Cost of manual palletizing in Mexico: the math per shift and per case on 2026 wages

A line running 8 cases of 12 kilos per minute for 7 effective hours leaves 40 metric tons per shift on the pallet (8 × 12 × 420 minutes = 40,320 kg, Target Robotics calculation with assumptions). Someone lifted them, and their cost is mixed in with the rest of the production payroll. Here it is broken out: the cost of manual palletizing in Mexico, first per person, then per shift and finally per case, with every assumption in plain view so you can change any that don’t fit your plant.

What does a manual palletizing worker earn in Mexico?

None of the public sources we reviewed lists the job separately. These are the closest references:

Indeed averages ads from the last 36 months: part of its range sits below the 2026 minimum. For planning, use about MXN 10,000 a month as the pay of someone stacking in the general wage zone. On the northern border the legal floor starts at MXN 13,402. The person receives that pay, and it costs the plant quite a bit more.

From wage to fully loaded cost: MXN 14,000 to 19,000 a month

The floor comes from the minimum wage: MXN 9,577 times a factor of 1.45 gives MXN 13,887, which we round to MXN 14,000 (Target Robotics calculation with assumptions). That 1.45 is our own assumption. Employer contributions to IMSS and to Infonavit, the worker housing fund, add up to 20% to 30% of the wage (Factorial, February 26, 2026), and on top of that come the aguinaldo (the mandatory year-end bonus), vacation, vacation premium, payroll tax and expenses tied to the position.

The ceiling comes from Tetakawi, which publishes US$5.19 per hour for an unskilled operator with all employer costs included, about US$1,030 a month, at its Mexico campuses as of October 2026 and on a 46-hour workweek. At the MXN 18.50 exchange rate that same source uses, that comes to MXN 19,055.

If payroll gives you a different number, use yours. Everything that follows scales in proportion.

Cost of manual palletizing in Mexico, per shift

How many people stack per shift in Mexico does not appear in any public source we found. One supplier model uses 4 (Seraphim Vietnam, January 2026, with a case from Vietnam). We use 2 and 4 here, because crew size depends on weight and pace, as you will see further down.

Target Robotics calculation with assumptions: MXN 14,000 to MXN 19,000 per person per month, a 48-hour workweek, with no relief workers or overtime. A line running 7 days, 168 hours, already needs 3.5 crews: 7 people instead of 6 with 2 per shift, MXN 1,176,000 to MXN 1,596,000 a year, plus a Sunday premium of at least 25% (Article 71 of the Federal Labor Law, the Ley Federal del Trabajo).

At MXN 18.50, a US$100,000 cell equals MXN 1,850,000, and the last row of the table spends more than that every year.

How much does it cost to palletize one case?

Divide the cost of the shift by the cases in the shift. At 26 shifts a month, a crew of 2 costs MXN 1,077 to MXN 1,462 per shift, and a crew of 4, MXN 2,154 to MXN 2,923. With 7 effective hours, 420 minutes, it comes out like this (Target Robotics calculation with assumptions):

Per pallet, multiply by the cases that fit on it. With 40 cases, 8 per minute and a crew of 4, each pallet carries MXN 25.64 to MXN 34.80 of labor. If you don’t have that number, the cases-per-pallet calculator works it out from your case dimensions, and the method for counting cases per pallet explains how to check it.

Speed weighs as much as wages. Seraphim Vietnam (January 2026, a supplier model with no Mexican measurement) assumes 8 to 10 cases per minute, dropping to 5 or 6 between hour 6 and hour 8. Going from 8 to 5 raises the cost per case by 60%, because the shift costs the same. Every line stoppage and every slowdown at the end of the shift makes each case more expensive even when payroll doesn’t move.

How much weight does NOM-036 let you move?

NOM-036-1-STPS-2018 (DOF, November 23, 2018), Mexico’s federal standard on manual handling, sets two limits that move this math. Per lift, 25 kg for men and 20 kg for women aged 18 to 45 (section 8.3, table reproduced in the IMSS ELSSA guide). Per workday, 10,000 kg of total cumulative mass in 8 hours when manual transport covers less than 10 meters, and 6,000 kg if it reaches 20 meters (sections 8.3 and 12.3).

The standard does not say whether those 10,000 kg count per person or per crew, so check it with your safety team. Read per person, which is the prudent reading, the 40,320 kg from the opening call for more than 4 people per shift, and a crew of 2 at 8 cases per minute only works with cases of up to 6 kilos (20,000 kg divided by 3,360 cases, Target Robotics calculation with assumptions).

With 5 people, that 12-kilo case comes to MXN 0.80 to MXN 1.09 (same calculation). A small crew is only cheap when the load is light. The rest of what the standard requires is in the manual handling guide.

One example, from payroll to the case

Cases of 8 kilos at 10 per minute, 3 shifts over 6 days and 4 people per shift (example, Target Robotics calculation with assumptions). Each shift moves 4,200 cases and 33,600 kg, 8,400 kg per person, under the 10,000 kg limit. On payroll that is 12 people, MXN 2,016,000 to MXN 2,736,000 a year. Divided by 3,931,200 cases a year, each one comes to MXN 0.51 to MXN 0.70. With 40 cases per pallet, MXN 20.51 to MXN 27.84 per pallet.

What does this math leave out?

Turnover, to start with. Tetakawi cites 25% a year at manufacturers of 51 to 250 people and 31% at those above 250 (2019 Economic Census, page updated October 25, 2026). In a crew of 6 that is almost 2 replacements a year, each with recruiting, onboarding and the physician-backed fitness clearance that section 8.1 of NOM-036 requires.

Injuries don’t show up in the month’s payroll either. In 2024, IMSS recorded 8,594 workplace accidents among loaders, 2,314 of them from overexertion, and back disorders (dorsopathies) were the leading occupational disease, with 2,940 of 16,880 cases (2024 Statistical Report). IMSS does not isolate palletizing, so those figures give context and your cost comes from your own cases.

How much does this math rise from 2027 to 2030?

The workweek drops from 48 to 40 hours between 2027 and 2030 without touching wages (DOF, March 3, 2026), and the minimum wage already rose 13% in 2026 (DOF, December 9, 2025). From the workweek alone, 3 shifts with 2 people per shift go from 6 to 7.2 people, and the annual bill lands between MXN 1,209,600 and MXN 1,641,600 before any wage increase (Target Robotics calculation with assumptions). The year-by-year detail is in what the 40-hour workweek asks of a packaging line.

Which number do I compare a robotic palletizer against?

The cost of the people who come off stacking. HowToRobot reports that palletizing projects aim, on average, for 71% fewer operators (March 27, 2026, a base of more than 600 automation projects). It is a stated goal with no Mexican measurement: use it as a starting point and adjust it to your line, because whoever stays on to supply pallets and stretch film is still on payroll.

For your plant, ask for two figures: from payroll, the fully loaded cost of the people who stack; from production, last month’s cases. Divide one by the other and you have your cost per case. With that figure and your shifts, the payback calculator with Mexican wages gives you months, and the manual vs. robotic palletizing comparison adds injuries and the standard. On a single shift, before requesting a quote, read when a robotic palletizer pays off.