Tourism is Mexico's third-biggest source of hard currency, after oil exports and remittances by expatriates.
INVESTMENT | Accelerating towards year-end. Gross fixed investment in the first 10 months of 2004 was up 6.3% on the same period of 2003, and with an upturn in October. Investment in machinery and equipment (an indicator of preparation for future expansion) was up 7.7% - with imported equipment up 10%.
GROWTH | Industry clocks under-average growth. Industrial activity in November was up 0.24% on October, taking the 11-month total to a level 3.9% higher than that of the same period in 2003. Though this was lower than the 4.5% growth estimated for the economy as a whole, November marked the 12th successive month of expansion. In November construction recorded 5.3% year-on-year growth, manufacturing 3.9%, mining 3.2%, and electricity, gas and water, 1.9%.
AUTO INDUSTRY | Home sales up, output and exports down. Last year sales of cars on the domestic market reached an unprecedented 10.9m, 12% more than in 2003. Production, however, was down by 2.2% to 1.5m units, and exports by 6.5% to just over 1m.
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