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Trade Wars
Another Chip Shortage Is on the Horizon
AI's rapid expansion increases demand for high-performance memory, especially HBM, leading to supply shortages and price hikes across the industry. Shifting focus to HBM fabrication risks causing shortages in traditional memory like DRAM, impacting devices such as smartphones and computers. Memory chip prices have surged, with some Samsung chips increasing up to 60%, and product costs for smartphones and laptops expected to rise significantly.
The current shortage represents a structural shift, driven by AI's pervasive integration, unlike previous pandemic-related supply disruptions. Companies must adopt strategic supply chain management tactics, including risk assessment and backup sourcing, to navigate ongoing shortages. For manufacturers that rely upon memory chips as inputs to their products, a strategic orientation to procurement and supply chain management is needed.
Read more at IndustryWeek
US Commercial Service’s Export Week Features A Series Of Export Tradecraft Programs
In celebration of World Trade Month, the U.S. Commercial Service will host a number of export sessions during the first week of May as well as throughout the month! The sessions, led by both private and public sector experts, will feature tradecraft programs and industry focused opportunities. Many of the programs are being offered free of charge and you can choose as many as you’d like to attend. Whether you are new-to-export or an experienced exporter, Export Week will provide valuable information on forward thinking strategies and invaluable resources to increase your global sales.
Export Week Kicks-Off with “Navigating Export Resources for U.S. Manufacturers,” Discover how U.S. manufacturers can tap into federal export resources, trade counseling, market intelligence, and global connections to expand internationally. Monday, May 4, 2026, 11:00am-12:00pm. There is no charge for this virtual session.
Register and learn more at the Commerce Department
Apple’s Foldable iPhone Is On Track To Launch In September, Report Says
Apple’s first foldable iPhone is on track to debut in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The news follows a report from Nikkei Asia on Tuesday that raised concerns the company’s foldable iPhone could be delayed due to challenges during the phone’s engineering test phase. Gurman reports that while the device’s complexity may limit initial supply, Apple is still aiming to launch the phone at roughly the same time as or shortly after the non-foldable models.
The launch of a foldable iPhone will be a major move for Apple, as it will allow the tech giant to better compete with foldable models from Samsung and China-based smartphone makers, which have long offered foldable phones. Apple’s device is said to have a few advantages over current foldable phones, as the tech giant has reportedly resolved issues with screen quality and overall durability, along with making the crease less visible when the device is unfolded.
Read more at Defense Scoop
Taking The Jobs Humans Don’t Want: The Ironic Promise Of The Humanoid Robot
Robots in car factories are nothing new. General Motors started using them in the 1960s and they’ve been around for over half a century. Every auto plant today has hundreds of them. But humanoid robots are on a different plane altogether. I guarantee that once you see them in action, you’ll begin wondering about how many factory jobs they’ll eliminate. Up to now, robots have been used to replace humans in dangerous, dirty and repetitive jobs. No one who did those jobs in the past ever complained about a robot taking their job.
Humanoid robot makers, like Boston Dynamics, argue that humanoids will actually create more jobs, not eliminate them. They point out that humanoids use all kinds of electric motors and sensors, and that the bodies are made from castings, moldings and stampings. They also need to be trained, repaired and serviced. And that’s why the robot companies say they will create more jobs. However, as one Tier 1 CEO recently said, a humanoid robot will pay for itself in two years, even if it costs $250,000. “One robot can replace two workers because it can work two shifts a day,” he pointed out. Even more, humanoids don’t need bathroom breaks, don’t take vacations, are never absent or late, and don’t get sick.
Read more at Ward’s Auto
US’ Largest Shipbuilder Teams With GrayMatter Robotics On Physical AI
Military shipbuilder HII on Monday said it will collaborate with GrayMatter Robotics to begin integrating physical artificial intelligence into its shipbuilding operations. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore ways to accelerate throughput, strengthen the maritime industrial base and augment HII’s shipbuilding workforce. GrayMatter’s technology will primarily focus on automating HII’s surface preparation, coating and inspection processes, according to a news release. The companies did not disclose financial details around their partnership.
In recent years, HII has “invested heavily” in automation technologies deployed at its shipyards in Newport News, Virginia and Pascagoula, Mississippi, Chewning said. However, the technologies are “limited to largely repeatable” shipbuilding activities. “There is a broader set of industrial use cases where we need a single robot to do 100,000 tasks just once,” Eric Chewning, executive vice president of maritime systems and corporate strategy, said on a press call Monday, “And that, for physical AI, is a game-changer.”
Read more at CNBC
Why McCormick’s $65 Billion Deal Might Actually Work Out
Big food mergers typically sound great on paper but look terrible in reality. The deals often saddle the merged company with complexity, stagnant brands and crushing debt. So when Unilever announced an agreement last week to combine its food business with McCormick in a deal creating a $65 billion behemoth, investors sold off the stocks of both companies. Still, this deal could be the exception to the rule.
The deal’s structure reveals why. It is being done as a Reverse Morris Trust, which lets a company shed a business unit without triggering a towering tax bill. In this case, the Unilever food business will be spun off to its own shareholders before merging with McCormick. The approach avoids selling the unwanted unit outright, which could generate a large taxable gain. The newly formed company will be helmed by McCormick’s management. To enable the tax-free route, however, the original parent company’s shareholders must end up owning more than 50% of the newly merged company. In this deal, Unilever and its shareholders will own about 65% of the combined foods business, while McCormick shareholders will own 35%. Unilever itself will continue to exist as a personal care, well-being and beauty company.
Read more at The WSJ
General Dynamics secures $450M ARV contract
General Dynamics Land Systems has secured a $450 million agreement from the United States Marine Corps for the next development phase of its Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle. The award covers the pre-production development phase, in which the company will finalize the vehicle’s design and build several examples from part of the planned ARV family for government testing. Those vehicles will then undergo a series of U.S. government test and evaluation activities as the Marine Corps continues to assess the platform before making longer-term procurement decisions.
The contract advances one of the Marine Corps’ central ground modernization efforts as it works to replace older reconnaissance vehicles with a more modern platform built for today’s operating environment. The need has grown more urgent as the service reshapes itself for distributed and expeditionary operations, particularly in coastal and island settings where mobility, sensing, and communications are increasingly critical.
Read more at Defence Blog (Poland)
Deere & Co Agrees To Pay $99 Million To Settle ‘Right To Repair’ Lawsuit
Deere & Co. has agreed to pay $99 million as part of a settlement that would resolve a class action lawsuit accusing the farm equipment giant of monopolizing repair services. The manufacturer has faced a handful of “right to repair” complaints over the years. The deal announced Monday — which still needs final approval from the court — would settle a 2022 lawsuit that accused the company of withholding repair software and conspiring with authorized dealers to force farmers to use their services for repairs, when they could otherwise fix tractors and other equipment themselves or use independent alternatives.
Deere has continued to deny any wrongdoing, and maintained Monday it’s dedicated to supporting customers’ ability and access needed to repair their equipment. But the company agreed to the settlement “to move forward and remain focused on what matters most — serving our customers,” Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support, said in a statement. Under the proposed agreement, filed in federal court in Illinois, the $99 million would go into a settlement fund for class members who paid Deere or its authorized dealers for large agriculture equipment repairs between Jan. 10, 2018 until the date of the deal’s preliminary approval.
Read more at AP
The Many American Manufacturers Represented On Artemis II
or the first time since 1972, humans have returned to deep space. And, with each of the 695,081 miles that the Orion spacecraft travels in its 10-day journey around the moon and back, the Artemis II mission showcases the marvels of American manufacturing. Moreover, testing that manufacturing is a primary objective for the mission, which serves as a stepping stone to establishing the moon as a foundation for crewed missions to Mars.
Though the Orion is primarily built by contractor Lockheed Martin and the bulk of the spacecraft’s welding took place at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La., a constellation of hundreds of suppliers nationwide contributed to both the Orion and the materials used by the Artemis II crew. Here’s a snapshot of just a few of the U.S. manufacturers who’ve had a hand in the historic Artemis II mission from the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
Read more at the Alliance For American Manufacturing
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