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Trade Wars
U.S. Steel to Restart Granite City Works Blast Furnace in Illinois
U.S. Steel plans to resume steelmaking at an Illinois plant where the Trump administration intervened last summer to keep production going. The company stopped making steel at Granite City Works two years ago and had planned to further curtail operations before the administration blocked the move in September. It said it now sees signs of rising demand that justify restarting one of Granite City’s two blast furnaces early next year to produce molten iron for steel. U.S. Steel also is expected to need the mill’s steelmaking capacity as some of its other mills undergo improvements promised by Nippon Steel the new owner of U.S. Steel.
“We are confident in our ability to safely and profitably operate the mill to meet 2026 demand,” said U.S. Steel Chief Executive David Burritt. In recent weeks, lead times for filling steel orders at American mills have lengthened, indicating more orders for the metal. The company expects to add about 400 employees at Granite City to operate the blast furnace, raising the plant’s workforce to about 1,200, a person familiar with the matter said. The decision to restart the furnace wasn’t influenced by the Trump administration, the person said.
Read more at The WSJ
US Energy Department Offers $134M To Boost Rare Earth Recovery Projects
The U.S. Energy Department is making up to $134 million available to projects that demonstrate the commercial viability of recovering and refining rare earths originating from mine tailings, discarded electronics and other waste materials, according to a Dec. 1 press release.
The department launched the Notice of Funding Opportunity as another step in the Trump administration’s effort to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources for critical minerals essential to military and domestic industries, per the release. “We have these resources here at home, but years of complacency ceded America’s mining and industrial base to other nations,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Post-Bankruptcy, Wolfspeed Receives Nearly $700M Tax Refund From CHIPS Act
Wolfspeed said it has received $698.6 million in cash tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service through a provision of the CHIPS and Science Act, strengthening its cash position after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. Wolfspeed is expecting about $1 billion in total from the CHIPS Act provision, which would accelerate its transition from 150-millimeter to 200-millimeter wafer technology. The company sought the 25% tax rebate after spending billions of dollars on a materials plant in Chatham County, North Carolina, and its Mohawk Valley fab in Utica, New York.
The semiconductor company now has a cash balance of $1.5 billion following receipt of funds from the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit under Section 48D of the Internal Revenue Code, according to an investor filing on Monday. The refund comes months after Wolfspeed exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late September, a move that was related to weak demand and financial struggles. As part of its lender agreement, Wolfspeed said it plans to allocate $192.2 million of the refund to paying down $175 million of debt, with the remaining funds for “general corporate purposes.”
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Toyota Most Reliable - Tesla Makes Top 10 In ‘Consumer Reports’ 2026 Automotive Brand Ranking
Tesla is the only electric vehicle company to make the top 10 in the Consumer Reports 2026 automotive brand report card, which was released Thursday. Tesla came in tenth place with an overall score of 72 from the consumer advocacy organization. The rankings use overall score and safety ratings for each vehicle in the brand’s lineup. For Tesla that includes the Model 3, X, Y, S and Cybertruck. The overall score takes into account the group’s road-test scores along with reliability and owner satisfaction data. Tesla tied with Mini and Kia for overall score.
In terms of reliability, Tesla ranked ninth with a score of 50 while the only other all-electric company in the mix, Rivian, was dead last with 24. Toyota edged out Subaru for first place with a reliability score of 66. But the comprehensive ranking puts Subaru in the first slot tied with BMW with a total score of 82. The top 10 ranking is as follows: 1. Subaru (82) 2. BMW (82) 3. Porsche (79) 4. Honda (76) 5. Toyota (75) 6. Lexus (75) 7. Lincoln (75) 8. Hyundai (74) 9. Acura (73).
Read more at Forbes
US Auto Sales Fall in November
U.S. auto sales in November underscored the same split that has defined most of the fall selling season: hybrids remain hot, while battery-electric demand continues to cool sharply in the wake of the expired federal tax credits. As the industry adjusts to higher prices, new tariffs and shifting consumer sentiment, major automakers posted another month of mixed results. November 2025 US auto sales were 1.26 million units, according to S&P Global Mobility.
- Toyota Motor Corp. recorded a 2.7 percent gain in November, with the Toyota brand up 4.4 percent on the strength of light trucks, while Lexus fell 6.2 percent, ending a four-month stretch of increases.
- Ford Motor Co. saw a modest contraction. Companywide sales slipped 0.7 percent, with the Ford division down 0.2 percent and Lincoln off 12 percent—its fifth consecutive monthly decline.
- Honda Motor Co. posted the softest results among major Japanese automakers. Sales fell 15 percent as the Honda brand declined 17 percent and Acura slipped 1.4 percent.
- Hyundai and Kia mirrored the broader industry divide between hybrids and full EVs. Hyundai sales dropped 2.3 percent to 74,289, marking its second straight monthly decline. Kia rose 2.7 percent to 72,002, its fifth consecutive month of gains.
Read more at CarPro
Boeing Close Spirit Aerosystems Merger This Year As FTC Orders Divestitures
Boeing said last week it could close its $4.7 billion acquisition of wing and fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), opens new tab by the end of the year after a U.S. regulator said it could proceed, so long as it carried out divestments that have largely been agreed to with rival Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab. The deal splits up the financially struggling and problem-plagued Spirit, which was part of Boeing until 2005. Boeing is reacquiring the bulk of Spirit, which makes 737 fuselages, while Airbus will take over facilities in North Carolina and Belfast, Northern Ireland. The total transaction, including Airbus' portion and other pieces, is valued at $8.3 billion.
The FTC's order requires the divestments to Airbus, as well as the sale of Spirit’s Subang, Malaysia, operations, which supplies components for both Airbus and Boeing. A sale to Composites Technology Research Malaysia was negotiated earlier this year. The order also requires Spirit to continue as a supplier to Boeing's competitors vying for future military aircraft programs. Boeing's defense division won the contract for the U.S. military's first sixth-generation fighter, the F-47, earlier this year, and it is competing for the U.S. Navy's F/A-XX fighter contract. The FTC's proposed order would add further regulatory oversight to the implementation of the merger with appointments of two monitors - one for the FTC and another representing the Pentagon.
Read more at Reuters
DOE Grant Supports SMR Project By Tennessee Valley Authority
The U.S. Dept. of Energy is making a $400-million grant to support the Tennessee Valley Authority’s development of a small modular reactor at the Clinch River Nuclear site, in Tennessee. The TVA and GE Vernova sought the grant from the DOE’s Generation III+ SMR program, which is promoting development and deployment of advanced small modular nuclear reactors to supply rising demand for electricity by consumers, data centers, AI needs, and industry. The total cost of the project is reported to be $5.4 billion. TVA has forecast the cost will be lower for future projects as SMRs become more standardized. Other engineering companies and electric utilities also supported the TVA and GE application.
The SMR that TVA hopes to install is based on GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 technology. It is expected to be the first SMR in the U.S. when it starts operating in the early 2030s, though the same technology is being installed in Darlington, Ont., by Ontario Power Generation. BWRX-300 is a 300-megawatt reactor unit that is described as a simplified version of a previous technology (Boiling Water Reactor) that uses natural circulation and passive safety systems to generate electric power without carbon emissions. “The BWRX-300 is the only commercial SMR technology being built right now in the Western world, and this grant will accelerate its deployment in the U.S.,” stated GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik.
Read more at American Machinist
The Alliance for American Manufacturing 2025 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide
The Alliance for American Manufacturing has unveiled the 12th edition of their Made in America Holiday Gift Guide, an annual collection of American-made gift ideas from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This year, the Alliance has exclusively featured Made in America companies that have not been included in previous Gift Guides. They have uncovered both new-to-us heritage brands and ones that are just getting their start. They also “purposely selected an eclectic mix of items at a variety of price points, so there’s something Made in America for everyone on your list! And, in a new segment, we’ve rounded up a list of local stores that specialize in goods made in their states.”
If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, scroll to the bottom of this page for previous editions of the guide, or check out the Made in America Directory.
Read more at The Alliance for American Manufacturing
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