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This week we have our second story in a series diving into New Mexico’s economy. The goal is to determine what propels it forward and what holds it back.
Last week, we focused on the oil and gas industry and our national laboratories and how those industries create ecosystems where other businesses can grow to support them.
This week, we focused on trade, the industrial complex in Santa Teresa, the outdoor recreation industry and recruiting businesses to the Albuquerque metro area.
Santa Teresa can be overlooked by us in Albuquerque.
Las Cruces and Santa Teresa are in the El Paso media market. The Journal hasn’t had a fulltime southern New Mexico beat reporter for several years.
Jerry Pacheco, a contributing Outlook columnist who holds several titles, including the executive director of the International Business Accelerator in southern New Mexico, said trade with Mexico is a booming industry for New Mexico and a key tool to diversify the economy.
New Mexico exported $4.9 billion in goods in 2023, which marked an 81% increase from 2013.
It’s interesting how subtle policy changes have contributed to that increase.
An example: Pacheco worked with New Mexico State Police, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and lawmakers to create a 12-mile overweight zone in Santa Teresa.
He said Mexican trucks and cargo could weigh up to 96,000 pounds but cargo coming into the U.S. had to weigh 80,000 pounds or less, which meant deliverers would have to offload some of their product before entering the country. A change in state law to create the overweight zone has significantly increased trade in the last decade.
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What’s holding Santa Teresa back? Pacheco said it in one word: infrastructure.
Many of the companies in the Santa Teresa industrial base, which include copper wiring companies and a Louisiana business that distrutes chile mash, rely on entry level workers. The area needs more affordable, multi-family housing options, he said. He said the availability of water and power can make businesses hesitant to invest in the area.
Interestingly enough, similar issues are facing economic developers in the Albuquerque metro area and outdoor recreation businesses.
Danielle Casey, the president and CEO of the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance, said being able to reliably guarantee water, power and infrastructure needs for a company looking to expand into Albuquerque would help recruit industries to the region.
Meanwhile, Karina Armijo, the executive director of the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division, said marketing assistance and infrastructure support are key needs of outdoor recreation businesses. The infrastructure support makes sense, she said, if more people are accessing New Mexico outdoor recreation sites, it will lead to more wear and tear and need more support.
The state has created an Outdoor Equity Fund, a Trails+ grant program a business accelerator program to try to address those issues and foster economic development in the industry.
Those are just some of the work the contributes to New Mexico’s $130 billion gross domestic product. We’ll look at other industries and issues in the next editions.
