.

The mechanism here is straightforward. Mexican plants — overwhelmingly Freightliner, International and Kenworth — are riding a US Class 8 demand wave. Mexican fleets, meanwhile, keep cheap used American iron flowing south, which suppresses new-truck sales at home and leaves the national fleet aging.

What comes next?

The near-term trajectory looks set: US demand will keep driving Mexican output as long as North American freight replacement cycles hold. The domestic question is whether October's retail uptick marks a turn or just a blip — and with trade policy still unresolved and used-truck imports running at more than half the volume of new sales, ANPACT's fleet-renewal warnings are unlikely to fade before year-end.