US computer products maker HP plans to move a substantial portion of its commercial laptop manufacturing capacity to Mexico, while consumer laptop production would go to Thailand.

The US firm, second in computer manufacturing behind China's Lenovo, is also planning to move another chunk of capacity to Vietnam early next year. According to the sources consulted by Nikkei Asia, HP is already working with possible suppliers to guarantee the supply chain in its new locations.

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The newspaper noted that HP issued a statement on its website Monday — the same day the outlet asked the company for comment — saying it is expanding existing operations in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, and has been “increasing the incremental production of laptops” in Mexico.

HP's plan comes after fellow US company Dell will launch a more radical campaign to exclude "made in China" chips from its products and significantly reduce the overall use of Chinese-produced electronics, as also reported by Nikkei Asia. On the other hand, Apple began manufacturing MacBooks in Vietnam this year, marking the first time its laptops have been made outside of China.

It should be noted that computers were positioned for the first time at the head of exports of products from Mexico to the United States in 2022, displacing cars to second place, according to data from the Department of Commerce. While sales of computers to the US market were US$36.7 million, a record, those of cars totaled US$36.5 million.

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In that year, Mexico was the second external provider of computers in the US market, with a market share of 29.7%, surpassed by China, with a coverage of 45%. A decade ago, in 2012, China's corresponding share was 65.3% and Mexico's 17.9%.

The closest competitors to both economies were Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, who had the following shares, in the same order: 9.1%, 7% and 3%. The main companies in the electronics industry worldwide have operations in Mexico, in order to serve, above all, the markets of the United States and Canada.

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Original note