Lauren Williams of DefenseOne reports that China is winning the shipbuilding numbers game—and that’s a problem. Williams writes: “The [People’s Liberation Army] navy has been on a historic trajectory these last 25 years, and while we are, I am, confident that we would prevail in combat,” Adm. Samuel Paparo, Jr., commander for U.S. Pacific Fleet, told senators Thursday. “We are not overmatched, but I don't like the pace of the trajectory.” [...] China’s Navy has 79 more ships than the U.S., said Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, including 30 it added in the past year—half of which … [Read more...]
China EV Makers Could Avoid Hefty Tariffs
River Davis, Ryan Felton, and Selina Cheng of The Wall Street Journal explain that a mix of engineering, government subsidies, and lower labor costs helps BYD and other China-based EV makers lure customers with attractive prices, stylish designs, and technology. They write: Chinese automaker BYD has set its sights on Mexico as its quest for global expansion turns toward North America. The Shenzhen-based car company, whose rapid growth has made it one of the world’s largest electric-vehicle sellers, is scouting locations in the country for a factory, from which it would consider exporting … [Read more...]
The Multibillion-Dollar Bet on Freight Industry
Cummins, Daimler, and Paccar are joining forces to build a plant in Mississippi that will make batteries for electric commercial trucks, reports Bob Tita of The Wall Street Journal. He writes: The U.S.’s biggest commercial truck and engine builders are betting that the freight industry is ready to swap diesel fuel pumps for battery chargers. The diesel engine maker Cummins and the truck builders Daimler Truck and Paccar plan to build a $2 billion battery factory in Mississippi to produce batteries for commercial trucks. The plant, which the companies will operate as a joint venture, is … [Read more...]
Despite Biden’s Subsidies, Arizona Semiconductor Plant Facing New Delays
Yang Jie and Yuka Hayashi of The Wall Street Journal report a setback in Biden's favorite project to rebuild chip manufacturing in the U.S. They write: Taiwanese chip maker TSMC said it expected to delay production at the second of two semiconductor plants it is building in Arizona, the latest setback for a $40 billion project at the core of Washington’s effort to rebuild U.S. chip manufacturing. TSMC—the world’s leading contract manufacturer whose chips power Apple iPhones and Nvidia’s artificial-intelligence chips—also cast uncertainty on an earlier statement that the plant would … [Read more...]
Labor Costs Rise – Are Robots Standing Ready?
Nora Eckert of The Wall Street Journal tells her readers that expensive new union contracts are causing automakers to look to an old friend to help offset rising labor costs: robots. She writes: For decades, car companies have increased automation inside their factories. Now, auto executives are looking more closely at this approach, to address a rising labor bill and take advantage of more sophisticated technology. Competition from relative newcomers like Tesla, which has been more aggressive in deploying this factory technology, is also nudging more traditional auto manufacturers … [Read more...]
EV Battery Supplier Drops Plan for Factory in Oklahoma
River Davis of The Wall Street Journal is reporting that site conditions and potential subsidies coupled with uncertainty in EV business growth caused Panasonic to back off building a multibillion-dollar EV battery factory in OK. He writes: Tesla supplier Panasonic said Wednesday that it has decided against building a multibillion-dollar electric vehicle battery factory in Oklahoma. Panasonic already has an EV battery plant under construction in Kansas and had been eyeing Oklahoma as a potential additional location. The Japanese company already operates a joint-venture EV battery plant … [Read more...]
U.S. Manufacturing Flexing Its Muscles
Colin Grabow of the Cato Institute is reporting that the United States remains a manufacturing powerhouse. He writes: It has become conventional wisdom among many in Washington that a once‐vaunted US manufacturing sector has become a shell of its former self. Language used by members of the commentariat and politicians to describe the state of US industry is often bleak, sometimes bordering on the apocalyptic. In August, for example, columnist David Brooks flatly stated “we don’t make things anymore.” Talk of rescuing the so‐called “Rust Belt” and American manufacturing have been staples of … [Read more...]
The War Machine’s Manpower Problem
No, I'm not talking about the U.S. military's failure to recruit its intended numbers of new servicemen, but the labor shortages plaguing the military-industrial complex. The Pentagon and Washington, D.C. would like to throw billions of American dollars into producing new drone aircraft of all shapes and sizes, but there simply aren't enough Americans with the know-how or desire to build them all. Doug Cameron reports for The Wall Street Journal: The Pentagon wants to acquire thousands of drones over the next two years that can fly to their targets, confuse radar, overwhelm enemy defenses, … [Read more...]
Fashion Flees China
American fashion companies are shifting their operations away from China. In Sourcing Journal, Chelsea Dobrosielski reports that a survey of the fashion industry conducted by USFIA found that this year's survey, the tenth so far, "saw the percentage of respondents no longer using China as their top supplier hit a record high in 2023: 61 percent." She continues: Only 50 percent said the same last year, which itself was a giant leap from the pre-pandemic normal of 25 percent to 30 percent. Meanwhile, nearly 80 percent of respondents said they plan to reduce sourcing from China over the next … [Read more...]
Why Can’t America Build Anything Anymore? A Sad Lesson
Stanley Black & Decker, a storied American tool brand, wanted to build wrenches in America, but failed to do so profitably. Here's the sad story of what transpired when the company tried to make wrenches in Texas, as told by John Keilman in The Wall Street Journal: The world’s largest tool company couldn’t figure out how to make a wrench. Stanley Black & Decker SWK -0.08%decrease; red down pointing triangle built a $90 million factory on the edge of Fort Worth, Texas, intending to burnish the Made-in-the-U.S.A. luster of the Craftsman brand by forging mechanics’ tools with … [Read more...]